Luigi Mangione appears for a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court on June 17, 2026.
Angelina Katsanis/Pool via REUTERS
Luigi Mangione’s attorneys intend to claim that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance” in his state trial for the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In a revelatory hearing ahead of Mangione’s September trial in his state trial, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro unsealed the record showing that Mangione’s legal team had made a motion to seek a psychiatric defense.
Carro then ordered Mangione’s legal team to turn over documents that include medical records and the name of an expert they intend to call on, so that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has all the information about Mangione’s mental health prior to the start of the trial.
“They need to know what maladies the defendant suffers,” Carro said.
Luigi Mangione looks at a camera while sitting at a courtroom table with attorneys in Manhattan on June 17, 2026.Angelina Katsanis/Pool via REUTERS
The ruling came weeks after Carro met with the attorneys in a secret hearing in the case. The judge clarified that he had sealed the record of the meeting in order to give the defense a chance to make a final call on moving forward with their approach.
“Of course, because of the nature of the defense, it would be very prejudicial,” Carro said.
The prosecutors also announced they’re seeking to move Mangione from his locations at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to Rikers Island for the rest of the state trial in order to make it logistically easier to transport him back and forth for psychiatric evaluations at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
Luigi Mangione appears for a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, U.S., Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Angelina Katsanis/Pool via REUTERS
Shortly after Carro made the announcement, prosecutors tussled with Mangione’s attorneys, complaining that they were lagging in handing over relevant court documents. Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Agnifilo, insisted that last week the defense team delivered a “voluminous” tranche of records.
Carro demanded that Mangione’s attorneys turn over the rest of their court documents later today.
This is a developing story; check with amNY.com later for further updates.