Suspect in killing of insurance CEO charged with murder

New York prosecutors have filed a murder charge against the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth chief executive Brian Thompson, a brazen shooting that set off a five-day manhunt that culminated in his capture in Pennsylvania on Dec. 9.

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The suspect, identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, was captured in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was spotted eating at a McDonald's by a customer and an employee who believed he resembled the gunman, officials said.

When approached by two police officers and asked if he had recently been in New York, he began to shake and went quiet, one of them said at a press conference. He was wearing a mask and sitting alone with a laptop and backpack.

A search of the backpack at the police station turned up a black "ghost gun" - a firearm assembled from parts, making it untraceable - loaded with a magazine and a silencer. The Pennsylvania authorities said the weapon, as well as clothing and a mask, were similar to those used by the killer.

Mangione was led into the Blair County courthouse in Altoona for his arraignment on the night of Dec. 9, when gun and forgery charges were read against him. The judge asked him if he understood the charges against him and he said he did. No plea was entered.

Prosecutors in New York brought a murder charge, along with four related gun charges, against him, according to court records.

Pennsylvania prosecutors, citing false IDs and a large sum of cash found on Mangione, argued he was a flight risk and asked that bail be denied, which it was. Several electronic devices were also found with him.