New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says accused killer Luigi Mangione will be indicted “any day now” for the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — and that she’ll have him hauled back to the Empire State once that happens.
“I trust the DA here in Manhattan to make sure that he puts forth an indictment that is going to be ironclad,” Hochul said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Hochul said she trusts Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to put together a strong case against Mangione, 26, adding that she will be issuing a warrant extradition the moment the indictment goes through.
“I want to get him back here in the state of New York and run him through our criminal justice system, because that horrific attack occurred on our streets, and the people of our city deserve to have that sense of calm that this perpetrator has been caught and he will never see the light of day again if there is justice.
“You cannot assassinate an individual on the streets of New York. Not now. Not ever,” she said.
Mangione is currently being held at the State Correctional Institution in Huntington, Pennsylvania, after a judge denied him bail earlier this week.
Mangione has challenged the extradition, which seeks to return the suspected killer to New York where he allegedly gunned down Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan last week.
Bragg said Thursday morning that he was confident in his office’s ability to secure an indictment as it presents mounting evidence against Mangione to a grand jury.
So far, officials have collected fingerprints from a water bottle and granola bar wrapper found near the hotel, which police say match Mangione’s prints.
The ballistics from the ghost gun that Mangione was found carrying also matches the shell casings recovered from the crime scene, according to the NYPD.
“This is obviously a profound, profoundly disturbing, as we’ve alleged, murder,” Bragg told ABC 7. “We would not charge the person if we didn’t think it was the person and we’re prepared to go forward.”
He has pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges levied against him, including murder and gun possession.