Luigi Mangione to assert psychiatric defense at state trial in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

Judge Carro's announcement came two weeks after he held a sealed hearing on the matter at the defense's request. He said he would unseal records from that hearing, explaining the sealing had been intended to give the defense time to decide whether to pursue a psychiatric defense and in what form.

Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, raised concerns about unsealing the records, arguing the psychiatric defense is not available under federal law and that disclosure would be prejudicial to Mangione's parallel federal case. "This defense is not available federally and Mr. Mangione is being prosecuted federally and this is prejudicial to his defense to the exact same facts," Friedman Agnifilo said, according to the Associated Press.

Also on Wednesday, Judge Carro dismissed a charge related to a gun magazine he had previously ruled inadmissible, after finding it was recovered during an initial search of Mangione's backpack at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days after the killing. A 3D-printed pistol found on Mangione matches the weapon used to kill Thompson, prosecutors said. A notebook found among his belongings describes wanting to "wack" a health insurance executive and rebelling against "the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel," according to the AP.