Luigi Mangione Abruptly Drops 'Extreme Emotional Disturbance' Defense Claim in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Murder Trial — Just One Day After Filing
Luigi Mangione's defense team has dropped their defense strategy.
June 18 2026, Published 6:33 p.m. ET
Luigi Mangione's legal team has abruptly withdrawn its plans to use a "psychiatric defense" at his upcoming trial, RadarOnline.com can report, despite just announcing the strategy a day ago.
Now, it's unclear how Mangione plans to fight the murder charges in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Defense 'Respectfully Withdraws'
The legal team had planned to argue Mangione suffered 'extreme emotional disturbance.'
On Wednesday, June 17, Mangione's lawyers said they plan to prove that he was suffering from "extreme emotional disturbance" before he reportedly gunned down Thompson outside a New York City hotel.
By using a psychiatric defense, the 28-year-old would effectively be admitting he killed the man, but did so because of mitigating circumstances. That could help lessen the charges against him.
But late Thursday, June 18, Mangione's lawyers sent a simple, one-sentence brief to the court, announcing the change.
"The defense respectfully withdraws CPL 250.10 notice at this time."
Under New York Law, CPL 250.10 is a "notice of intent to proffer psychiatric evidence; examination of defendant upon application of prosecutor."
Legal Analysts Stumped By the Move
The decision to abruptly drop the defense stymied legal eagles.
Before dropping it, the original strategy sparked questions across the legal community as to the effectiveness of that defense.
"His factual guilt (shooting and killing the CEO) is undisputed," Nora Demleitner, Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, exclusively told Radar. "His only option is to mitigate his mental state so that he isn't convicted of the highest level murder -- intentional and premeditated."
A psychiatric defense differs from a plea of insanity in that if a jury finds that Mangione was emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing, it could convict him of manslaughter, leading to less time in prison. An insanity conviction would have spared him prison but sent him to a psychiatric facility.
A Tough Legal Sell
Mental health professionals were not as confident as well.
However, mental health professionals were already worried that it would have been a tough sell.
"On its face, it appears to be a very, very weak case," said Sandip Buch, psychiatrist and owner of group telehealth practice Skypiatrist.com.
"It is very unclear whether he had a qualifying mental illness, but this crime appeared to take planning and execution, which shows capacity, and his actions of planning and escape showed he knew what he was doing was wrong."
Brian C. Stewart, attorney at Parker & McConkie, said proving Mangione "snapped" could have been nearly impossible.
"You need an actual psychiatric break, not just being furious at an industry. And his own writings are organized, deliberate, almost calculating," he explained. "Prosecutors are going to read straight from his notebook to argue this was a man thinking clearly, not a man losing it."
Luigi Mangione Has Pleaded Not Guilty Twice
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Mangione faces two trials for the murder.
Mangione is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn while awaiting two separate trials for the December 4, 2024, killing. He is set to go to trial in the state case on Sept. 8. His federal trial, which involves stalking charges, is set to begin on Oct. 13.
He has pleaded not guilty in both cases and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted in either case.
Mangione's next court date in the state trial comes on July 6.
