True Crime
Who Is Karen Friedman Agnifilo? Luigi Mangione Hires New Attorney Amid Murder Charges
Luigi Mangione, the man charged in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo as part of his legal counsel, according to multiple sources. Now, the public is interested in learning more about the attorney.
Who Is Karen Friedman Agnifilo?
Agnifilo is a graduate of the University of California. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Agnifilo went on to earn her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Agnifilo worked as an assistant district attorney several years before joining the General Counsel on Criminal Justice Policy in the New York City mayor’s office from 2006 to 2010. By 2014, Agnifilo was working as the Chief District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“During her tenure at the Manhattan DA’s Office, she played a critical leadership role in prosecuting high-profile violent crime cases, including complex cases involving a mental health component, as well as cold case homicides,” Agnifilo’s bio reads. “She also supervised all complex and high-profile matters in the office and managed a team of 1,500 people with a $120 million budget, giving her the experience and judgment to manage complex, high-stakes cases.”
Along with being a frequent guest on news programs, she was a former legal analyst for CNN. Agnifilo also is the cohost of the podcast “Legal AF” and is the legal advisor for NBC’s Law & Order.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo Is Married to Another High Profile Lawyer
The last name Agnifilo may sound familiar to some, and with good reason. Agnifilo’s husband, Marc Agnifilo is one of the lawyers representing Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Luigi Mangione Had Previously Retained Thomas Dickey as His Lawyer
Mangione initially hired Thomas Dickey to represent him, and Dickey spoke about his client’s case. The Pennsylvania attorney said that he had “seen zero evidence tying Mangione to” the murder of Thompson during a December 11, 2024, appearance on Good Morning America.
“We had a brief hearing yesterday, but there is one document – an arrest warrant from the state of New York – which merely referenced a statute,” Dickey told Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos. “We’ve seen no evidence. That’s one of the many reasons why we’re challenging the extradition at this point so we can see some evidence and get a little more detailed information about the charges against Luigi.”
When Mangione was arrested at a local McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024, he reportedly had a “ghost gun,” along with a manifesto on him. However, Dickey stated that he had “not been made aware of any evidence that links the gun that was found on his person to the crime.”
While reports that law enforcement officials had admitted that the gun found on Mangione was similar to the one used in Thompson’s shooting, ballistics testing had yet to confirm if it was a match or not.
“A lot of guns look the same,” Dickey explained. “If you brought a gun in and said, ‘Well, it looks like that,’ I don’t even know if that evidence would be admissible. And if so, I would argue that it wouldn’t be given much weight.”
