Luigi Mangione appears in court as judge rules murder trial will be heard by anonymous jury

The man accused of shooting a US healthcare executive dead in a street has appeared in a New York courtroom, as a judge ruled the murder trial will be heard by an anonymous jury.

At the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Gregory Carro ordered lawyers to draw up a questionnaire to choose jurors for the murder trial of Luigi Mangione.

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to several state charges in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 outside a Manhattan hotel.

Jury selection, which begins on 8 September, is expected to be challenging given the high-profile nature of the trial.

The trial is expected to last six weeks.

If convicted, Mangione faces up to life in prison.

Though jurors are not normally anonymous in US criminal trials, judges are increasingly choosing to shield jurors' identities from the public in high profile cases out of concern they may be subject to harassment or intimidation.

Mangione wore a grey suit in court on Tuesday and glanced around the room before he took his seat next to his lawyers.

Justice Carro ruled that an overflow area would be made available for the press and the public to witness the trial if the main courtroom reaches capacity.

Mangione's defence team had accused the Manhattan district attorney's office of trying to limit the number of attendees and shape the coverage the case received.

Prosecutors rejected this criticism and expressed concern about juror exposure.

It was unclear when the jury questionnaire would be finalised, but Mangione's side told Sky's US broadcasting partner NBC News they expect to have a proposed draft this week.

Prosecutors claim they can prove Mangione's guilt with hundreds of hours of surveillance video, ⁠fingerprints, DNA, a phone, a gun with matching ballistics and a ​notebook in which Mangione allegedly wrote of hating insurers and wanting ​to kill.

Mangione's lawyers have revealed almost nothing about their potential trial strategy.

However, ​a July court filing indicated they might argue Mangione lost control ⁠due to an extreme mental health breakdown.

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They have not conceded he was the gunman.

Graphic ​footage of the killing and a five-day manhunt for a suspect created massive interest in the case, before Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania.

Mangione has separately also pleaded not guilty to stalking charges in a federal case, which is scheduled to begin in January.

(c) Sky News 2026: Luigi Mangione appears in court as judge rules murder trial will be heard by anonymous jury