A body language expert says Luigi Mangione’s recent courtroom smile reveals signs of composure and engagement with his legal team.
Luigi Mangione, 28, attended a pre-trial appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court on August 11, in New York City, where he is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and faces state and federal murder charges.
Mangione entered the courtroom Tuesday wearing a gray suit with his wrists shackled in front of him.
He glanced at the gallery before he took a seat at the defense table, with about two dozen members of the public in the back of the courtroom.
Some supporters wore shirts declaring his innocence or calling for expanded courtroom access.
Public interest in the trial is widespread, as it will mark the climax of a case that began with Thompson’s killing on a sidewalk outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel that was hosting his company’s annual investor’s conference.
Photographs from the hearing caught Mangione smiling during proceedings.
The images stood out to Dr. Beth Dawson,
a communication and body language expert, behaviour analyst and professor with over 20 years of experience across media, corporate, and academic settings.
Dawson cautioned that still images have limits.
She wrote: “From a body-language perspective, we see someone who looks engaged and the couple of smiles we can see are socially engaged, but a single photograph can’t really tell us what someone is feeling, but there are some features that stand out.”
Dawson highlighted what she called a genuine-looking smile in one photo.
She continued: “In one picture of him smiling, the upper teeth are visible, and it’s not a polite closed-mouth smile, and the cheeks are raised, which is consistent with a positive smile. The lower face looks relatively relaxed; there is no jaw clenching and lip pressing, which we would associate with tension and worry. He is looking at someone and is fully engaged, and the smile shows trust and confidence, but it is more of a social smile than a spontaneous grin.”
Another image showed a different expression entirely.
Dawson added: “There is another image where he looks more attentive. Here we see the lips are closed and pressed together, and the eyes are relatively open, which shows a more focused and observant gaze as opposed to a relaxed posture. There are no facial markers of surprise, anger, or worry. The overall feeling is one of ‘I’m listening, watching and taking this in’ rather than the more relaxed social smile in the previous photo.”
Mangione’s interactions with his legal team drew particular attention.
Dawson observed: “He looks very relaxed and in tune with his legal team. His posture also shows that too, as he’s leaning forward and his shoulders are down, so it shows he is receptive and engaged with his legal team. There is an apparent rapport with his team in the body language he is displaying.”
Tuesday’s appearance could be the last time Mangione is seen in public before jury selection starts on Sept. 8, and the conference is one of the final opportunities for prosecutors and defense attorneys to finalize details of the high-profile trial.
Prosecutors allege Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an assassination-style killing on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, possession of a forged instrument and six weapons charges linked to Thompson’s fatal shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty in separate state and federal cases, and faces the possibility of life in prison if he’s convicted in his state murder case.
Mangione is also scheduled to face a separate federal trial on stalking charges in January 2027.
In the two months since Mangione last appeared in state court, his defense lawyers abruptly withdrew plans to argue he was experiencing an “extreme emotional disturbance” as he allegedly killed Thompson. The rare psychiatric defense would have involved Mangione’s lawyers arguing he experienced a “profound loss of self-control” at the time of the alleged murder and that he should be convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries a 25-year maximum sentence. Mangione’s lawyers withdrew their notice about the planned defense after the judge said his lawyers would have to turn over Mangione’s psychiatric records if they chose that route.
In the viral moment that anchored this case,
Thompson was shot outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan as he headed to an investor conference.
Footage of the shooting quickly spread online, while the five-day manhunt that followed sparked a national media frenzy. Mangione was eventually arrested in Pennsylvania.
Police have said the words “delay”, “deny” and “depose” were written on ammunition connected to the shooting, echoing a phrase used by critics to describe the tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying claims.
The jury in Luigi Mangione’s upcoming murder trial over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will remain anonymous, a New York State judge has ruled, as the case moves towards trial. New York state Justice Gregory Carro announced the decision at a hearing on Tuesday, ahead of jury selection, which is expected to begin on September 8.
Anonymous juries are relatively unusual in US criminal trials, but judges sometimes use them in high-profile cases when there are concerns that jurors could face harassment or intimidation.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8.