The lawyer of suspected assassin Luigi Mangione and Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs’ attorney are married.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a powerful New York attorney, was recently appointed to represent Mangione, who is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile, her husband, Marc Agnifilo, has been representing the embattled rapper facing a slew of sex trafficking charges.
Karen, 58, was previously a prosecutor who worked as the head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
In 2021 she decided to leave her longtime career as second in command to District Attorney Cyrus Vance to join her husband Marc, 60, at his private firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP.
The legal power couple previously experienced friction in their careers back in 2017 when Karen had no choice but to step down from Harvey Weinstein‘s case after it was revealed Marc was working with the disgraced movie mogul’s defense attorney, according to the Daily Beast.
Mangione, 26, chose to replace his initial representation Thomas Dickey with Karen, who has been described as someone who ‘knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse’ in the Big Apple, a source told CNN.
‘She’s got as much experience as any human being, especially in the state court,’ they added.
Luigi Mangione’s new attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is married to Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo
Marc, 60, has been representing the embattled rapper facing sex trafficking charges
Karen was also previously employed by CNN as a legal analyst, and other than working with her husband, she also worked at Geragos & Geragos, the high-powered LA firm that currently represents the Menendez brothers.
News about her being appointed Mangione’s new attorney comes as multiple crowdfunding attempts have been made to raise money for his defense, according to ABC News.
Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges, and is due in court on Tuesday where he is expected to fight extradition to New York City for allegedly slaying Thompson, 50.
While Mangione is working to extend his stay in the Keystone State, New York officials are hoping to get him back with a governor’s warrant.
The specific warrant is the type signed by the governor of a state where a fugitive flees after a crime. The governor in that state acts upon an official request from the governor of the state where the crime occurred.
The legal power couple previously experienced friction in their careers back in 2017 when Karen had no choice but to step down from Harvey Weinstein’s case after it was revealed he retained a member of her husband’s legal firm. (Pictured: Karen and Marc in 2021)
Mangione, 26, has been accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, on December 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan
In this case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to seek a governor’s warrant from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, but the process could take more than a month.
On Wednesday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police have matched a gun found on Mangione with the shell casings recovered at the scene, along with his fingerprints on a water bottle and energy bar wrapper found nearby.
Other evidence includes handwritten documents found in his possession casting his alleged crime as a legitimate response to what he viewed as corporate greed, some media outlets have reported.
Mangione lashed out on Tuesday as he was led into a courthouse, shouting in part, ‘…completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!’
The former Ivy League student was apprehended with a 3D-printed pistol and black silencer, as well as a manifesto condemning the American healthcare system.
Mangione also had a spiral notebook in which he wrote a ‘to-do list,’ ahead of the grizzly shooting, CNN reported.
Diddy was arrested in September in Manhattan. He has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, but has fiercely refuted all the allegations
In it, he allegedly toyed with the idea of using a bomb to kill Thompson – but he decided against the prospect because it ‘could kill innocents,’ and determined a shooting would be more targeted.
Authorities have said Mangione’s three-page manifesto is currently being investigated, which they have labeled a ‘claim of responsibility.’
The document is a different piece of evidence from the notebook – where he flirted with the idea of bombing Midtown to kill the millionaire healthcare boss before ultimately deciding to go for a more targeted approach to avoid the loss of other lives.
Meanwhile, Karen’s partner Marc has continued to represent Diddy who has fiercely refuted all the allegations made against him so far.
He was arrested in Manhattan in September, and has not only been charged with sex trafficking, but also racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Diddy appeared before a federal judge in New York last month and was supported by his family in court.
Marc recently penned a letter to the jurist to claim his client had not been receiving the same treatments as his prison-mates in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. (Pictured: Sketch of Marc and Diddy in court on September 18)
He was not shackled after his lawyers claimed that doing so offended the ‘dignity’ of the court.
After being denied bail once again, Combs was granted access to a laptop to assist in his defense earlier this week, court documents have revealed.
Currently behind bars for a litany of charges, the rapper will not be able to access the internet, officials said.
‘The purpose of the Discovery Laptop is to review discovery, not to take or store notes,’ Judge Subramanian wrote.
‘It is the Court’s understanding that the laptop has been pre-loaded with discovery materials but does not allow any functionality beyond reviewing those materials.’
The demand for a laptop is only the latest from the disgraced producer’s team, who have already asked that he be allowed to appear unshackled for all future court appearances.
Marc recently penned a letter to the jurist to claim his client had not been receiving the same treatments as his prison-mates in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC).
Last month his request for bail was denied a third time, as he will not remain behind bars until his May 2025 trial.
