Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - AG Pam Bondi's Alleged Conflict of Interest Sparks Fight Over Death Penalty in Luigi Manginone Case | Crime Alert 6AM 12.22.25

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

Lawyers representing Luigi Mangione are requesting that the death penalty be halted in his federal murder trial, citing a purported "conflict of interest" involving Attorney General Pam Bondi, as detailed in a recent court submission.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert. I'm Nancy Grace, breaking crime news now. Straight out to Nicole Parton for the latest. Nancy lawyers representing Luigi Mangione are requesting the death penalty be stopped in his federal murder trial, citing a reported conflict of interest involving Attorney General Pam Bondi as detailed in a recent court submission. In a filing submitted overnight, the defense team accused Pam Bondi of neglecting to reveal her affiliations with the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which regularly represents United Healthcare, noting that she was personally benefiting from the firm's profitable ties to

UHG. Mangione faces charges for allegedly killing United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024. He has entered a not guilty plea in federal court for stalking and murdering Thompson and is contesting the government's intent to pursue capital punishment should he be found guilty. The defense contended that this situation creates a conflict of interest that should have prevented Bondi from instructing prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Quote upon transitioning from Ballard Partners to the role of Attorney General in 2025, the first individual she chose to pursue execution against was the defendant accused of murdering the CEO of her previous client, the defense filing stated. The attorney's

argue that Pam Bondi's financial ties to UHG constitute a conflict of interest warranting her recusal from any decision regarding the case. Quote, the Attorney General's financial relationship with UHG raises serious concerns about Mr. Mangione's due process rights as she stands to gain financially from the prosecution's outcome she is advocating for, they said. The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York typically refrains from commenting on active cases and is anticipated to provide a written reply to the defense's claims. Meanwhile, Mangione's legal team has been working to exclude certain evidence from his

upcoming state murder trial. The recent filing in the federal case incorporated elements from the suppression hearing to argue the exclusion of the evidence from the federal proceedings as well. What I did not understand was how shocking it was that this week on HBO in documentary, I see the chief of detectives and the New York City Mayor, full hair and makeup done, sitting down and giving an interview for television and talking about the evidence in Luigi's case, talking about police paperwork that we don't have, talking about forensics that we have not yet received. I guess we have now today, but I didn't, when I was sitting there, learning about the case, hearing an actor play Luigi reading from a journal that

they say is Luigi's, and we have yet to receive it from the prosecution. The defense claimed that the search of Mangione's backpack was unlawful as he was handcuffed, distance from the backpack, and surrounded by Altoona police officers at the time. Given the circumstances where there was no feasible way for Mr. Mangione to access his backpack while restrained by officers, therefore the search conducted at the McDonald's cannot be justified as a lawful search. incident to arrest, the defense argued. The pretrial hearing for the state case wrapped up on Thursday with New York judge allowing the defense until January 29 to submit final written arguments regarding evidence exclusion. Prosecutors have until March 5 to respond after which the defense

will have two weeks to reply. The judge expressed his intention to announce his ruling on what evidence, if any, will be excluded by May 18, at which time he will also. schedule the trial date. Nicole, thank you. More crime and justice news after this. Dr. Helen Gray-Sanchez was found by an employee inside a walk-in freezer at a store in Miami. The 32-year-old and anesthesiologist was found inside the freezer of a dollar store in Miami on December 4. For the first time since her death, Sanchez-Famination.

family has broken their silence saying they need answers and want to have a proper funeral and resting place for their loved one. They say they're waiting for authorities to tell them what could have happened. The thing that the family says they have in question is, why was the doctor not found until a day after she walked into a freezer at a local store? Despite the unusual and unclear circumstances of her death, Miami police say they are not suspecting foul play, but that the investigation is ongoing. Surveillance footage from the scene on the evening of December 13 shows the doctor walking into the walk-in freezer at a dollar tree store in Little Havana, a neighborhood near Miami, just before it, they closed at 10 p.m. It was the following morning

that an employee found the body of a naked woman in the cooler in the stock room and immediately called 911. Investigators say they are still waiting for the medical examiner's report into the cause of death, which is currently listed as undetermined, it is possible that after being trapped inside the freezer, she suffered from hypothermia, which could cause paradoxical undressing before death. This is a case where the sufferer becomes so cold that they begin to feel as if they overheat and so often can strip off their clothing. Both of Helen's children are from Nicaragua and have flown to Miami to find out what happened to their mother. We remember her as a loving woman, an amazing doctor,

and have no idea how or why she wondered into a walk-in freezer in the dollar tree. They are cooperating fully with authorities. The family is also saying that they're waiting for answers, wondering what happened to the doctor. Tensions high between Chantelle Hudson and her mom, after they moved from Bishop, California to Dayton, Nevada, just after Chantelle starts her junior year of high school. Chantelle's mom thinks her teen girl has fallen in with the wrong crowd at her new school. 7.30 Monday morning, Chantelle leaves home on foot after an argument.

Her mom reports Chantelle missing when she's marked absent from school. Searches of Chantel's route to school turn up nothing. Several reported sightings turn out to be misidentification. Shantel's social security number, no activity, and extensive driver's license searches don't provide any leads. Shantel Hudson now missing 36 years. Shantel, Native American 5-5, brown hair, brown eyes, glasses, has a scar on her left ring finger, a birth mark on her lower back. If you have info on Chantel Hudson, call Lyon County Nevada Shepard. Sheriffs, 775-577-7-57-5023.

For the latest, Crime and Justice News, go to crimeonline.com, and please join us for our daily podcast, crime stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and help solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an I-Heart podcast, Guaranteed Human.