Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty in US Case over Insurance CEO Killing

 

Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty in a federal case over the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson in December 2024.

 

Mangione, 28, admitted on Friday to two counts of stalking and to shooting Thompson outside an investor conference at a hotel in midtown Manhattan. He did not reach a plea deal with prosecutors and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

 

“On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said in New York federal court. “When I did, I understood my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”

 

The guilty plea is Mangione’s first admission of wrongdoing. He fled Manhattan after the shooting, triggering a major manhunt that ended five days later when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in central Pennsylvania.

 

Until now, Mangione had remained defiant and attracted the support of thousands of online followers, as well as dozens of supporters who attended his court appearances. Some also expressed anger at the US healthcare system.

 

“There can be no celebrity in assassination,” Jamie McDonald, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a press conference after the hearing. “Mangione attempted to send a public message through violence. But the message that emerges today is very different.”

 

Mangione was brought into the courtroom wearing beige prison fatigues, with his hands cuffed behind his back. During the hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, he was asked to describe his actions.

 

Mangione read from a prepared statement, saying that after years of suffering severe pain from a broken back and navigating obstacles within the healthcare system, he learned that UnitedHealth would hold its annual investor conference in New York in December 2024 and that company executives would attend.

 

Thompson, 50, was chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division of UnitedHealth Group.

 

Mangione said he travelled from out of state to Manhattan with the intention of killing Thompson and was armed with a 3D-printed gun equipped with a silencer. He told the court that he had emailed the company’s leaders while posing as an investor at a firm managing more than $50 billion in assets and requested information about the conference. He said he received a response within an hour.

 

Asked for comment, UnitedHealth did not address Mangione’s remarks. In a statement, the company said: “We are grateful to law enforcement for bringing Brian’s murderer to justice.”

 

Dominic Gentile, a federal prosecutor, outlined some of the evidence against Mangione. He said video footage showed Mangione arriving in New York by bus on November 24, 2024, and following Thompson “in and around” the conference hotel on December 3.

 

Video also showed Mangione shooting Thompson and fleeing the scene, while a 9mm gun recovered from Mangione after his arrest matched shell casings found at the scene of the killing, Gentile said.

 

Police also recovered fingerprints and DNA evidence matching Mangione, along with writings that expressed a willingness to kill a healthcare executive, specifically at UnitedHealthcare, Gentile said.

 

State case

 

Mangione also faces a trial next month in New York state court, where he is charged with second-degree murder and other offences. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.

 

Following the federal hearing, Mangione’s attorneys filed a motion seeking dismissal of the state case. They argued that New York law prohibits defendants from being prosecuted twice for the same crime, even when the charges are different.

 

“While federal sentencing is pending, we are prepared to litigate the defence motions,” a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. The office “remains committed to seeking justice for Mr Thompson and his family”.

 

US District Judge Margaret Garnett, who presided over Friday’s hearing, said any sentence Mangione receives could be added to whatever sentence is imposed by the state. She set a sentencing date for December 18.

 

During the hearing, Garnett asked Gentile about sentencing guidelines that could assist her in determining an appropriate sentence. Gentile said the advisory range was roughly 24 to 30 years in prison.

 

However, prosecutors said after the hearing that they would recommend a life sentence. The judge said she would make her own decision.

 

Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and former data engineer, had initially pleaded not guilty in both cases.

 

Thompson’s family attended the hearing. One woman began to cry when Mangione entered the courtroom, while another relative consoled her and said: “You’ve got this.”

 

“Today’s guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family,” the Thompson family said in a statement. “While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable. Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime.”

 

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