Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on Friday to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, admitting matter-of-factly that he trailed the executive to an investor conference in 2024 and gunned him down on a New York City street.

Mangione, 28, said he even used a ruse to glean information about the event, contacting the health insurance company ahead of time under the guise of being an investor at a multibillion-dollar firm.

“On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan, and he died,” Mangione told the court as Thompson’s wife, Paulette, took several deep breaths and repeatedly wiped tears from her eyes. A supporter put an arm around the wife and held her tight.

Mangione is set for sentencing on December 18.

When US District Judge Margaret M. Garnett asked whether he understood that he could spend the rest of his life in prison, Mangione answered neutrally: “Yes.”

Mangione entered the plea at a hastily scheduled hearing in Manhattan federal court, resolving one of two cases against him in connection with Thompson’s death.

Mangione’s lawyers are now seeking to have his separate New York state murder case thrown out on double jeopardy grounds.

“Mr Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson,” defense lawyer Karen Friedman said outside court, arguing that her client shouldn’t face two prosecutions over a “single tragic event.”

Surveillance video of the ambush showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson, 50, from behind. Police say “delay” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

That detail — and revelations that Mangione’s private writings lambasted health insurers as greedy, according to authorities — made the case a fulcrum for debate about the industry and made Mangione a cause célèbre for some of its critics.

Mangione told the court Friday that he pursued Thompson “after years of enduring severe pain from a broken back and navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system.”

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