The man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City street two years ago pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in Manhattan Friday as Thompson’s family looked on.
Luigi Mangione, 28, revealed through his allocution to the court that he posed as a potential investor to confirm the location of the investors conference so he could track Thompson’s location.
He also told the judge that he was motivated to kill Thompson because of his experience with the healthcare system as a patient with a back injury.
Mangione faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced at a separate hearing on Dec. 18.
Thompson’s family arrived in the courtroom shortly before the proceeding was set to begin. Pat Thompson, the victim’s mother, was in the front row along with other relatives and executives from UnitedHealthcare.
The Thompsons have largely remained out of the public eye since the executive was murdered.
Newly installed Manhattan US Attorney James McDonald is in the front row and lawyers for Mangione filed into the courtroom early.
Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment Thursday.
Mangione was charged with two federal counts — interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and are separate from the state allegations, which include second-degree murder and firearms crimes.
What Luigi Mangione could gain from plea negotiations
Mangione’s trial in the state case is expected to begin early next month.
He pleaded not guilty in both cases and previously faced two additional federal counts, including using a firearm to commit murder, which carried a maximum penalty of death. A judge dismissed that charge earlier this year.
The brazen killing of Thompson — a father of two who led the nation’s largest healthcare insurer — put a spotlight on the country’s health insurance industry and widespread frustration over denied claims.
Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel that was hosting an investors’ conference.
Among the pieces of evidence found by authorities in Mangione’s backpack was a notebook that detailed his apparent grievances against the industry. At the scene, authorities found a bullet and two shell casings that had the words “delay,” “deny,” “depose” written on them.
Mangione’s attorneys had sought to bar the notebook from being introduced as evidence at his trials, arguing authorities obtained it during an illegal search. Judges in both cases rejected that argument.
