NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to stalking charges in a surprise decision that allows him to avoid a federal trial and attempt to dismiss a separate case in the fatal shooting of a health care executive.

In an Aug. 14 court hearing, Mangione admitted to ambushing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel in December 2024.

“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione told the judge.

Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty to two federal charges of stalking resulting in death, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.

Jamie McDonald, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said there was no plea deal arranged in advance with the government. He told reporters his office will seek the maximum sentence.

Mangione’s plea complicates a separate case that was scheduled to go to trial next month.

After the federal proceeding, Mangione’s legal team filed a motion seeking to dismiss murder and other charges that Mangione faces in New York state. Mangione’s attorneys claim New York’s double jeopardy law protects him from being prosecuted twice for the same conduct. State prosecutors have objected to that theory.

During the hearing, focus was on what Mangione would say about the 2024 killing.

When he walked into the chilly federal courtroom, one gasp from the wooden pews cut the tense silence. Those who knew Thompson sat in the front row. His wife, Paulette, wiped away tears with a tissue as Mangione spoke matter-of-factly with the judge. At one point, he was asked to explain in his own words why he believes he is guilty.

Mangione, wearing a tan jumpsuit, described suffering severe back pain and navigating the U.S. health care system. He said he carefully planned to ambush Thompson, researching the health care conference online and posing as an investor to obtain information about its location. He said he 3D-printed a handgun and traveled to New York City with the intention of shooting Thompson.

“I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury,” he told the judge. “I knew what I was doing was illegal.”

In a statement, Thompson’s family said the guilty plea “marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family.”

“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,” the statement said. “Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime.”

The guilty plea comes about a month before Mangione was set to stand trial on murder and other charges in New York state court. He also faces charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and taken into custody after a five-day manhunt.

Federal prosecutors initially charged Mangione with murder through the use of a firearm, and sought the death penalty. But Garnett took capital punishment off the table earlier this year when she tossed out the most serious charges against Mangione. His federal court trial was set to begin in January.

Thompson’s killing sparked a massive police manhunt that ended days later, when authorities arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors say forensic evidence links Mangione to the scene of the shooting, including DNA and ballistics data recovered by investigators. Authorities also recovered key evidence from Mangione’s backpack in Pennsylvania, including a 3D-printed gun and writings that authorities say point to motive.

Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that certain items in Mangione’s backpack – including a loaded magazine, cellphone and wallet – were blocked from the state trial because officers in Pennsylvania conducted a warrantless search. Other key evidence, including a gun and a red notebook, uncovered during a subsequent search of the backpack, were deemed admissible.

Mangione’s court hearings have drawn supporters who’ve expressed vitriol against the U.S. health care system and view the Ivy League graduate as a kind of folk hero. Others have donated to help pay for Mangione’s legal defense. Some have written him love letters.

The killing of Thompson, a husband and father of two, led companies to evaluate their security measures, cancel in-person events and scrub their websites of top executives’ biographies and photographs.

Speaking to reporters after the Aug. 14 hearing, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said her thoughts remain with Thompson’s family. She also addressed Mangione’s supporters.

“And to those who idolize Luigi Mangione, I say this: Violence is not a cause. Murder is not a message. And a killer is certainly not a hero.”

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Thao Nguyen; Reuters