The plea resolves the remaining federal charges tied to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and could affect a separate New York state case.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ir6qMangione was charged by both federal and state prosecutorsImage: Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo/picture allianceAdvertisementLuigi Mangione pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court to a stalking charges tied to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died," he told the court,
Prosecutors said Mangione traveled to New York City and fatally shot Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024, as he walked to UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference.
The judge has accepted his guilty plea and said sentencing would take place in December. Mangione faces a possible sentence of life without parole on the two counts of stalking.
Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty to federal murder, weapons and stalking charges. Earlier this year, the judge dismissed the murder and weapons counts on legal technicalities, leaving only the stalking charges and eliminating the possibility of the death penalty.
Mangione still faces separate murder, weapons and forgery charges in New York state court. His federal guilty plea could prompted defense arguments that some state charges should be dismissed.
Now, "state charges must be dismissed under New York's double jeopardy protections,"Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told reporters outside the federal court.
Under double jeopardy protections, defendants are protected from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.
This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.
