Luigi Mangione, who was accused in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, admitted to the killing in federal court on Friday.
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The 28-year-old former Ivy Leaguer read a statement in court saying, “I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” and that he “knew what I was doing was illegal,” according to Forbes.
Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in the New York courthouse, which could carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Earlier this year, the judge in his federal case dropped the most serious charges against Mangione, taking away the option of the death penalty against him.
“After years of enduring severe pain from a broken back,” Mangione said he learned of a UnitedHealthcare conference that was taking place in New York City and did research to find out where exactly it was taking place and who would be in attendance, per CNN.
Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s five days after Thompson was gunned down hours before attending the healthcare conference in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024.
“Before traveling to New York, I used a 3D printer to make a gun,” he admitted, and traveled to New York with the intent on killing Thompson, according to Fox News.
“On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione told the court. “I knew what I was doing.”
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Now that he’s entered a plea, there will no longer be a trial in the federal case.
It is unclear what will happen to his state case, which is set for trial next month.
It could put the trial at risk under New York’s double jeopardy law that prohibits an individual from being prosecuted more than once for the same offense.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office could push back on the plea deal, having previously claimed “primary jurisdiction” for charging the alleged killer before the U.S. government did.
U.S. Judge Margaret Garnett told Mangione she would not be handing down a sentence on Friday.
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