Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to stalking
Luigi Mangione has groupies show up in court
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Friday in Manhattan federal court to two stalking charges connected to the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
By SyndicatedNews True Crime | SNN.BZ
During the hearing, the 28-year-old read a prepared statement outlining the steps he took to locate Thompson and carry out the act.
Mangione stated that after years of severe back pain from a broken back and difficulties navigating the health insurance system, he learned UnitedHealthcare planned to hold its annual investor conference in New York City on December 4, 2024. The specific location of the event was not publicly disclosed.
He traveled to Manhattan in November 2024. Before the trip, he used a 3D printer to produce a firearm and equipped it with a silencer and magazine. Once in the city, he emailed UnitedHealthcare leadership while posing as an investor affiliated with a firm managing more than $50 billion in assets. The message requested information about the conference.
“Unlike my previous interactions with insurers, I received an immediate response within an hour,” Mangione told the court, according to reports of his statement. He used the details provided in that response to determine the conference would take place at the New York Hilton Midtown.
On the morning of December 4, 2024, Mangione shot Thompson outside the hotel as the executive arrived early for the event. “I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” he said. “When I did so, I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or serious bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
Thompson, 50, was chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group. Mangione was never a customer of the company, according to earlier police statements.
U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett accepted the guilty plea to one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December 18. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the maximum penalty. Mangione entered the plea without a negotiated agreement with the government.
Thompson’s widow, Paulette Thompson, was present in the courtroom and appeared emotional during the proceedings. Mangione’s defense team has filed a motion seeking dismissal of separate New York state murder charges on double-jeopardy grounds.
The federal case stemmed from the high-profile shooting that prompted a multi-state manhunt ending with Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania days later. The court appearance marked the first time Mangione publicly detailed the specific method he used to confirm the conference location.
