Luigi Mangione Has Pleaded Guilty in Federal Court and Admitted Shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO; Manhattan Prosecutors Oppose Dropping the State Murder Case
NEW YORK — The killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson continues on two judicial tracks: Luigi Mangione, charged with shooting Thompson, pleaded guilty in federal court in August and admitted in court that he fired the shots; his lawyers are now seeking dismissal of the New York state murder charges, Manhattan prosecutors have formally opposed that move, and the state trial is on hold pending a judge's ruling expected in December.
Thompson was shot on the morning of December 4, 2024, outside the Hilton hotel near 1335 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, where he was due to attend his company's investor conference. Mangione was arrested on December 9, 2024, at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania; police said a 3D-printed firearm found in his backpack matched shell casings from the scene, along with a notebook expressing anger at the health-insurance industry.
On the federal track, Mangione pleaded guilty on August 14 before Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan federal court to two counts of stalking resulting in death, admitting that he shot Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, 2024. Prosecutors said the plea was an open plea with no agreement with the defense. Federal sentencing is set for December 18, and he faces up to life in prison. Judges in both the federal and state cases earlier dismissed the most serious portions of the charges, including state terrorism-related counts and a federal murder count.
On the state track, Mangione has pleaded not guilty; the state indictment includes second-degree murder and criminal possession of a forged instrument, among other counts. Jury selection had been set for September 8, but the trial was postponed after the defense moved to dismiss: it argues that the federal stalking case and the state murder case arise from the same conduct, and that counts three through ten should be dismissed under New York's protections against successive prosecutions.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a 42-page response on October 9 opposing dismissal, arguing that the federal stalking offenses and the state murder and weapons counts involve different legal elements and different harms, and asking that any dismissal be without prejudice so the state could refile if the federal conviction were ever overturned. The defense reply is due October 30, and Justice Gregory Carro has set a hearing on the dismissal motion for December 10. Mangione also faces an unresolved case in Pennsylvania.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联邦调查局（FBI）2024年12月就 Thompson 遇害案发布的协查海报，含嫌疑人监控画面（资料图）。Photo: FBI seeking-information poster issued in December 2024 in the Thompson killing, with surveillance images of the suspect (file image).
