Mangione expected to plead guilty in murder case of insurance CEO: reports

Defence lawyers for Luigi Mangione, seated at right, and state prosecutors have requested a meeting with the judge, with reports suggesting a potential plea agreement. Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO /POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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Luigi Mangione’s lawyers are discussing a possible guilty plea to resolve U.S. charges relating to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson, but no deal has been finalized, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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The plea talks come ahead of a Friday hearing that U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett set after federal prosecutors and defence lawyers jointly requested one. Court records didn’t identify the purpose of the hearing, and it’s possible they won’t reach a deal, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.

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The New York Times reported Thursday that Mangione is expected to plead guilty in federal court, where he faces stalking charges, but the specifics weren’t immediately clear and any deal could fall apart. Mangione’s lawyers and the federal government also had talks in late June, but those discussions failed to reach a deal, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

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Mangione, 28, faces both federal and New York state charges over the shooting of Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealth held an investor conference. Despite the horrific nature of the crime, Mangione has become a folk hero for many who say he expressed their rage at the healthcare system.

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Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.

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A guilty plea would let Mangione avoid a trial in Manhattan federal court, which is scheduled to start Jan. 5. He faces two U.S. charges of stalking resulting in death that carry a potential for life in prison without parole. It’s unclear whether Mangione is also weighing a plea deal in New York state court, where jury selection is set for Sept. 8 on second-degree murder and other charges.

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Lawyers for Mangione declined to comment, as did spokespeople for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A spokesman for the Thompson family also declined to comment.

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Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and former data engineer, has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

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Mangione’s lawyers have succeeded in paring back both cases. They persuaded Garnett to dismiss a federal murder charge that could have led to the death penalty, and won dismissal of a first-degree murder charge by Bragg. New York Judge Gregory Carro limited some evidence that state prosecutors can use against him. That ruling eliminated a possible mandatory life term in that case. If convicted in state court, he faces 25 years to life in prison.

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If Mangione pleads guilty in federal court, his lawyers could argue that he can’t face trial in state court under New York’s double jeopardy law that prohibits defendants from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. But Bragg’s prosecutors are likely to oppose any attempt to invoke double jeopardy, saying the legal elements of the federal and state crimes are different, according to veteran defence lawyers not involved in the case. The decision is up to Judge Carro.