Luigi Mangione was charged with ambushing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel as he walked to an annual investor conference16:46, 14 Aug 2026Updated 17:20, 14 Aug 2026Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.‌The 28-year-old was charged with ambushing Thompson, 50, outside a New York City hotel on December 4, 2024, as the insurance executive walked to an annual investor conference.‌Mangione entered his plea at a federal court with the hearing having been hastily requested by prosecutors and defence lawyers earlier this week.‌He said he learned that UnitedHealthcare would be holding an investor conference in New York, he researched online and used a 3D printer to make part of a gun. "I travelled to New York with the intent to shoot Brian Thompson," he said. "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died.“I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”‌Mangione told the court in a prepared statement of having suffered for a long time with back pain. When he admitted to killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, his widow Paulette Thompson began to sob and was comforted by two women next to her.The defendant replied "guilty" when US District Judge Margaret Garnett asked how he pleaded to the two counts in the indictment. The judge said she would enter his plea.In a news conference afterwards his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said he accepted “full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson” with his guilty plea.‌She added: “As Luigi explained in court today, he endured years of severe, debilitating pain following a broken back while struggling to navigate our healthcare and health insurance systems."Like the thousands of people who have reached out since this tragedy to share their own experiences, he believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life."‌The family of Mr Thompson said in a statement that today’s guilty plea “marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family.”The statement continued: “While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable. Now we look to the court to ensure the sentencing reflects the severity of this crime.”A trial on state murder charges is scheduled to start next month and it is unclear whether that will go forward after Mangione pleaded guilty in the federal case. Mangione faces two federal charges that he stalked Thompson to cause his death which he has now pleaded guilty to.‌Mangione's defence team has requested for the state charges to be dropped, said his lawyer Ms Friedman Agnifilo. Both the federal and state cases could lead to a life prison sentence while a federal judge earlier this year tossed out additional charges that could have exposed Mangione to a potential death penalty.Mangione had complained about the prospect of two trials, telling a judge in February: "It's the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any common sense definition."‌Under New York law, a state prosecution could potentially be barred if the federal case is resolved first. The state's double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea. Mangione's cases involve different charges arising from the same course of conduct.In a letter last month, state prosecutors objected to the possibility of a guilty plea in the federal case wiping out the state case.Judge Garnett in previously delivered some setbacks to the defence, including ruling in January that prosecutors could use items collected from Mangione's backpack during his arrest as evidence against him.‌They included a 3D-printed pistol that investigators said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to kill an insurance executive.In June, Mangione's lawyers said they would pursue a psychiatric defence in the state case but reversed course a day later. The defence, involving claims that he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the killing, isn't allowed in federal court.Surveillance video of the killing showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say "delay," "deny" and "depose" were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.Article continues belowMangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan. He has become a cause celebre for some people upset with the health insurance industry.