Luigi Mangione has now admitted to shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, delivering a stunning courtroom confession after previously fighting the criminal cases against him.
Mangione told the court exactly what led him to Manhattan and what happened next.
“After years of enduring severe pain from a broken back… I learned UnitedHealth would be holding an investor conference in New York City. I then researched the event online. I observed the annual conference of America’s largest healthcare organization with the stated mission to make the healthcare system better for everyone.
I traveled to New York and emailed UnitedHealthcare with the intent to kill Brian Thompson… I shot Mr. Thompson in the back. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
He reinforced the admission with another direct statement.
“On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione told the court.
The confession marks a dramatic turn for the University of Pennsylvania graduate, who had previously maintained not guilty pleas as his case became one of the most closely watched criminal proceedings in America.
Mangione, 28, grew up in a prominent Maryland family, graduated as valedictorian from Baltimore’s Gilman School and earned bachelor’s and master’s engineering degrees from Penn. In the years after college, he lived in places including Hawaii and documented struggles with chronic back pain.
Authorities arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson was killed.
His federal case included stalking and firearms charges, while a federal murder count eligible for the death penalty was dismissed. New York prosecutors separately charged Mangione with second-degree murder, weapons offenses and possession of a forged instrument.
His admission now fundamentally reshapes a case that has generated intense debate surrounding healthcare, violence and the American criminal justice system.