Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal court Friday

File photo. Photo: security camera / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024, is expected to plead guilty at a federal court hearing Friday morning, sources familiar with the matter told multiple news outlets. The hearing is set for 11 a.m. at the 40 Foley Square courthouse in Manhattan.

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to both federal and state charges. Sources cautioned that plea negotiations are ongoing, and nothing is final until he enters a plea in open court. Neither the prosecution nor defense teams are commenting.

The case drew national attention and sparked a broad debate about the health insurance industry. For Northeast Philadelphia residents who followed the manhunt through Pennsylvania, where Mangione was ultimately captured, Friday's hearing could mark the beginning of the end of a saga that has stretched nearly 21 months.

Charges narrowed since 2024 indictments

Thompson, 50, was shot and killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police said the words "delay," "deny," and "depose" were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Mangione was indicted on first-degree murder charges on Dec. 17, 2024, according to 6abc. Federal prosecutors announced separate charges of stalking and murder on Dec. 19, 2024.

Both cases have narrowed significantly since then. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in January threw out the federal murder and firearm charges, which would have made the death penalty an option if convicted. Mangione now faces two federal charges of stalking resulting in death, each carrying a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.

In the state case, Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges. Mangione is still charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Mangione met with lawyers at detention center Thursday

A source familiar with the matter told NBC New York that Mangione met with his lawyers Thursday morning at the Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of Friday's hearing. Plea talks were ongoing, and Mangione can choose to accept or reject any deal at any time.

NBC New York first reported in June that plea talks were underway, and reported Tuesday on the possibility of a deal unfolding at Friday's hearing. Prosecutors and the defense team sent a letter to federal court Tuesday requesting the Friday conference, CBS News reported.

The hearing will take place in a ceremonial courtroom, a larger space that can accommodate extra seating for the press and public, a court spokesperson confirmed to NBC10 Philadelphia.

A 3D-printed gun and a notebook

At a May 18 hearing, Judge Carro ruled that a gun and notebook prosecutors say link Mangione to the killing can be used as evidence against him. The gun, a 3D-printed pistol, matches the one used to kill Thompson, prosecutors said. The notebook describes wanting to "wack" a health insurance executive and rebelling against "the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel."

Thompson had worked at UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021.

Legal experts told CBS News that the case's national attention and the supporters Mangione has gained could be a factor in the federal government's willingness to negotiate.

"You have a raised possibility of what we call juror nullification, wherein a jury gets seated and there's someone in there that just, regardless of hearing any of the evidence, is never going to vote to convict Luigi Mangione," CBS News legal analyst Caroline Polisi said.

Double jeopardy could end the state case

A federal plea deal is likely to result in the state criminal charges getting thrown out because of New York's double jeopardy rules, NBC New York reported. Double jeopardy refers to a law that says a person may not be prosecuted twice for the same offense, though exceptions exist.

CBS News legal expert Richard Schoenstein said the question of whether double jeopardy applies is "open and complicated and subject to debate." The federal charges involve stalking and interstate offenses, while the state charges cover second-degree murder, weapons possession, and a forged instrument charge.

"So the weapons and forged instrument charges would not be resolved by the federal plea, and arguably the intentional killing charge would not be resolved. I do think there's a serious question as to whether this would be double jeopardy," Schoenstein said.

CBS News legal analyst Polisi noted that New York state has "more robust protections for defendants around the double jeopardy laws," calling it an issue that "could be a real issue here, at least one that would merit litigation, if not dismissal."

Schoenstein added that a federal plea would "put some pressure on state prosecutors to reach a deal of their own, or to become part of the deal that is being negotiated between the feds and the defendant."

State trial set for September, federal for January

Mangione's state trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Sept. 8. His federal trial had been set for January 2027.

In the federal system, a guilty plea does not automatically come with an agreed-upon sentence. Schoenstein explained that a defendant agrees to a plea and the crime, then faces a separate sentencing hearing before the judge. Both sides could suggest a reduced sentence, but the judge makes the final call.

"Maybe both parties try to, either by a binding agreement or by a suggestion to the court, say, 'We want some sort of reduced sentence, less than the life in federal prison that was the possibility here,'" CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson said.

It remained unclear Thursday night which specific charges Mangione would plead guilty to, and sources stressed he could reverse his decision at the last minute.

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