Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty. What happens to his other trial?
Getty ImagesLuigi Mangione has admitted killing UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson, pleading guilty to two federal charges related to the fatal shooting in 2024.
Mangione, 28, now faces up to a lifetime in prison when he is sentenced in December.
Before then, Mangione faces a slew of separate charges, including second degree murder, in a state trial beginning next month.
His admission today may throw a wrench in the state trial, as Mangione's lawyers argue he cannot be prosecuted twice for the same crime.
What did he plead guilty to?
Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal charges of stalking resulting in death on Friday.
"I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died," Mangione told a Manhattan courtroom, changing his initial plea of not guilty.
Federal prosecutors said the 28-year-old travelled across state lines and used surveillance to kill the healthcare boss.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.
Mangione has not made a plea deal with the prosecution, as US media previously reported was a possibility.
Plea deals, which don't exist in the UK, often include an exchange where the defendant gets a lighter sentence, or charges are dropped in exchange for a guilty plea.
Will his plea impact the upcoming state murder trial?
Mangione faced two separate criminal prosecutions: a federal trial and another in a New York state court.
Though he pleaded guilty in federal court, he still faces eight state charges, including second degree murder.
He has pleaded not guilty to all eight of those charges, and the trial is scheduled to start on 8 September.
On the steps of the court on Friday, his lawyers argued that because he already pleaded guilty to federal charges, the state case runs afoul of double jeopardy – a constitutional protection that prevents an individual from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.
Mitchell Epner, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said: "If a federal prosecution has been completed on a matter, the state cannot prosecute the matter on those same facts."
New York's state constitution prohibits double jeopardy, which could have a knock-on effect on Mangione's upcoming trial.
Mangione's lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said they had already filed a motion explaining why the state charges should be dismissed.
She added that Mangione has accepted "full responsibility" for Thompson's death.
What is Mangione charged with at state level?
Mangione currently faces eight total felony charges in New York state court:
- second degree murder
- possession of a forged instrument (for alleged fake driver's license)
- six counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
He has previously denied all these charges.
The 28-year-old was originally charged with three additional counts which have since been dropped by a judge: first degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, second degree murder as an act of terrorism, and criminal possession of a weapon.
If convicted, Mangione faces 25 years up to life in prison for the state charges.
Was Mangione facing the death penalty?
The US government initially charged Mangione with four crimes.
It included one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
But in January a federal judge dismissed that charge, ending the possibility of the death penalty.
Judge Margaret Garnett also dismissed one federal count related to discharging a weapon with a silencer, leaving just two federal charges remaining, both related to interstate stalking.
None of the state charges against Mangione can carry the death penalty because New York state declared capital punishment unconstitutional in 2004.