Luigi Mangione, who is accused in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is expected to plead guilty to the federal charges against him in a special court conference on Friday, according to multiple news outlets.
The 28-year-old former Ivy Leaguer was apprehended at a McDonald’s five days after Thompson was gunned down hours before attending a healthcare conference in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024.
Mangione faces criminal charges in both federal and state cases, and previously pleaded not guilty to all charges in each case.
Though he previously faced the potential of the death penalty in the federal case and terrorism charges in the state case, the judges in each case have dropped the most serious of charges against Mangione.
He faces two federal interstate stalking charges in the federal case, which, if found guilty, could carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno told Fox News it’s unlikely that a defendant like Mangione would receive a maximum sentence.
“Rarely somebody with no background, who’s educated, gets the maximum sentences,” she said. “Is he looking at minimum sentences? No. But at the end of the day, he’s benefiting from more serious charges being dismissed.”
Accepting the plea deal would eliminate his January federal trial and could put his Sept. 8 state trial at risk under New York’s double jeopardy law that prohibits an individual from being prosecuted more than once for the same offense.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office could push back if a plea deal is reached in the federal case, having previously claimed “primary jurisdiction” for charging the alleged killer before the U.S. government did.
If the plea deal is not worked out, the federal trial is expected to take place in 2027, per the New York Post.