(NEW YORK) — It’s expected that a guilty plea will be announced in connection with the federal prosecution of Luigi Mangione during a conference scheduled for federal court Friday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The sources caution that plans for the guilty plea are not final at this point and will not be official until announced at the hearing, which is set for 11 a.m. Friday. The situation is fluid and Mangione could conceivably decide against pleading guilty between now and Friday.
Neither the prosecution nor defense teams are commenting on the situation.
Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, in Midtown Manhattan, and he was captured in Pennsylvania after a five-day manhunt. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that Mangione was indicted on first degree murder charges on Dec. 17, 2024, and federal prosecutors announced separate charges of stalking and murder on Dec. 19, 2024.
Mangione pleaded not guilty in the separate state and federal cases.
The charges in both cases have narrowed over the last year. 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. Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges in the state case.
In the state case, Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges. In the state case, Mangione is still charged with murder in the second-degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second-degree, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree.
Mangione is scheduled to stand trial in the state case beginning Sept. 8. His federal trial was set for Jan. 5.
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