Luigi 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.
He also faces a raft 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.
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 some media previously reported was a possibility.
Prosecutors have recommended Mangione serve between 24 and 30 years in prison. But that is not binding and Judge Margaret Garnett said in court that she ultimately decides his sentence.
The maximum sentence is life in prison and there is no parole in the federal system.
Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Nada Tawfik in New York.
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