Breaking: Mangione Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

Hey, it's Brad coming to you with a special episode on a Friday afternoon, because there is breaking news in the case of Luigi Mangione. Remember, he is facing both state and federal charges in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He had pleaded not guilty to them all, but today he did in fact plead guilty in federal court specifically to both stalking charges he was facing there. So what does this mean for the case, especially for that state case, which is still slated to go to trial? ABC just wrapped up a special report, ABC's Cure Phillips is anchoring. You'll also hear from Aaron Katerzky and Brian Buckmeyer. We're going to play that back for you right now to see you have the very latest. For more, remember to check out ABC's podcast burden of proof Luigi Mangione, right? Here's Cure Phillips. So let's get right to our chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katerzky. He's outside court there in New York City. Aaron, you were in that courtroom, Mangione actually spoke in court, admitted to the murder, and this was also the first time that we've ever seen Paulette, Brian Thompson's widow in person. This had to be gut wrenching for her to hear Mangione confirm that he indeed killed her husband. After nearly two years of maintaining, he was not guilty of killing Brian Thompson. Luigi Mangione sat up the defense table, cropped hair, stubble on his face, beige jail uniform, and admitted to a federal judge, I shot Brian Thompson in Manhattan and he died. He said that he stalked Brian Thompson. After learning, there would be an investor conference for United Health Care. He didn't know the exact location, Cure. He said he emailed United Health Care, posing as an investor with $50 million in capital, so that he could learn it would be at a hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. And from there, it's Mangione seen on video shooting Brian Thompson in the back. Thompson said he used a 3D printer to make the murder weapon himself. This was, as you say Cure, gut wrenching for Brian Thompson's family. They have never been to court until today. His widow, Paulette, seen weeping as Mangione entered in the hearing began and then to hear him admit after all of this time that he shot her husband. It was too much and she was consoled by other members of her family. Wow. Let's bring in our legal analyst, Brian, Buck Meyer, Brian. What does this all mean for Mangione now? And what can you tell us about this judge? Yeah, so the judge in federal court has now taken the guilty plea from Mangione and from what I'm hearing as the next sentence date would be December 18th of this year, almost two years after Brian Thompson was gunned down and a lot longer, a lot past, when the state court is set to do a trial. Now as I understand this judge has a phenomenal background, as you can see, they're nominated in 2023. But to go even further, she was in the AUSA or the Southern Dichots of New York as a prosecutor for many years. She was actually the chief of violent crimes from 2011 to 2014, as well as the chief of appeals from 2016 to 2017. She knows these types of cases. She understands the type of punishment that could be handed out, that should be handed out, and would survive appeal. It's a very broad spectrum in terms of what Luigi Mangione could be facing, mandatory minimum of zero years in prison, but it's high as a life in prison, and they're leaving this all up to the judge to kind of decide what should happen here. And Brian, we should point out that this wasn't just a stocking charge, as we usually know, a stocking charge and you file a restraining order. This was stocking that resulted in death. So let's talk about that for a minute, and also how today's decision will impact the state case. Yeah, so in federal court, if you're charged or convicted of stocking, the sentence is actually, I believe, zero to five years. But if stocking occurs and there are greater injuries, like serious harm, serious injury, or in this case, death, those maximums rise, and so it becomes a possibility of life in prison. So I'm just going to look at this and say, "If this isn't just stocking, it's stocking that involves death." And when look at that in terms of appropriate sentencing, now, as it applies to the state case, I think the play here is, and I say this as a defense attorney, and it kind of makes sense to me, resolve the federal case, try to get a good offer, because by the time he gets sentenced, Mangione's already been in prison for two years, that's 24 months. Maybe you get a sentence in the middle of zero to life, maybe somewhere around 12, 15 years. And if you think you can do so, that way you can get a very good deal overall on federal court, stay in federal prison, and try to make the double jeopardy argument that popped up in one of the rulings in the state court, and try to get the state case to go away. That would mean that Mangione was facing death at one point, and if the defense does this right, which I think is a long shot and a bit of a Hail Mary, they could be looking at single digits in prison, and that would be a win for them. Aaron, Brian Thompson sure had a lot of support in that courtroom. But what about Mangione? Was his family inside court? Almost no support for Luigi Mangione on such a monumental day as he admits to shooting and killing Brian Thompson, members of his family, did not appear to be in court. They've never been in court for any of the proceedings so far. And Kira, there were a few of his supporters who show up consistently, but none of them were very. advirtant. They can't wear t-shirts, buttons, anything that identifies them as a Mangione supporter in federal court. So the atmosphere was more muted than we've seen it outside. It does not appear to be very many of Mangione supporters here, not like in the past when we've seen signs and chanting, megaphone, none of that as Mangione now admits that he stalked and killed Brian Thompson. He did say, Kira, that he had suffered for years with severe back pain. He said that he came to understand the suffering that people go through with the health care system. He was never a client of United Health Care, he had a different insurance company. So this guilty plea certainly resolves the charges, but it doesn't fully explain why he ended up doing this, why United Health Care, why Brian Thompson, other than he learned there to be an investor conference, and he duped the company to learn its exact location. "Iranke Tursky, Brian Buckmeyer. Thank you both." Alright, that was ABC's Kira Phillips. Lots still to come here, so keep it on ABC News live throughout the weekend, and remember, burden of proof Luigi Mangione, the ABC audio podcast specifically about this case. Sure, there's lots more coming on that feed. I'm Brad Milky. I'll see you Monday. The entries unravel and stunning truths are revealed when 2020 investigates. Follow the clues, the evidence, the breaking new details. ABC's 2020 News, True Murder Mystery, If you follow True Crime in 2020, then you've got to listen to this. Subscribe now to 2020 True Crime Plus. Add free exclusive True Crime content. Search 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start your free trial. Next, let's see what happens in the next episode of The True Crime Plus. Let's see what happens in the next episode of The True Crime Plus. Let's see what happens in the next episode of The True Crime Plus.