Paulette Thompson stood face to face with Luigi Mangione on Friday as he admitted guilt in the federal case linked to the murder of her husband, former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Emerging from the courthouse following Mangione’s plea, Paulette Thompson witnessed the man responsible for her husband’s death acknowledge his crime. Mangione confessed to federal stalking charges connected to the assassination of Brian Thompson, in a dramatic moment that unfolded in a Manhattan courtroom.
In a significant turn of events, Mangione conceded to the grave charges of federal stalking related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, before a judicial audience in New York City.
During the hearing, Judge Margaret Garnett questioned Mangione on whether he was aware of the life sentence potential accompanying his plea. His answer was a resolute affirmation: “Yes.”
After Mangione’s guilty plea in the federal courtroom, Paulette Thompson was captured on camera leaving the Manhattan Criminal Court, a scene depicting her silent resilience. (Photo: Rashid Umar Abbasi for News Media)
When given the opportunity to address the court, Mangione told a judge he called UnitedHealthcare and posed as an investor in order to get more information about the scheduled conference.
“After years if enduring severe pain from a broken back…I learned UnitedHealthcare will hold an investor’s conference,” Mangione said.
Paulette Thompson, wife of late UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, walks outside Manhattan Criminal Court following a hearing in the federal murder trial of Luigi Mangione, who is charged in the killing of Brian Thompson, in New York City, U.S., August 14, 2026. Luigi Mangione admitted in court on Friday to killing Brian Thompson and pleaded guilty to federal charges of stalking the executive with the intent to kill him. (David Dee Delgado/Reuters)
“Before traveling to New York,I used a 3-D printer to make a gun,” he added. “On the morning of Dec 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan…I knew what I was doing .”
Federal prosecutors said they intended to show several pieces of evidence at trial, including security footage apparently showing Mangione arriving in New York on a bus and then following Thompson around the Hilton shortly before he was killed.
A hooded man aiming a handgun in this still image taken from surveillance video on the morning of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024. The video shows the assassin approach from behind and open fire with a handgun, killing Thompson outside a Manhattan Hilton hotel. (NYPD)
Garnett scheduled Mangione’s sentencing hearing for Dec. 18.
After the hearing, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch sent a sharp message to people who support Mangione.
Luigi Mangioni is escorted from an NYPD helicopter in New York City, NY, Thursday, December, 19, 2024. Mangione is the prime suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for News Media)
“To those who idolize Luigi Mangione. I say this violence is not a cause. Murder is not a message. And a killer is certainly not a hero,” Tisch said. “From the moment that Mr. Thompson was assassinated on the morning of December 4th. The NYPD mobilized an enormous investigative effort. Our detectives combed through thousands of hours of surveillance video, followed up on hundreds of tips, and worked through an extraordinary volume of forensic and digital evidence.”