'I shot Mr Thompson': Stunning confession in US health exec's slaying

Luigi Mangione spoke slowly and deliberately as he admitted to shooting US health care executive Brian Thompson, in a stunning confession befitting a crime that has gripped the United States. 

"I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died," Mangione, wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit, told a packed New York courtroom Friday. "I knew what I was doing was illegal."

The 28-year-old, who has gained cult-like support from people angry over America's for-profit health system, had long denied his role in the 2024 killing.

But on Friday, as he pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges, he delivered an unflinching account to a court that included Thompson's family members.

"After years of enduring severe pain from a broken back and navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system, I learned that UnitedHealthcare would be holding its annual investor conference in New York City," he said.

Thompson was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, and US media had previously reported that Mangione suffered a broken back in a 2022 surfing accident.

Mangione explained that he obtained the exact venue -- a Hilton hotel -- after emailing UnitedHealthcare posing as a firm with $50 million in assets.

"Unlike my previous interactions with insurers, I received an immediate response within an hour," he said.

The computer science graduate, with his short dark hair and stubble neatly groomed, detailed how he made the weapon with a 3D printer before fitting it with a silencer and magazine.

Then, he added, "I traveled to New York with the intention to shoot Brian Thompson."

What came next, on December 4, 2024, was caught on haunting surveillance footage: A hooded gunman emerges from shadows to shoot Thompson in the back on a Manhattan street.

The suited executive stumbles, turning to face his attacker, before being shot again and crumbling to the pavement. The shooter then runs from the area.

Five days later, police arrested Mangione at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania after a staff member recognized his distinctive thick eyebrows from images shared by authorities.

Police found a 3D-printed gun and an apparent handwritten manifesto in his backpack.

Prosecutor Dominic Gentile said that and other evidence would have been used if the case had gone to trial.

He told the court other footage showed Mangione stalking Thompson around Manhattan a day before the executive was killed.

Mangione appeared attentive throughout the hearing, reading paperwork in front of him and occasionally taking notes.

Beyond his prepared statement, Mangione mostly answered "Yes" or "I do" to a long line of questions from the judge verifying his competence to plead guilty.

He sat between his two high-profile lawyers, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, who represented Sean "Diddy" Combs in his sex trafficking trial.

An online legal fund for Mangione's defense has raised over $1.5 million, largely driven by people also angry about the private health care system.

Some supporters were at the court on Friday alongside dozens of journalists. Tourists also watched the plea hearing, including one man visiting New York for a wedding.

"I couldn't go to the baseball so I figured I'd come here" he told AFP.