On Friday a federal judge dropped two of the four charges against Luigi Mangione — the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — making his case no longer eligible for the death penalty.
Mangione is accused of killing Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024 on a street in midtown Manhattan as he was walking to his hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference. Police say the words "delay," "deny" and "depose" were written on the ammunition used, referencing a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The charges of murder through use of a firearm (which made the case capital eligible) and a firearms offense were dropped, while two interstate stalking charges remain.
If found guilty, the maximum sentence he now faces is life without the possibility of parole.
The federal government has called the killing a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America."