Luigi Mangione’s state murder trial will not begin next month as planned, with a judge now set to consider whether the case can move forward at all.

Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024, had been scheduled to stand trial Sept. 8. The judge has removed the trial from the calendar while Mangione’s attorneys seek to have the state charges dismissed.

At the center of the defense challenge is Mangione’s recent guilty plea in his federal case.

His lawyers argue that because Mangione has already pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the same killing, putting him on trial in New York would violate the state’s double jeopardy law.

Mangione admits killing Thompson

Mangione pleaded guilty Friday to two federal stalking charges and, for the first time, admitted in court that he killed Thompson.

“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died. I knew what I was doing was illegal,” Mangione told the judge.

He also spoke about what he said motivated the killing, pointing to his own experiences with chronic pain and the healthcare system.

Mangione described “years of enduring severe pain from a broken back and navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system.”

What remains unclear is why he specifically targeted Thompson, 50. UnitedHealthcare has said Mangione was never a customer of the company.

Thompson was shot outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024, in a killing captured by surveillance cameras.

Mangione’s guilty plea to the federal stalking charges carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. His federal sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18, and prosecutors say they will seek a life sentence.

State case remains unresolved

Despite the federal plea, Mangione still faces second-degree murder and weapons charges in New York state court.

Manhattan prosecutors are expected to fight the defense effort to dismiss those charges. They have until Oct. 9 to respond to Mangione’s motion.

The dispute means the state murder case is effectively on hold while the judge considers whether prosecutors are legally permitted to proceed.

Mangione’s next state court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10.

That hearing will come just eight days before his federal sentencing, setting up a consequential December for a case that has now shifted from the question of whether Mangione killed Thompson to how—and in which court—he will ultimately be punished.