Luigi Mangione is reportedly expected to plead guilty to federal charges over the killing of healthcare boss Brian Thompson.

Sources told NBC News, Sky's US partner, about the development - which comes less than a month before his state murder case is set to begin.

The 28-year-old is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street in December 2024.

Thompson was killed by a masked assailant and Mangione was arrested five days later in a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.

NBC News understands that making a deal could see state criminal charges thrown out due to New York's "double jeopardy" rule protecting people from being tried twice over the same crime.

Mangione is due in court for the federal case on Friday but his lawyers and the Justice Department declined to comment on any potential deal.

He's currently charged with stalking resulting in death, which carries a potential life sentence.

Sources told NBC News negotiations over a deal were ongoing and nothing was confirmed.

If he does plead guilty to federal charges, his lawyers are expected to try to get some or all of the state charges scrapped. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and seven other charges in that case.

Earlier this week, the judge said the murder trial, which is expected to start in September, would be heard by an anonymous jury.

Though jurors are not normally anonymous in the US, judges are increasingly choosing to shield them in high-profile cases to guard against harassment or intimidation.

The case is expected to draw huge attention due to the notoriety of the case and the fact Mangione has been lauded as a hero by some on internet forums and social media.

Prosecutors claim they can prove Mangione's guilt with hundreds of hours of CCTV, ⁠fingerprints, DNA, a phone, a gun with matching ballistics, and a ​notebook in which he allegedly wrote of hating insurers and wanting ​to kill.

In July, a court filing indicated his lawyers might argue Mangione had lost control ⁠due to an extreme mental breakdown. However, they have not conceded he was the gunman.

(c) Sky News 2026: Luigi Mangione 'expected to plead guilty' to federal charges over killing of healthc