Man charged with stalking UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s family after shooting
A New York man has been charged with harassing a relative of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson after he allegedly left chilling voicemails “expressing satisfaction” over his death.
Thompson was fatally shot outside of a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4. He was laid to rest at a private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on December 9. That same day, murder suspect Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania following a week-long manhunt.
Mangione is now facing the death penalty at the direction of President Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi. He has maintained his innocence ever since his arrest.
Shane Daley, 40, of Galway, New York, was arrested and charged on Wednesday after he was accused of placing multiple calls to one of Thompson’s family members days after the shooting. Police say the suspect justified the killing, saying that the family member deserved to die similarly, according to a criminal complaint.
“Daley used threatening and harassing language that focused on, among other things, Thompson’s killing, expressed satisfaction over the fact and manner of his death, and stated that the victim and Thompson’s children deserved to meet the same violent end,” a Department of Justice statement read.
He was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon in Albany, New York. A CBS News video showed Daley entering the courtroom and hiding his face from the cameras.
In a statement, Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone said that “Brian Thompson was gunned down in midtown Manhattan. Daley, as alleged, gleefully welcomed this tragedy and did all that he could to increase the Thompson family’s pain and suffering.”
If convicted, Daley could be met with a maximum term of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
“Shane Daley allegedly repeatedly harassed the grieving family of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare gunned down in New York City. The recurrent calls and messages in the days following Brian Thompson’s murder were more than callous and cold-hearted harassment – they were threatening and terrified a family already suffering following the violent death of their loved one,” FBI New York assistant director Christopher G. Raia said.
The killing of Thompson in December 2024 gained international attention within hours as a frantic manhunt for the killer unfolded. The case has continued to split opinion across America, with the Trump administration taking a hard line against Mangione.
Recently, Mangione’s defense team filed a letter to Judge Margaret M. Garnett, requesting that he be granted access to a laptop in order “to adequately prepare for trial and assist in his own defense,” which the court permitted.
The laptop will not be connected to the internet, and he will only be able to view case-related files like videos and documents, his defense attorney Karen Agnifilo wrote.
Mangione will next appear in the New York Supreme criminal court on September 16.
Mangione is being held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City. This facility has been described as “Hell on Earth” by a lawyer who represented a detainee who died there. It has held several high-profile individuals, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was moved from the facility in March.
Meanwhile, donations from Mangione’s supporters have topped $1.2 million so far in an online fundraiser for his defense.
