New York man pleads guilty to cyberstalking family of murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO
A man accused of threatening the family of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—hours after he was killed outside a hotel in New York City in December 2024—has admitted to his crime.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Shane Daley, 40, of New York state, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, admitting to making calls to the family between December 4 and 7, 2024, complete with voicemails celebrating the death of Thompson and saying that his children deserved the same fate.
“Shane Daley celebrated the cold-blooded murder of Brian Thompson and senselessly tried to maximize the Thompson family’s suffering,” First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said in a statement. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that federal law enforcement will not tolerate such sickening conduct.”
“I commend the hard work of the FBI and members of my office and the Southern District of New York for bringing Daley to justice,” he added.
Details—such as where Daley obtained the phone numbers and how federal authorities tracked him down—have not been revealed.
Daley was arrested in August 2025 on the charges of cyberstalking. At the time, the DOJ said he faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison, plus a $250,000 fine and an additional three years of supervised release.
It’s not clear whether or not he pleaded guilty this week as part of a deal with prosecutors. Regardless, Daley avoids going to trial.
The DOJ did not reveal any details regarding sentencing stipulations. In fact, the agency said he still faces the same maximum penalty.
Daley is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2026.
Alleged murderer faces two murder trials
Thompson was shot multiple times while on his way to a UnitedHealth investor meeting in Midtown Manhattan. The man accused of killing him is 27-year-old Luigi Mangione, who is in jail awaiting trial on charges of murder in both state and federal court.
Mangione, a Maryland native, has pleaded not guilty. Preliminary matters in the cases are still ongoing and a date for the state trial, the first of the two, has yet to be set.
If convicted, Mangione faces 25 years to life in prison.
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