Shane Daley, 40, of Galway, pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal cyberstalking charge after leaving harassing and threatening voicemail messages for a family member of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in Manhattan last December. The plea was entered in federal court in Albany and resolves the federal harassment count against Daley. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2026.
According to FBI New York, Daley admitted that between December 4 and December 7, 2024, beginning just hours after Thompson’s killing, he placed multiple calls to a work phone used by a member of Thompson’s family and left voicemails that “expressed satisfaction over the fact and manner of his death” and threatened that the victim and Thompson’s children “deserved to meet the same violent end.” First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said, "Shane Daley celebrated the cold-blooded murder of Brian Thompson and senselessly tried to maximize the Thompson family’s suffering." The plea details were also outlined in a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.
What Prosecutors Say
Prosecutors say the voicemail campaign began almost immediately after the December shooting and featured profane, violent language that left the family terrified, closely tracking allegations in the original criminal complaint. As reported by The Associated Press, the messages repeatedly fixated on Thompson’s killing and included threats against his relatives.
Context: The Killing and Its Fallout
Thompson was shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024, while attending a company investor event, an attack that sparked multiple state and federal prosecutions of the alleged shooter and drew national attention. Coverage of the murder and ensuing legal battles, including federal indictments and motions over the charges, underscores the wider public scrutiny around threats, violence and targeted attacks on corporate figures. Reporting on the case is available from outlets including The Washington Post.
Legal Implications
Under the statute Daley pleaded to, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2026, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York. The FBI investigated the harassment, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua R. Rosenthal of the Northern District of New York alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic A. Gentile of the Southern District of New York.
The guilty plea resolves the federal cyberstalking count against Daley but does not affect the ongoing prosecutions connected to Brian Thompson’s killing. Authorities said the conviction should serve as a reminder that threats and harassment of victims and their families can carry serious federal consequences, even when delivered from behind a phone line.
