Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old techie accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk, had no prior connection to the health insurance giant, the New York Police Department has revealed.
Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Mangione, arrested earlier this week after a five-day manhunt, may have targeted Thompson because of UnitedHealthcare’s size and influence.
Mangione had a handwritten note referencing the company when police found him. Investigators have uncovered evidence that he had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City, Kenny said.
MANGIONE’S STRUGGLES WITH BACK PAIN
Once a high school valedictorian and scion of a wealthy Baltimore family, Mangione graduated from an Ivy League university and cultivated an active social media presence. For years, his posts featured smiling travel photos, weightlifting routines, and reflections on personal health challenges – mainly with a chronic spinal condition known as spondylolisthesis.
In a post on online forum Reddit back in July 2023, he expressed regret about delaying surgery after hurting his back while surfing in Hawaii: “I got caught in this loop for a year, all the while putting my life on hold in my 20’s and damaging my nerves while I waffled on the decision. I have surgery scheduled in two weeks and I keep wondering why I was so afraid of it.”
After undergoing spinal surgery, Mangione became an advocate for the procedure, sharing his experience on Reddit and offering advice to others.
“Surgery was painful for the first couple days, but I was shocked that by day 7 I was on literally zero pain meds,” he wrote in August that year.
According to news agency Associated Press (AP), Mangione’s posts at this time were largely devoid of criticisms of corporate greed in the health insurance industry, a theme that appeared later in the handwritten “manifesto” found at the time of his arrest.
ASIA TRIP, THEN SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE
Mangione dropped off social media and fell out of touch with friends and family earlier this year after embarking on a solo backpacking trip through Asia, visiting countries like Japan and Thailand.
“I want some time to zen out,” he said in an April audio message sent to a friend while hiking in Japan’s Nara region, reported the New York Post.
(Luigi Mangione on his trip to Japan. Credits: X/Obara Jun)
By midsummer, his social media accounts went dormant, and his mother reported him missing on November 18, just two weeks before Thompson’s December 4 killing.
Little is known about Mangione’s mental state in recent months, but law enforcement sources suggest he had been withdrawing from close relationships.
WHAT NEXT FOR MANGIONE?
The multi-state manhunt for Mangione ended on Monday when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, nearly 200 miles from the site of the shooting. Police relied heavily on surveillance footage and public tips to locate him.
Mangione now faces charges of murder in New York, alongside Pennsylvania charges related to a 3D-printed gun and fake ID found in his possession. His lawyer denies his involvement in Thompson’s killing and says Mangione plans to plead not guilty to all charges.
Mangione was refused bail during a Tuesday court appearance in Pennsylvania and remains in custody.
The killing of Thompson, a prominent figure in the health insurance industry, has divided the internet, with many Americans expressing outrage over corporate practices in the healthcare sector. Some social media users have even cast Mangione as a folk hero, reflecting public anger over the industry’s perceived failings.