The man suspected of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO charged with murder
By Addison Brewer-Hay
Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested Monday for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. After investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses, the 26 year-old suspect was seen by a McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania.
After being notified of Mangione’s sighting, police in Altoona, Pennsylvania were sent to the scene. Upon their arrival Mangione was sitting in the back of the restaurant looking at a laptop and wearing a blue medical face mask.
When asked for identification, Mangione provided a fake ID. However, after an officer questioned him about his last visit to New York, the complaint stated that he “became quiet and started to shake.”
After pulling his mask down, officers stated they were almost certain he was the guy.
Following his arrest, in a Manhattan news conference, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel. He also had other fraudulent IDs in his possession.
Furthermore, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America”
According to a law enforcement official who spoke with The Associated Press but asked to remain anonymous, the document stated that Mangione claimed to have acted independently.
“To save you a lengthy investigation,” the document allegedly wrote, “I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.”
It also stated, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
The murder of Thompson, 50, took place as he was walking alone Dec. 4 to a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investor complex. Following the incident, police concluded that the attack was done by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson and who came up behind him firing a 9 mm pistol.
According to investigators, the bullets were engraved with “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” mimicking “delay, deny, defend,” a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry.
CEO Brian Thompson was killed Wednesday as he walked alone to a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Police quickly came to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson, came up behind him and fired a 9 mm pistol.
Leaving the scene, surveillance video showed the shooter fleeing by bike into Central Park, and taking a taxi to a northern Manhattan bus terminal.
Once in Pennsylvania, he traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, “trying to stay low-profile,” said Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens.
Immediately following his arrest, Mangione was held in a Pennsylvania jail for “possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.” Later that evening, prosecutors added the charge of murder and intend to relocate him to New York.
Currently, it is unclear whether or not Mangione has an attorney to answer to or defend his claims.
In court, Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said that Mangione was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash, $2,000 of it in foreign currency, further complicating his potential charges.
Following Mangione’s arrest, family have come forward to express their shock regarding his alleged crimes. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said on social media, “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
A highs chool valedictorian and a graduate from University of Pennsylvania, peers reflected on his high school graduation speech where he encouraged his classmates to lead with “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.”
Until Mangione can be transferred to a New York penitentiary, an extradition proceeding is set for Tuesday afternoon.