What We Know About Luigi Mangione: Alleged UnitedHealthcare Shooter Plans To Plead Not Guilty

Topline

Luigi Mangione—the 26-year-old suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—will plead not guilty to the charges he faces in Pennsylvania, his defense attorney Tom Dickey told reporters Tuesday, adding he expects Mangione to do the same in response to murder and other charges out of New York.

Key Facts

Mangione was charged Monday night with second-degree murder, three weapons possession-related charges and one forgery charge in Manhattan state court, according to court records—adding to charges in Pennsylvania.

New York Police Department Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said Mangione will be extradited to New York to face charges there, and he had an extradition hearing Tuesday afternoon where he was denied bail a second time.

When entering his extradition hearing, Mangione was heard shouting: “It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” according to a livestream and NBC News.

At the hearing, Mangione’s attorney said he will contest his extradition to New York—which starts a process that could last more than a month, The New York Times reported—and Mangione was denied bail again and told he had 14 days to file for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge his detention.

An arrest warrant against Mangione filed in New York and unsealed Tuesday alleges he presented the same false identification to Pennsylvania officers that was given to a hostel he reportedly stayed in in New York City, and was found with “written admissions about the crime,” though no further details are given in the filing, which was obtained by the Washington Post and other outlets.

The New York Times and CNN obtained an internal NYPD report that walked through a “manifesto” found on Mangione when he was arrested, and noted Mangione “appeared to view the targeted killing of the company’s highest-ranking representative as a symbolic takedown and a direct challenge to its alleged corruption and ‘power games,’ asserting in his note he is the ‘first to face it with such brutal honesty.’”

The NYPD document also said police are concerned others will see Mangione as “a martyr and an example to follow,” and that based on the manifesto Mangione “likely views himself as a hero of sorts,” according to the Times.

Mangione, a Maryland native, was last known to be living in Honolulu, has no prior arrest history in New York or elsewhere in the country, and he may have attended college in Pennsylvania, police said.

Social media pages that appeared to be for Mangione said he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer and information science in 2020, after attending the Gilman School for high school.

A LinkedIn page appearing to belong to Mangione describes internships at the Johns Hopkins Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics and Firaxis Games before going on to work as an engineer for TrueCar, a car shopping website based in California, where he’d been employed for four years.

The Times also reported Mangione worked as a counselor in the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies Program in 2019.

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What We Know About Brian Thompson’s Murder

Thompson, 50, was the CEO of the health insurance division of the $550 billion UnitedHealth Group and was in New York City on Wednesday for UnitedHealth Group’s investor meeting. He was shot from behind just before 7 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside of the New York Hilton Midtown—where the meeting was being held—and was hit in the back and right calf, after which the suspect fled the area on foot and on an electric bike. A Minnesota resident, Thompson had served as chief executive since April 2021 and had been with UnitedHealth Group since 2004. A video of the shooting showed the suspect walk out behind Thompson—who did not have a security detail—before firing multiple times. Prior to Mangione’s arrest, police said they believed the shooting was “a brazen targeted attack” and searched New York City before saying they believed the suspect had left the city on a bus. Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News “there had been some threats,” but didn’t provide details on what the threats were. Thompson had two sons, one who just graduated from high school and one still in high school. Police had been searching for the gunman by utilizing diving teams in Central Park, flying helicopters, searching through security cameras in the area, maintaining drones and using dogs. They released several photos of the suspected shooter since Wednesday.

How Was Luigi Mangione Caught?

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione was recognized in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was reported to local police, who then found he had “multiple fraudulent IDs,” a U.S. passport, a firearm and suppressor similar to what was used in the murder and a “handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.” Officers reportedly asked Mangione if he was in New York recently, which resulted in him becoming quiet and shaking, according to a description of his arrest. Though his face was largely covered in most pictures law enforcement released, officials credited the images that were circulating of Mangion for him eventually being spotted and taken into custody. Pennsylvania State Police released a new photo Tuesday morning of Mangione eating what appears to be a McDonald’s hash brown with his mask down and wearing a beanie and dark coat. They are asking for help and information about Mangione’s “travel and recent whereabouts in Pennsylvania.” A man named Larry who said he was a regular at the McDonald’s told Fox News his friend recognized Mangione and said he “looks like the shooter from New York,” but Larry thought he was kidding—“but then as it turned out, it was him.”

What Has Luigi Mangione Been Charged With?

He faces second-degree murder, gun and forgery charges in New York state. In New York, first-degree murder charges are reserved for killings with aggravated circumstances, such as those involving police officers, torture or if someone is hired to kill. Mangione was also initially charged in Pennsylvania with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of a crime and providing false identification to law enforcement. He was ordered in his arraignment Monday night to be held without bail, and has been placed in a single cell at the “maximum custody level,” Maria Bivens, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, told CNN. The New York Times reported Tuesday afternoon that Mangione will be moved from a prison in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to Blair County Prison, where he will wait for his New York arrest warrant to be executed.

When Will Luigi Mangione Appear In Court Next?

Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania shortly after 1:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday for an extradition hearing and said he would be fighting extradition. He was arraigned on the Pennsylvania charges Monday night, and a preliminary hearing in that state is scheduled for Dec. 23. The court docket says he requested a public defender, and the Associated Press reported Thomas Dickey, a local defense lawyer, represented Mangione at his extradition hearing.

What Has Luigi Mangione’s Lawyer Said About The Case?

Dickey told reporters he had been hired to represent Mangione in this case but refused to disclose if Mangione’s family was paying to retain his services. In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, said he had not seen any evidence that the police have arrested the right guy in this case adding that the New York officials requesting his extradition will have to convince him. Dickey also disclosed that several people had emailed his staff offering to foot Mangione’s legal bills. Dickey, however, said he “probably wouldn’t” accept the offers but added: “obviously, my client appreciates the support that he has.”

What’s Known About Luigi Mangione's Alleged Ghost Gun?

A description of Mangione’s arrest notes officers found a 3D-printed pistol and 3D-printed silencer in his backpack. The pistol was loaded with a Glock magazine containing six nine-millimeter full metal jacket rounds. A loose nine-millimeter hollow point round was also found in the backpack. Authorities have said the gun and silencer are consistent with the firearm used in the shooting of Thompson.

Have Police Named A Motive?

Police have not named a formal motive in the killing of Thompson. Officers found three 9mm rounds at the scene and bullet casings had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” on them, which echo a phrase commonly used to criticize tactics insurance companies use to reject claims. At Monday’s press conference, Kenny said the three-page handwritten manifesto found on Mangione when he was arrested is in the possession of the Altoona Police Department, but that “it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America.” Kenny also said there were no other “specific threats” to people in the document. Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, the Associated Press reported that in the document mentioned Mangione admitted to working alone, stating: “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.” The note added, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”

Was Luigi Mangione Reported Missing?

Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, reported him missing to the San Francisco police last month. According to the San Francisco Standard, the missing person report was filed on Nov. 18 although it is unclear if Mangione was supposed to be present in the city when his mother filed the report. Although he was born and raised in Maryland, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said he has “ties to San Francisco” and most recently resided in Honolulu.

What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Life At Penn?

Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer and information science, according to social media accounts appearing to belong to him and the university’s alumni database. The Daily Pennsylvanian—Penn’s student newspaper—reported that Mangione founded the school’s Game Research and Development Environment club and that he was inducted into the Eta Kappa Nu honor society for excellence in electrical and computer engineering before graduating in 2020. A post on an Instagram account seeming to belong to him as well shows him affiliated with the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi.

What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Time At The Gilman School?

Mangione attended the prestigious, all-boys K-12 Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated in 2016 as the valedictorian. The New York Times reported his valedictorian speech described his class as “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world around it.” Mangione reportedly wrestled and played soccer while he was a student there and was captain of the school’s robotics team. A number of Mangione’s former classmates from the Gilman School told CBS News he was a “nice” kid, and one former classmate told The New York Times Mangione was “a big believer in the power of technology to change the world.” The Gilman School lists its tuition for 2024-25 high school students as $37,690 and describes its mission as working to “unlock the greatness within each boy by educating the entire boy — mind, body, and spirit.”

What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Time In Hawaii?

In Honolulu, where police said Mangione’s last known address was, he was a member of a co-working space called Hub Coworking Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. Mangione would reportedly come and work at the location with his roommates from a nearby co-living space called Surfbreak. On its website, Surfbreak describes itself as a “co-living and co-working community for digital nomads and remote workers.” Surfbreak founder and CEO R.J. Martin expressed shock about Mangione’s arrest and told the Honolulu Civil Beat, “I loved this guy…In some ways I feel like my members are my kids.” According to the report, other residents of the co-living space described Mangione as a “natural leader” and said he helped found a book club in the community. Martin and another resident told the outlet that they had suggested the book club should read “Industrial Society and Its Future”—a book written by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski—as “a joke.”

What Did Mangione Say About The Unabomber’s Book?

A Goodreads account seeming to belong to Mangione gave the book a four-star review in January. The review written by the account—which was made private on Monday—said “It's easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it's simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out.” The review also quoted another person’s take about how “violence is necessary to survive.” The New York Times reported Tuesday that Mangione told a writer in England, Gurwinder Bhogal, he disapproved of the Unabomber’s actions, but Bhogal said Mangione “was fascinated by [the Unabomber’s] ideology, and shared his concerns about rampant consumerism gradually eroding our agency and alienating us from ourselves.”

Are Mangione’s Social Media Accounts Still Up?

Shortly after his arrest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and Goodreads accounts that may have belonged to him were discovered. He also appeared to be active on Reddit, writing about back pain issues, Forbes reported. Nearly all social media accounts with reported ties to Mangione had been switched to private or taken down by platforms—with one notable exception. Mangione’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was briefly taken down Monday evening, but X owner Elon Musk said it was done “without his knowledge” and he was looking into it. Shortly after, the account was reinstated. Mangione’s X account—which has a cover photo featuring an apparent spinal injury—had more than 300,000 followers as of Tuesday morning.

Did Luigi Mangione Have A Youtube Account?

A YouTube account with Mangione’s name posted a video Monday that said “If you see this, I’m already under arrest” and had a countdown that ended by hinting at more information or videos to be released Wednesday. YouTube confirmed to Forbes the page was not associated with Mangione, though, saying “the channel’s metadata was updated following widespread reporting of Luigi Mangione’s arrest, including updates made to the channel name and handle.” YouTube added it terminated three other accounts that were linked to Mangione, but said they hadn’t been active in more than seven months.

What Do We Know About Mangione’s Health Issues?

Mangione’s friends in Hawaii told various news outlets that he was suffering from a serious back problem that caused him significant pain. Mangione left Hawaii to get back surgery last year and then returned to Honolulu to rent an apartment. Surfbreak’s Martin told The New York Times that Mangione said his spine was misaligned and “said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve.” Martin added that Mangione had confided to him about not being able to date people because of his back problem as “being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible.” Martin told the Times he texted Mangione after his surgery asking how it had gone and got the response “long story” without further details. Although the two had promised to catch up over the phone later, Mangione eventually went “radio silent.” An account on Reddit that is believed to have belonged to Mangione was active in the subreddit “r/spondylolisthesis,” where people discussed the condition in which vertebrae in the spine slip out of place. “When my spondy went bad on me last year (23M) it was completely devastating as a young athletic person,” the alleged Mangione account wrote, Forbes reported.

What Is Known About The Mangione Family?

The Baltimore Banner reported Mangione comes “from a prominent Baltimore family.” According to the Banner, his grandfather was a self-made real estate developer who owned country clubs, nursing homes and a radio station, and that his grandmother was “a supporter of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center” and the Baltimore Opera Company. The Mangione family has owned Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley, Maryland—northwest of the city of Baltimore—since 1986, according to the Banner.

Who Is Nino Mangione?

Luigi Mangione is related to Nino Mangione, a Republican representative in the Maryland House of Delegates, The Baltimore Sun reported Monday. The Sun reported the two are cousins who are friends on social media. Forbes has reached out to Mangione for comment. A statement issued on his social media accounts on behalf of the Mangione family said they could not comment on the news reports. “We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”

Further Reading