Who is Luigi Mangione: What to know about man charged with murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting death
Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder in connection to the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattan hotel on December 4.
Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown. That launched a massive manhunt for the suspect who eluded police for nearly a week until the 26-year-old accused shooter was spotted eating a meal inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee recognized him from the photos circulating online and tipped off police.
He is currently being held in a federal detention in New York City where he faces more than a dozen counts in state and federal courts, including murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Here is what we know about Mangione:
On December 9, police responded to a tip from a McDonald’s employee in Altoona who said they saw a man who looked like the person of interest from the case. Mangione’s picture had been widely distributed by police after the killing as they hunted for him.
He was eating in the McDonald’s when he was recognized by the employee, police said. Officers arrived at the restaurant and began questioning Mangione.
Police “asked the male if he had been to New York recently and the male became quiet and started to shake,” according to a criminal complaint filed against the 26-year-old.
“We didn’t think twice about it,” Altoona police officer Tyler Frye said of encountering Mangione. “We knew that was our guy.”
The officers arrested Mangione after he provided a fake ID card. A police search revealed he had a ghost gun that matches the weapon believed to have been used in the assassination-style killing, officials said on December 9.
Mangione also possessed a silencer, a 262-word manifesto, a spiral notebook containing a “to-do list” and several fake IDs.
“He was initially cooperative. He is not now,” Lt Colonel George Bivens of Pennsylvania State Police said during a press conference at the time.
After his arrest, Mangione was charged and arraigned on five Pennsylvania offenses including forgery, falsely identifying himself and carrying a gun without a license.
On December 10, he made a brief appearance at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where he was informed of the charges against him and said he understood.
The suspect returned to the Blair County Courthouse for an extradition hearing after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of Thompson.
