Luigi Mangione charged with murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing
Mangione was arrested earlier Monday after being spotted at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania
A man suspected in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO was arrested and charged with murder Monday after a quick-thinking McDonald's customer in Pennsylvania recognized him from a surveillance photo and police officers found a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush.
The chance sighting at the restaurant in Altoona led to a dramatic break in a challenging but fast-moving investigation that shook the business world.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, had a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday's shooting of Brian Thompson, as well as writings suggesting anger with corporate America, police said.
Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police
According to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who spoke at a news conference in New York City on Monday, Mangione was found with a "ghost gun" — a firearm assembled from parts, making it untraceable — and a silencer consistent with the weapon used to shoot Thompson, as well as clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the killer.
The ghost gun may have been produced by a 3D printer, said Joseph Kenny, the NYPD's chief of detectives.
Mangione was led into the Blair County courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Penn., for his arraignment on Monday night, where gun and forgery charges were read against him. The judge asked Mangione if he understood the charges against him, and he said he did. No plea was entered.
Prosecutors in New York brought a murder charge, along with four related gun charges, against Mangione, according to court records.
Citing false IDs and a large sum of cash found on Mangione, prosecutors argued he was a flight risk and asked that bail be denied, which it was.
Officers in Pennsylvania said at a news conference later Monday that they were working to determine if Mangione had any accomplices and if he intended to kill anyone else. They said he had been in Pennsylvania for several days and that they were investigating exactly where he was and what he had done in the state.
One of the responding officers said Mangione began to shake and went quiet when he was approached by two police officers inside the McDonald's and asked if he had recently been in New York.
Handwritten document spoke to motivation: police
Mangione had multiple fraudulent identifications, officials said, including a fake New Jersey ID that matched the one used by the gunman to check into a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting.
Police also found a handwritten document that speaks to "both his motivation and his mindset," Tisch said.
While the document did not mention specific targets, Kenny said Mangione harboured "ill will toward corporate America."
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, attended college in Pennsylvania, had ties to San Francisco and last lived in Honolulu, officials said.
One of his cousins is Nino Mangione, the Republican Maryland state legislator.
A statement posted to Facebook by Nino Mangione said the Mangione family was shocked by Luigi's arrest and offered prayers to the Thompson family.
"We ask people to pray for all involved," the statement said.
The family could not comment on news reports, the statement said, and knew only what they've read in the media.
"We are devastated by this news," the statement said.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel early Wednesday morning by a masked man who appeared to wait for his arrival before shooting the executive from behind, as seen on CCTV video and images of the shooting that have been broadcast by news organizations and online.
The gunman concealed his identity with a mask during the shooting, yet left a trail of evidence, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he bought at Starbucks minutes before the attack.
On Friday, police found the backpack that they say the killer discarded as he fled from the crime scene to an uptown bus station, where they believe he left the city on a bus.
Retracing the gunman's steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle, emerged from the park without his backpack and then ditched the bicycle.
He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, Kenny said.
Police have not publicly identified a motive, but have said Thompson appeared to be deliberately targeted.
The words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were carved into shell casings found at the scene, several news outlets have reported.
The words evoke the title of a book critical of the insurance industry published in 2010 titled Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 US reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 US that the NYPD offered.
Mangione attended an elite Baltimore prep school, graduating as valedictorian in 2016, according to the school's website. In his graduation speech, he talked about his classmates' "incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things."
A statement posted to Facebook by Nino Mangione said the Mangione family was shocked by Luigi's arrest and offered prayers to the Thompson family.
"We ask people to pray for all involved," the statement said.
The family could not comment on news reports, the statement said, and knew only what they've read in the media.
"We are devastated by this news," the statement said.
A Facebook profile that appears to belong to Mangione identified him as a native of Towson, Md., and a former student at the University of Pennsylvania. Photos appear to show Mangione at Stanford University wearing Stanford-branded clothing.
Neither university immediately responded to requests for comment.
An account on the social media platform X that appears to belong to Mangione says he has an M.S.E. and B.S.E. in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Honolulu.
Thompson, a father of two, had been CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance unit since April 2021, part of a 20-year career with the company. He had been in New York to attend the company's annual investor conference.
"Our hope is that today's apprehension brings some relief to Brian's family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy," a spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group said.
With files from The Associated Press