'VIOLENCE IS NECESSARY'
Psychedelic drugs, back pain or inability to have sex… what did drive suspect Luigi Mangione to assassinate CEO?
Astonishingly, some have treated the alleged cold-blooded killer as an anti-capitalist champion
IN the gloom of a Manhattan dawn, the hooded killer emerged from behind a parked car, raised a handgun and fired into the health executive’s back.
CCTV footage showed the murderer sauntering away after slaying dad-of-two Brian Thompson with the glacial cool of a seasoned underworld hitman.
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Yet when cops finally caught up with the man they believe to be the assassin, they instead found a gifted Ivy League student with only a $100 trespass fine against his name.
Suspect Luigi Mangione, 26, hails from a dynasty of East Coast grandees who own country clubs and a conservative-leaning radio station.
Tanned, with a muscular physique and chiselled good looks which have earned him the nickname “the hot assassin”, Mangione is heir to a fortune in a future that seemed golden.
Classmates remember a well-liked and intelligent youngster who played football for the school team and was a decent cross country runner.
READ MORE ON Luigi Mangione
Freddie Leatherbury, 26, a former classmate at Mangione’s private, all-boys high school in Baltimore, said: “He was very smart, a pretty big math guy, really well read and quite well liked, to be honest. I don’t have any bad memories of him.”
Last night New York Sheriff deputies had to grab Mangione by the neck to control him as they lead their suspect into Blair County Courthouse.
The tech graduate screamed: “It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience.”
So what would drive this apparently clean-cut young American immersed in wealth and privilege to allegedly assassinate a man he had apparently never met?
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Mangione’s social media seems to offer a window into what detectives believe is a murderous mind.
A Twitter/X account in his name has a photo above his profile of an X-ray of a spinal fusion, with screws through bones.
CEO 'assassin' Luigi Mangione restrained by cops in screaming outburst as he arrives at court after McDonald's arrest
‘Model student’
And Mangione appears to have left an online review of US “Unabomber” terrorist Theodore Kaczynski’s book, saying: “When communication fails, violence is necessary.”
He also took an interest in magic mushrooms. One book he recommended on bookworm site Goodreads was How To Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics.
This deeply sinister case began to unfurl on December 2 when Brian Thompson — CEO of medical insurer UnitedHealthcare — travelled from his home in Minnesota to New York for a company conference.
Known as BT, Thompson, 50, had risen up the corporate ranks after a childhood in the small Midwest farming town of Jewell, Iowa.
The son of a grain elevator operator, he was a gifted high school pupil who topped his class at his home state’s university.
Heather Holm, superintendent of the South Hamilton Community School District said: “He was a model student.”
His glittering academic record would lead to a career in accountancy before becoming CEO of UnitedHealthcare — the largest health insurer in the US.
Steve Nelson, a former executive at the firm, said of Thompson: “He was the smartest guy in the room, but somehow not in an annoying way.”
Under Brian’s helm, UnitedHealthcare had revenues of around £220billion last year and provided health coverage for more than 50 million in America’s for-profit system.
Yet the company has faced criticism over denying policyholders’ claims. Earlier this year, 11 protesters were arrested outside the firm’s Minnesota headquarters protesting over alleged improper insurance denials.
On December 4, at 6.45am, Brian strolled towards the Hilton Hotel close to New York’s famous Times Square where he was due to give a talk to investors and analysts.
Emerging from the shadows, a masked figure in black raised a 9mm handgun with a silencer and unleashed a fatal volley of shots.
The murderer escaped on an ebike via nearby Central Park.
Three bullet casings found at the crime scene were engraved with the words “deny” “depose” and “defend”. They echoed the phrase “delay, deny, defend” used to describe allegations levelled at insurers who avoid payouts.
Cops scoured CCTV while police dogs, drones and divers searched Central Park and its lake.
Detectives were hopeful of retrieving DNA from a water bottle discarded at the murder scene.
Police managed to retrieve CCTV images of the suspect — one when he removed his mask while flirting with a receptionist at a Manhattan hostel — and another from inside a cab.
We just didn’t even think twice about it. We knew that was our guy
Rookie cop Tyler Frye
They showed a young man with dark eyebrows and lean, angular face.
For all the police’s forensic work, it was a tip off from the public that led them to arrest Mangione after allegedly five days on the run.
Rookie cop Tyler Frye — on the beat for six months — was called to a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania by a staff member.
Frye said: “We just didn’t even think twice about it. We knew that was our guy.”
Officers say they discovered Mangione with fake ID, a gun similar to the one seen in CCTV footage of the killing and a manifesto lambasting the healthcare industry.
The 262-word handwritten note condemned firms that “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”
Mangione’s note added: “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.
"These parasites had it coming. I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”
The firearm that Mangione was allegedly carrying was an unlicensed “ghost gun”, possibly produced by a 3D printer. On Monday he was charged with murder. The events this week are a lifetime away from Mangione’s childhood in Maryland.
Brought up in a quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Baltimore, his Italian-American family are well-known in the community.
Grandfather Nicholas Mangione Sr, the son of Sicilian immigrants, worked in real estate, developing a 1,000-acre golf club. He also owned two hotels, seven nursing homes and two talk radio shows.
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‘He is no hero’
The suspect’s father Louis, 71, owns a nursing home company and his mother Kathleen, 60, runs a boutique travel business.
The suspect has two elder sisters, MariaSanta, 34, a doctor, and Lucia, 32, who is an artist. His cousin Nino Mangione, 37, is a Republican Maryland lawmaker.
Thomas J. Maronick Jr, a lawyer and radio host who knows the family, said Luigi Mangione was “just the last person you would suspect.”
To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone
Luigi Mangione's note
He added: “It is just such a well-respected family and such a prominent family in Baltimore County.”
Mangione graduated from Baltimore’s prestigious Gilman School with the highest grades of his year.
In his 2016 graduation speech, he described his class as “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world around it.”
He politely thanked parents in the audience for sending him and his classmates to the school, which he described as “far from a small financial investment.” Tuition fees are around £30,000 a year.
A tech geek, Magione went on to the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania to study computer science.
After college, he worked for or had internships with several tech companies.
In 2022, Magione had set up home in a “co-living” space in Honolulu, Hawaii, called Surfbreak that caters to remote workers.
Its founder RJ Martin said: “We look for people who are looking to give back. And he fit the bill.”
RJ added that Mangione was suffering from a painful back problem that meant it “wasn’t possible” for him to have sex.
Mangione left Hawaii after six months to return to the East Coast, telling RJ he was planning to see his doctor.
The alleged assassin would return to Hawaii in summer of 2023.
In August of that year, RJ sent Mangione a text asking how he was doing. In reply he sent back pictures of his back surgery.
RJ revealed: “It looked heinous, with just giant screws going into his spine.”
Asked how he was feeling, Mangione replied: “So, long story.”
The pair last communicated in April, after which RJ’s texts remained unanswered.
A social media post for Mangione from another friend in October said: “Nobody has heard from you in months.”
His family reported him missing in November.
A star is born
British actress Jameela Jamil
Meanwhile, Mangione’s Good Reads had also plugged a book called, Crooked: Outwitting The Back Pain Industry And Getting On The Road To Recovery.
Detectives will examine whether the physical and mental anguish wracking the young man led him to kill an innocent father.
Astonishingly, some have treated the alleged cold-blooded killer as an anti-capitalist champion.
British actress Jameela Jamil, 38, wrote on Instagram beneath images of Mangione, including one of him hiking shirtless: “A star is born.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro insisted: “In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero.
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“I understand people have real frustration with our healthcare system, and I have worked to address that throughout my career.
“But I have no tolerance, nor should anyone, for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most.”
![December 5, 2024, New York, New York, USA: Authorities released new surveillance photos of the alleged gunman, LUIGI MANGIONE, 26, they believe fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO B. Thompson, 50, on a sidewalk in Midtown. The man is smiling, wearing what appears to be a green jacket, and a black face mask around his neck. The […]](http://mcb777.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/authorities-released-new-surveillance-photos-956202915.jpg?strip=all&w=847)
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Timeline of Brian Thompson's murder
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Here is everything we know about Thompson's murder so far.
Monday, December 2 - Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am - Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am - Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm - Thompson's estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm - Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it's unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am - Reports claim the words "deny," "dispose," and "defend" were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am- Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It's believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am - A person of interest in Thompson's murder is pictured. He's wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon - Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It's also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm - Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 - Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a "strong person of interest" at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson's murder.
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