Luigi Mangione’s mother made a shocking confession to police before the alleged killer was arrested, police announced Tuesday.
New York City police had been searching for the man who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, at point-blank range for several days, and released surveillance images of the alleged shooter.
An image of the suspect with his mask lowered caught the attention of a San Francisco police officer who had been searching for Mangione, 26, since his mother, Kathleen, reported him missing in mid-November.
She claimed she had not spoken to her son since July 1 and noted that he worked for TrueCar, an online automotive marketplace based in San Francisco, apparently unaware that he had been laid off in 2023.
Recognizing the suspect, the police officer called the FBI and provided the bureau with Mangione’s name, prompting New York officers embedded in the FBI task force to call Kathleen.
“They had a conversation where she didn’t indicate it was her son in the photograph, but she said it might be something she could see him doing,” NYPD Police Chief Joseph Kenny said at a news conference. on Tuesday.
He noted that the conversation occurred “very late” on December 7, and that the information was relayed to New York City police the next morning, but he was not arrested until December 9, while he was eating at a McDonald’s. in Altoona, Pennsylvania. .
Luigi Mangione, 26, was charged Tuesday with murder as an act of terrorism.
His mother (pictured with Mangione’s sister, MariaSanta) had previously told the FBI that she “could see” her son shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione has since been charged with murder as an act of terrorism in Thompson’s death.
Under New York law, such a charge can be filed when an alleged crime “is intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policies of a government unit through intimidation or coercion, and to affect the conduct of a unity of government through murder.” murder or kidnapping.’
The convicted CEO was shot to death while walking to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, was holding an investor conference..
“This was a terrifying, well-planned and directed murder that was intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday.
“It occurred in one of the busiest areas of our city and threatened the safety of local residents and tourists, commuters and business people just starting their day.”
Mangione has two court hearings scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania, including an extradition hearing, Bragg said.
He is not expected to fight extradition to the Big Apple at Thursday’s hearing, meaning he could be sent back to New York City that same day. sources told Fox News.
Some legal experts have previously suggested that Mangione avoid arguing his guilt and focus on getting a lesser sentence by claiming extreme emotional distress.
Thompson, 50, was shot and killed while walking to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare was holding an investor conference.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the shooting (pictured) “a terrifying, well-planned and directed murder that was intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation.”
“There is no likely path for him to walk away a free man,” said Manhattan defense attorney Ronald Kuby. The Wall Street Journal. “The best you can hope for is crime mitigation and punishment.”
“Usually, the defendant’s entire story, his complaints, his pain, his sufferings, all of that comes before the jury.”
Investigators’ working theory is that Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent Maryland family, was driven by anger at the American health care system.
Police said they found him with a manifesto that outlined his complaints against UnitedHealthcare.
—To save you a long investigation, I clearly state that I was not working with anyone. “This was pretty trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD (and) a lot of patience,” he supposedly wrote in the manifesto, according to the Daily Beast.
He went on to say he had “respect” for federal investigators and apologized for causing any “trauma,” but appeared to defend his alleged actions.
“Frankly, these parasites deserved it,” the manifesto said.
He claimed that the United States had the “most expensive healthcare system in the world,” but criticized the system for making the United States 42nd in life expectancy.
Mangione was identified as the alleged shooter by a San Francisco police officer after the NYPD released this surveillance image of him.
Officers also said they matched a gun found in Mangione to shell casings recovered at the scene and his fingerprints to a water bottle and an energy bar wrapper found nearby.
Following news of the arrest, Mangione’s family issued a statement saying they were “shocked and devastated.”
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and ask people to pray for everyone involved,” it said.
“We are devastated by this news.”
None of the alleged murderer’s relatives then appeared at his court hearing, according to internal sources. fox news that the 26-year-old has not met with family since his arrest.
His influential Italian-American family He is known in his community for his real estate fortune and nursing home empire, but you may not see any of the money left by your philanthropist grandmother.
His fortune, estimated to be worth at least $30 million, was placed in a trust where the trustees, one of whom is Mangione’s father, have the power to make distributions.
One of the conditions of the trust is that anyone accused of a crime cannot see any of the money, meaning Mangione may never receive his share.