Luigi Maggione is accused of murdering a health insurance executive in the US
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A 26-year-old Ivy League graduate has been charged with murdering a senior UnitedHealth Group executive ahead of an investor event in New York last week.
New York prosecutors charged Luigi Mangione, 26, of Maryland, late Monday night, hours after he was arrested by local police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a court heard. In all, he was charged with five counts, including weapons charges.
Mangione was arrested earlier Monday in possession of an untraceable “ghost gun” as well as a suppressor and a fake New Jersey ID matching the description of those used by the suspect who shot Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Insurance unit of the Minnesota-based group on Dec. 4.
Mangione also brought a handwritten, three-page document that described “some ill will toward corporate America” but did not name specific individuals, said Joseph Kenney, the NYPD’s chief of detectives.
He made a brief initial appearance in court in Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon, where he was charged with weapons violations, forgery and false identification, among other charges.
Mangione was an engineering graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, according to a LinkedIn profile of a person matching her description. He was born and raised in Maryland and his last known address was Honolulu, Hawaii, the NYPD said.
The development comes after a five-day manhunt in which New York City detectives and federal investigators criss-crossed the city and nearby states in an effort to solve the killing that shocked New York and corporate America.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said: “For just over five days, New York City investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed up on hundreds of tips and processed every piece of forensic evidence – DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and much more — to tighten the net.’
The NYPD released CCTV images of the suspect checking into a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side before the killing and in the back of the taxi after the killing. Tisch credited the images with progress in the case: “The images we shared with the public were widely shared and the tips we received led to the recovery of critical evidence,” he said.
Mangione’s family released a statement late Monday sent by Nino Mangione, Luigi’s cousin: “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” the family said. “We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family and ask that people pray for everyone involved.”
Thompson’s predawn killing on his way to an investor event hosted by UnitedHealth Group at a Marriott hotel off Sixth Avenue in midtown Manhattan has raised concerns about the safety of senior executives.
The killing also sparked a debate about the state of medical care in the world’s costliest health care system — UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest insurer, covering nearly 50 million Americans. “Our hope is that today’s arrest brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, co-workers and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” UnitedHealth said.
Thompson was shot in the back three times outside the Marriott Midtown hotel at 6.45am. local time and was pronounced dead a short time later at nearby Mount Sinai Hospital. Detectives later discovered bullet casings at the scene with signs including “denial” and “defend” – a possible nod to a 2010 book about how insurers deny claims.
Since then, the NYPD has pieced together the killer’s movements before and after the shooting. The suspect arrived in New York in late November, staying at the Upper West Side hostel.
After the shooting, he initially traveled uptown on an e-bike through Central Park, where his backpack was later found. He then made his way to an interstate bus station, where he boarded a bus out of town.