Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting struggles with officers after coming to court

The suspect in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday as he arrived for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald's and he is accused of murder.

Luigi Nicholas Mangione got out of a patrol car, winked at reporters and shouted something somewhat unintelligible referring to “insulting the intelligence of the American people” as revenue was pushed inside.

Prosecutors were beginning to take steps to bring Mangione back to New York to face a murder charge as new details emerged about his life and how he was captured.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a Maryland real estate family was charged with murder hours after he was arrested in the Manhattan slaying of medical insurance company executive Brian Thompson. largest in the United States.

At the brief hearing, defense attorney Thomas Dickey told the court that Mangione would not grant extradition to New York but wants a hearing on the case. Mangione was denied bail after prosecutors raised concerns about public safety and a potential flight risk.

Mangione, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, mostly looked straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally talking to papers, rocking in his chair or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he started to speak to respond to the court's discussion but was silenced by his lawyer.

“You can't rush to judgment in this case or any case,” Dickey said afterward. “He is presumed innocent. Let's not forget that.”

Gov. said New York Kathy Hochul Tuesday night on social media platform X that she will sign a request for a governor's warrant “to ensure that the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson is held accountable in New York.”

Mangione was apparently fueled by his anger at what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disregard for corporate greed, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press.

He wrote that the US has the most expensive health care system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, the magazine said, based on a review of the notes his handwritten and social. media careers.

Mangione known as Ted Kaczynski – known as the Unabomber – a “political revolutionary” and may have been inspired by the serial bomber as he fought against modern society and technology, according to the magazine the police.

Mangione remained in prison in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of a firearm without a license, racketeering and providing a false identity to police. Manhattan prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant, a step that could help speed his extradition from Pennsylvania.

Complete a five day manhunt

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pa., about 370 kilometers west of New York City, after a McDonald's customer recognized him and called an employee, authorities said.

Officers found him sitting at a back table, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint.

At first he gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started shaking,” the complaint says.

When he pulled down his mask at the officers' request, “we knew that was our man,” said police officer Tyler Frye.

Images of Mangione released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania State Police showed him pulling down his mask in the corner of the McDonald's while holding what appeared to be hash browns and wearing a winter jacket and beanie. In another photo from a holding cell, he stood unsmiling with disheveled hair.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione was carrying a gun similar to the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter used to check into a New York hostel, together to passports and other fake IDs.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page handwritten document that showed “bad will toward corporate America. “

A law enforcement official — who was not authorized to publicly investigate and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity — said the document included a line in which Mangione said he acted alone.

“To the Feds, I'll keep this short, because I respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I was not working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official.

There was also a line that said, “I'm sorry for any struggles or traumas but it had to be done. Really, these parasites just had to come.”

Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said in court that Mangione was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash, $2,000 of which was in foreign currency. Mangione disputed the amount.

Thompson, 50, was killed Wednesday as he walked alone to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference.

Police arrived quickly to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to be waiting for Thompson, who came up behind him and fired a 9-mm pistol.

Investigators have said “delay,” “deny” and “depos” were written on a weapon found near Thompson's body. The words are similar to “delay, deny, defend,” a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry.

From surveillance video, New York investigators determined that the shooter quickly fled the city, possibly on the bus.

From wealth and success to a suspected murder

The grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is the cousin of a current Maryland state legislator.

Valedictorian at his elite prep school in Baltimore, he went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman said.

“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest,” Mangione's family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland Del. Nino Mangione.

“We offer our prayers to Brian Thomson's family and we ask people to pray for everyone involved.”

From January to June 2022, Luigi Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of the Waikiki resort area in Honolulu.

Like other residents of the shared lighthouse that serves remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesman for owner and founder RJ Martin.

“Luigi was considered a good guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said.

“There was no story that could indicate the alleged crimes that they say he committed.

At Surfbreak, Martin learned that Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said.

Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment.

Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago.