A 26-year-old man has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson which happened last week in New York City.
Luigi Mangione, ‘the strong suspect’ was taken into custody at a McDonald’s in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after a customer at the fast-food outlet recognised him.
The suspect has been found to be an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family. At the time if his arrest, he was found in possession of a gun and a handwritten document that police officials have said indicated “motivation and mindset”.
Mangione thereafter appeared in a Pennsylvania court to be arraigned on five initial counts. He was denied bail.
The late CEO, Thompson, aged 50, was fatally shot in the back last Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan where UnitedHealthcare, the medical insurance company he led, was holding an investors’ meeting.
Police had said he was targeted in a pre-planned killing.
Presently, Mangione is in a Pennsylvania jail, where he was formally charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.
Last week’s murder had triggered a huge manhunt, with New York City investigators using one of the world’s largest digital surveillance systems, police dogs, drones and divers in a Central Park lake to search for the attacker.
Investigators had after Mangione’s arrest, revealed that finding him was a complete surprise, as they did not have his name on a list of suspects before Monday.
A McDonald’s customer in Altoona that recognised the suspect from media coverage had exposed Mangione by alerting an employee, who then tipped off the police.
According to court papers, when the police arrived, Mangione showed them a fake New Jersey driver’s licence with the name Mark Rosario.
The papers further revealed that Mangione “became quiet and started to shake” when an officer asked if he had been to New York recently.
Upon being told that he would be arrested if he lied about his name, he gave up his real name, the court papers further revealed.
When asked why he lied, he told officers that “I clearly shouldn’t have”.
A look through his backpack uncovered what police called a “ghost gun”, a loaded magazine with six rounds of 9mm ammunition, a US passport and $10,000 cash – $2,000 of it was in foreign currency— but Mr Mangione has disputed the amount in court.
A three-page handwritten document was also found on his possession, suggesting he was nurturing “ill will towards corporate America”, officials remarked.
The words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene of Mr Thompson’s murder, according to investigators who believe this could be a reference to what critics have called the “three Ds of insurance” – which are tactics used by insurance companies to reject payment claims by patients in America.
As it stands, Mangione is now expected to be presented with the option of rejecting his extradition to the state of New York, or contesting it.
If he rejects it, he will immediately be handed over to New York authorities. But if he contests it, the process [of handing him over] could take between 30 and 45 days.
Mangione’s family have meanwhile, said they are “shocked and devastated” by his arrest, and released a statement through the defendant’s cousin, Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione that read;
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
