On Wednesday, December 4th, 2024, the person of interest started his day around 5:00 AM, leaving the HI New York City Hostel located at the Upper West Side of Manhattan. When leaving, the suspect made his way to Starbucks, purchasing a water bottle and energy bar with cash only. The mystery man had then walked down to the New York Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, located on 1335 6th Ave, where he had spotted the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, and opened fired from behind.
Around 6:44 AM, Brian Thompson suffered from two bullet wounds, one in his back and the other in his right calf. He was left to die on the ground with life threatening injuries. While the victim was being transported to the hospital, the mystery man fled on an electric bike, heading North towards Central Park. While biking there, several video cameras around New York spotted him, and the shooter left a trail by discarding the Starbucks water bottle, energy bar, and a burner phone. When he arrived at Central Park, he disposed of his backpack and called for a taxi to take him to a bus station. While escaping the scene, the 50-year-old father of two was reported dead at 7:12 in the morning at the Mount Sinai West Hospital.
The manhunt begins.
Multiple pictures of the suspect had been uploaded to New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Crime Stoppers, including evidence of the perpetrator at Starbucks, walking to the Hilton Hotel, riding an electric bike, and in the back seat of the taxi he called for. Days had passed without any citizens coming forward with information about the suspect, even though the pictures from NYPD Crime Stoppers were given to news stations to inform the public. While police had been searching for more video evidence, they discovered that the suspect was staying at the HI hostel. They gained footage of the person of interest pulling down his mask and smiling at a female worker which gave the police a huge lead.
Police continued their investigation at the crime scene, making a unique discovery in which they found ‘Deny, Delay, and Depose’ on each of the bullet’s shell casings. Police and the public connected the three words to a book written by Jay Feinman, titled “ Delay, Deny, Defend”. The book informs people about the tactics that insurance companies use, including them delaying payments, denying a claim, and defending their actions.
This murder wasn’t about the rich versus the poor; it’s about health corporations against the United States of America citizens.
On Monday, December 9, 2024, NYPD found the alleged killer’s discarded backpack filled with Monopoly money and a jacket in Central Park. They continued their search for the suspect and crossed out possible motives; there was no personal hatred towards Brian Thompson himself, and there were no drugs or alcohol involved in this heinous crime.
Meanwhile, on the same day in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a McDonald’s worker called 911 to report that they believed the suspect of the CEO shooting and murder was in the fast food restaurant eating breakfast. Pennsylvania police arrived at the fast food restaurant to question the suspicious man. The behavior and demeanor of the man being questioned led the officers to take him into custody and search his backpack. The police on scene had continued to investigate his whereabouts and a fake ID that led to no results of an actual person.
During the search, the officers located multiple fake IDs, including one that had the alias of Mark Rosario. The police decided to search the backpack, finding a 3D printed ‘Ghost Gun’- a gun without a serial number- a notebook with handwritten information about a computer aided design (CAD), and a computer. During the questioning, police identified ‘Mark Rosario’ as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione.
The public, authorities, and Luigi’s family were bewildered as to why their suspect would commit this crime due to how the individual grew up. The suspected killer, Luigi Mangione, had a fulfilling life ahead of him, but potentially dumped it away when something unknown happened. He grew up in a well respected family, graduated from an elite all boys school, Gilman high school, as the Valedictorian; he majored in Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania as well.
The young adult displayed his adventures throughout the social media app Instagram, spending time at a co-living house in Honolulu, Hawaii, and flying to Nara, Japan. Luigi had also gone to California for some time to work as a data engineer. Months before the crime, Luigi disappeared from social media; he went ‘off the grid.’ On Instagram and X, Luigi displayed two sides of him.
On Instagram, he was seen as a calm individual- spending time with his family and friends, sharing his adventures of traveling. On the other hand, he showed his concerns for the world on X and even reposted tweets about how to change the media, medicine, and spread information about mental and physical health.
Luigi, a guy who was active on all social media platforms stopped the regular posting; he fell off being consistent, which raised concerns from his friends and family, believing his disappearance was tragic. His phone was buzzing with phone calls and text messages until the point that his voice-mail box became full from the consistent notifications. It came to a point that two weeks before the shooting, Luigi’s mom decided to file for a missing persons report in San Francisco.
With the ongoing criminal case journeying throughout the judicial system, it has been getting most of America’s attention when being informed about the killing of Brian Thompson- although the main focus had been pinned on the suspect, Luigi. Not only has social media taken a deep toll of possible theories and liking to the individual- but the fellow prisoners have as well. At the Pennsylvania facility that Luigi was being held at, a news station reported outside of the jail. Apparently, the news station was on the TV of the cell pod’s and prisoners were watching it and flicking their lights on and off in response to the questions of the reporters.
The users of Tik Tok believe that there are more people involved in the shooting, Monopoly is a multiplayer board game. Artists have compared the face structure of the criminal to pictures taken from the suspect’s social media posts- claiming that they cannot be the same person due to the facial features being inconsistent. The noses had different structures, the eyebrows width and length did not match up.
People had also compared the clothing that was caught on camera, in two different pictures everything wasn’t the same, including the jacket, backpack, shoes and jeans. There had even been a picture leaked of the suspect walking down the street with someone dressed similar to him walking right behind him.
Citizens of the United States had spread awareness of UnitedHealthcare throughout Tik Tok as well. The insurance company had been attacked, sued, and investigated multiple times for the rumour of them denying care. It has been said the company has been using Artificial Intelligence algorithms to deny claims.
The public had taken a liking to Luigi’s lawyer for his Pennsylvania case, David Betras. Mr. Betras has created videos on Tik Tok to update viewers about what’s happening in court and is loved for his smart remarks when talking to the press.
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of Brian Thompson, had a busy schedule after the shooting and killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Luigi was being held at a jail in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania and transported to court in Hollidaysburg. He’s been trying to speak to the public when being transported in court but has been pushed by officers, so he couldn’t get a word out with his mumbled speech or finish his sentence.
The court had waived extradition, meaning the judge and Luigi had agreed for him to be transferred to another detention center to face his other criminal charges, that’s the main reason due to Luigi being held in a Brooklyn jail. He was transported through a plane and then helicopter to New York, being accompanied by a number of authorities- that made Luigi look like a threat to society. The suspect would face his first federal hearing in the next couple of days.
Between the charges of New York and Pennsylvania, Luigi is currently being charged with a total of 20 counts. Luigi is being portrayed as a stalker and a terrorist in court, accused of carrying a ghost gun, fake ID, and is facing life in state prison, as well as the federal death penalty if convicted. The 26-year-old had pleaded not guilty to all charges being held against him and bail was denied.
State and Federal charges against Luigi Mangione
During Luigi’s arraignment on Monday, December 23, 2024, his New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed her concerns of a fair trial. In the United States Constitution, under the Sixth Amendment, it’s stated that the accused in a criminal trial have a right to a fair and unbiased trial. The United States judicial system is based on the person being innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent which is happening in this specific case. There is no indication of Luigi being innocent in this crime and his trial is at a threat with the possibility of people believing he is guilty due to public officials making certain statements without saying accused, alleged, or suspect.
Luigi’s next court appearance is scheduled sometime between January 18 and February 17 of 2025. His court proceedings have been delayed due to being charged federally, and the defense attorneys requesting more time to prepare for the trial that will determine life in the outside world or death in prison.
