More details about the life of Luigi Mangione, the killer of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, are emerging. Investigators, media, and practically all of society are trying to understand the reasons that led a normal guy, with a good family and education, to commit a cold-blooded crime against someone he didn't even know.
The key to this transformation seems to lie in an event that occurred a few months before the murder. "It seems he had an accident that led to back surgery in July 2023, and this injury ruined his life," explained Joseph Kenny, chief investigator of the New York Police, to NBC New York on Thursday. "He posted X-rays of the screws inserted in his spine on social media. The injury he suffered ruined and altered his life, and that is what could have led him down this path," added the police officer.
The back problem also affected his university studies, which were impacted, as well as his social relationships. He went from being an excellent student to finding classes and books puzzling and struggling to concentrate.
Support poster for Luigi Mangione posted on a lamppost in New York.Julia Demaree NikhinsonAP
Previously, he was an exemplary student. In the summer of 2019, he was selected as the head counselor of a pre-university program at Stanford University. When the pandemic hit during his final year in 2020 and students finished the semester off-campus, Mangione completed a bachelor's and master's degree simultaneously. He soon landed a job at TrueCar, a California-based technology company that connects car buyers and sellers.
Mangione moved to Hawaii in early 2022, settling on the 40th floor of a skyscraper near Waikiki, Hawaii. He had a private room in a complex that included a fully equipped kitchen, a shared living room, and plenty of surfboards. Then came the accident that worsened a back problem he had always had.
For months, the suffering continued as he consulted with doctors and tried a variety of non-invasive remedies. He left his job in early 2023 because it was "tremendously boring" and told a friend he wanted to spend more time doing yoga and reading.
In May, he turned 26, which meant he could have been kicked off his parents' medical insurance plan. The family has not spoken about his insurance coverage and has declined interview requests, but a UnitedHealthcare representative said on Thursday that Mangione had never had medical insurance through that company.
But that injury was just the beginning of the change that occurred within Luigi Mangione. In 2024, in April, the 26-year-old decided to leave Hawaii, where he was working online for a car sales company, for Japan. "I want some time to relax," Mangione told a friend in a voice message recorded on April 27.
It would be one of his last communications before abruptly cutting ties with friends and family, who embarked on a desperate search to find him. Seven months later, Mangione emerged from his isolation to murder Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on a Manhattan sidewalk.
It seems that the trip only served to increase his anger towards society and a system he considers extremely unjust. He began expressing concern about the growing dependence of the world on smartphones and social media. During his trip to Asia, he criticized the modern urban environment in Japan, stating that sex toys, automated restaurants, and a more general lack of "natural human interaction" were responsible for declining birth rates and a shortage of human connection, as reported in a comprehensive article by 'The New York Times'.
Luigi was frustrated and began dangerously approaching circles that claimed violence could be the next necessary step. For him, society in general was unable to address the problems that plagued it.
All this cocktail led Magione to commit his heinous crime. In the end, he was arrested on Monday at a McDonald's in the rural town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt. Police stated that the young man was in possession of a three-page handwritten text criticizing the U.S. health insurance system, often accused of prioritizing profits over healthcare.
There seems to be little doubt about his authorship of the crime. His fingerprints match those found near the crime scene in New York, said Jessica Tisch, head of the New York Police, as reported by ABC. The casings recovered at the scene also matched the gun that Luigi Mangione had when he was arrested.