LUIGI Mangione emerged as the primary suspect in the high-profile murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania five days after the assassination in New York City on December 4, 2024, and will appear in court on February 21, 2025.
Luigi Mangione has been arrested in connection with the murder of Brian Thompson[/caption]
He was apprehended five days after the assassination in New York City[/caption]
Luigi Mangione in Manhattan Supreme Court for his arraignment hearing on December 23, 2024[/caption]
Mangione attended a $40,000-a-year Baltimore prep school[/caption]
Who is Luigi Mangione?
Luigi Mangione, 26, was born and raised in Maryland, with his last known residence in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He attended the Gilman School, an elite $40,000-a-year Baltimore prep school, graduating as valedictorian in 2016.
One former student from the Gilman School told The U.S. Sun Mangione was “popular” and had a “big circle of friends.”
The former student, who asked not to be identified, said: “We went to the same school but didn’t really have the same friends. I’m really shocked by this whole thing.
“I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure.”
They added: “It’s not uncommon that people have their gripes with CEOs, especially with CEOs of healthcare in this country, but to assassinate someone?”
“That sounds very, very insane to me. The world is a crazy a** place.”
In 2020, Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Computer, and Information Science, per his LinkedIn profile.
Mangione was actively involved in campus life, reportedly working as a teaching assistant and founding a video game development club.
He also served as a head counselor for a pre-collegiate studies program at Stanford University during the summer of 2019.
The suspect’s great-grandfather, Nicholas Mangione, was a first-generation American who built a real estate empire in Maryland and owned the Turf Valley Resort, Hayfields Country Club and the WCBM-AM radio station. He also founded the Lorien Health Services nursing home.
Mangione is the cousin of Republican Maryland House of Delegates member Nino Mangione.
Will Luigi Mangione appear in court?
The suspect was in court in December 2024 for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges.
Magione will appear in front of a judge again on 21 February, 2025, for a hearing at a state court in Manhattan.
The 26-year-old’s legal team are expected to provide updates on the status of his case.
Judge Gregory Carro could set deadlines for pretrial paperwork or even set a trial date.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
The 26-year-old has been held at a jail in Brooklyn, New York City, and also faces federal charges that could carry the death penalty, if he is found guilty.
Louis Mangione with his wife Kathleen and their three children, including Luigi Mangione[/caption]
The McDonald’s restaurant where Altoona police officers arrested Luigi Mangione[/caption]
Profession
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mangione was a data engineer at TrueCar, an online platform for buying and selling vehicles.
However, a spokesperson for TrueCar told The U.S. Sun: “While we generally don’t comment on personnel matters, we can confirm that Luigi Mangione has not been an employee of our company since 2023.”
Prior to this role, he interned as a programmer at Fixarixis, a video game company.
Shooting
On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside the Hilton Midtown Hotel in Manhattan, New York.
We don’t think that there’s any specific threat to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny
The attack appeared to be premeditated, with the gunman seemingly waiting for Thompson before shooting him in the chest.
The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen escaping toward Central Park on a bike, sparking a citywide search for the assassin.
Arrest
Following an extensive week-long search, Mangione was apprehended on December 9, 2024, at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
A McDonald’s employee called the cops on the suspect, who was “sitting there eating,” New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press conference on Monday, December 9.
Upon his arrest, Mangione was found in possession of several incriminating items:
- A 9mm ghost gun with a silencer, consistent with the weapon used in Thompson’s murder
- Multiple counterfeit identification cards, including a fake New Jersey ID matching the one used to check into a Manhattan hostel prior to the shooting
- A three-page handwritten manifesto expressing frustrations with the US healthcare system
Initially charged with firearms offenses in Pennsylvania, Mangione was later charged with murder in New York City.
Possible motives
While the exact motive remains unclear, authorities have noted that Mangione’s handwritten document revealed his “motivation and mindset”.
Chief of Detectives Kenny said: “We don’t think that there’s any specific threat to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America.”
Luigi Mangione was escorted by police in New York City on December 19, 2024[/caption]
A fundraiser has been set up to help pay his legal fees[/caption]
Is there a Luigi Mangione fundraiser?
A legal defense fund was set up for the suspected CEO assassin and it raised over $500,000, as of February 2025.
The fundraiser, understood to have been set up by a group of anonymous people, reads: “This is a preemptive legal fundraiser for the suspect allegedly involved in the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO”.
In a bizarre turn it said: “We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right of fair legal representation.
“All proceeds will be sent directly to Luigi or, if he chooses to reject the funds, they will instead be donated to legal funds for other U.S political prisoners.
“Luigi’s mailing address has been made available, and we are writing to him to open a line of communication. In future letters, we will send printouts of selected comments from this fundraising page.”
