Luigi Mangione latest: Top New York attorney tapped by defense as new details emerge on how suspect fled to Pennsylvania

Luigi Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, told NBC News.

The update comes after police said that there was “no indication” that Mangione was registered with UnitedHealthcare, whose CEO was murdered on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.

“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York. “So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” Kenny said.

Investigators are still looking into a motive and have said that he suffered from debilitating back pain.

Betting platform Polymarket started taking bets on Luigi Mangione’s future after the 26-year-old was charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The bets started appearing on the website on Monday shortly after Mangione was arrested in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on gun charges, according to Forbes.

The betting platform surged in popularity during the 2024 presidential election, when gamblers spent more than $3.3 billion guessing the results.

So far, users have wagered thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies speculating over Mangione’s alleged motive and outcome of the case.

A bet with one of the highest trading volumes, $125,000, is on whether Mangione was “motivated by denied [health insurance] claims.” Polymarket’s betting odds give it a 24 percent chance of being true.

Rhian Lubin has the full story.

Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder in connection to the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattanhotel on December 4.

Mangione, 26, was spotted eating a meal inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning, with an employee calling the tip into police.

He is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania.

Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown. That launched a massive manhunt for the suspect who eluded police for nearly a week.

Read the full story.

New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CBS News that she believes Americans view health insurance companies denying their claims as an “act of violence.”

“I think that this collective American experience, which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world, all of that pain that people have experienced is being concentrated on this event. And it’s really important that we take a step back,” the Democrat said Thursday.

“This is not to comment and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them,” she continued.

California police had identified the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect as Luigi Mangione and alerted the FBI four days before he was eventually arrested in Pennsylvania, according to a report.

An officer in the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is said to have tipped off the bureau on December 5 after recognizing Mangione in images circulated by the NYPD, sources told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mangione had actually been on the radar of San Francisco authorities two weeks prior to the December 4 shooting of Brian Thompson.

Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, had reported her son missing on November 18 after the family had been unable to contact him since July 1, the sources told the Chronicle. An acquaintance told The New York Times the suspect had lost touch with friends and family after undergoing major surgery for debilitating, chronic back pain in July 2023.

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The CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UnitedHealthcare, admitted that the US health system “doesn’t work as well as it should”.

Writing in a New York Times op-ed on Friday morning, Andrew Witty lamented the loss of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, and addressed the US’s “patchwork” healthcare system.

The health insurance executive also wrote that he understood people’s frustrations with the health care system.

“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” he wrote. “No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”

He continued: “Our mission is to help make it work better. We are willing to partner with anyone, as we always have – health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others – to find ways to deliver high-quality care and lower costs.

“Clearly, we are not there yet. We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization.”

Luigi Mangione, the alleged perpetrator in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly suffered from chronic back pain.

Posts on the content-sharing platform Reddit under the now-defunct username “Mister_Cactus” appeared to reference the 26-year-old’s extensive health problems. The user referred to “spondy,” which is commonly known as spondylolisthesis.

Spondylolisthesis is a condition caused by a vertebra slipping out of place and putting pressure on the bones below. While it commonly occurs in older adults due to a type of arthritis, a common disease that causes joint inflammation and stiffness, it can also be brought on by trauma, spinal destabilization, bone disease, or a birth defect.

Julia Musto has the full story.

December 4: The suspect set off from an Upper West Side hostel before dawn. He was seen on surveillance video walking back and forth at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel where the UnitedHealthcare Group was holding its conference. After opening fire, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park before getting into a cab and was later spotted at a bus station. A manhunt ensued.

December 5: Investigators revealed a cryptic message carved onto the shell casings: “delay,” “deny” and “depose.” NYPD also released images of the suspect.

December 6: Police announce they believe the suspect has left New York City, expanding the desperate search. A backpack, thought to belong to the suspect, was found in Central Park and sent in for forensic testing. The now-viral “flirtatious” photo of the suspect speaking to a hostel worker was released.

December 7: NYPD releases another photo of the suspect, this time in the back of a taxi. The FBI also joined the hunt for the suspect, offering a $50,000 reward for information.

December 8: Although no leads on the suspect’s whereabouts were made public, investigators revealed the contents of the backpack included Monopoly money and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.

December 9: A private service for Brian Thompson was held. Also that day, a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania tipped recognized Mangione from the photos circulated by police. He was arrested in Pennsylvania on gun charges and hours later faced a murder charge in New York.

Mangione is being held in a small cell — 15 feet by six feet — with a bed, sink, toilet and a desk with a seat, Newsweek reported.

He “can look out the front of his cell where there is a window which provides natural light,” a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokesperson told the outlet.

The 26-year-old has eaten all of his three meals each day in his cell and is “not interacting with other inmates at this time,” the spokesperson said.