The man charged with allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in New York City said in court on Dec. 9 that prosecutors were wrong about several details in the case.
They also said he possessed a Faraday bag, which blocks electronic signals, and that the bag was evidence of criminal sophistication. Mangione pushed back, CNN reported.
“I'd like to correct two things,” Mangione said. “First, I don’t know where any of that money came from. I’m not sure if it was planted. And also, that bag was waterproof. So I don’t know about criminal sophistication.”
Mangione did not have legal representation during the hearing. Asked at the arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione said he wanted to “answer that at a future date.”
Once Mangione pulled down his mask at the officers’ request, “we knew that was our guy,” Tyler Frye, one of the Altoona Police Department officers, said during a press conference.
Mangione was then “cooperative with us,” Frye said.
Officers searched Mangione. Inside his backpack, they allegedly found a black, 3D-printed pistol loaded with a Glock magazine containing six full metal jacket rounds and a black “silencer.” They also found a loose hollow point round, electronic devices, and written documents, according to a criminal complaint and law enforcement officials.
The documents indicate Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America,” Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York City Police Department, told a separate briefing.
Mangione was initially charged with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification, instruments of a crime, and false identification to law enforcement.
The plan is to charge Mangione in New York and extradite him there, officials said.
UnitedHealth Group thanked law enforcement in a statement.
“Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues, and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a company spokesperson said.
A McDonald’s customer had alerted the police about Mangione, who was wearing a mask and a beanie. When Mangione was approached by officers and asked if he had been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” according to the criminal complaint.
“We only know what we have read in the media,” the family said. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.”
The relatives include Nino Mangione, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Luigi Mangione was born and raised in Maryland. He attended a Baltimore prep school, graduating as valedictorian in 2016, according to the school’s website. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a school spokesperson said.
He worked for a time for the car-buying website TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Jantoon Reigersman said in an email.
From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a co-living space in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin. “There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.”
At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said.
Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment.
Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago.
