Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is fighting extradition to New York City on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson and will remain in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested six days into the nationwide hunt for the suspected shooter.
Mangione, 26, an Ivy league-educated computer scientist from Towson, Maryland, was charged in Manhattan with second-degree murder and weapons and a forged instrument possession charges on Monday night following his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Manhattan prosecutors are seeking to extradite Mangione to face the charges in the killing of Thompson, a married father of two from Maple Grove, Minnesota.
On his way into a Pennsylvania court Tuesday, Mangione struggled with sheriff’s deputies leading him into the courthouse ahead of the extradition hearing. A handcuffed Mangione, wearing an orange jumpsuit, shouted comments during his brief scuffle with the deputies that included Mangione saying “clearly out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people,” according to a broadcast. His full comments were not audible.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Alleged unitedhealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is fighting extradition back to New York City on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson.
- Mangione,an Ivy League-educated computer scientist from Towson,Maryland,was charged in Manhattan with second-degree murder and weapons and a forged instrument possession charges on Monday night following his arrest in Altoona,Pennsylvania.
- Manhattan prosecutors are seeking to extradite Mangione to face the charges in the killing of Thompson, a married father of two from Maple Grove, Minnesota.
Blair County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Peter J. Weeks, speaking at a news conference after the extradition hearing, said he was confident Mangione would ultimately be extradited to New York.Criminal defendants can choose to waive their extradition to another state to face charges, but also have the option to contest the process, which typically delays transport to the jurisdiction for arraignment.
“We’re going to do what’s necessary to get the governor’s warrant [for extradition],” weeks said. ”Waiving [extradition] accelerates that process. Contesting it just makes more hoops for law enforcement to jump through, but we’re happy to do it.”
Officials said Mangione would remain in Pennsylvania for at least 14 days.
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it intended to seek a governor’s warrant to extradite Mangione.
Weeks said the judge gave Mangione’s defense attorney 14 days to file a petition challenging the extradition. Weeks said the judge would set another hearing after that deadline. Weeks said he intended to forego prosecuting Mangione in Pennsylvania on gun possession and forgery charges to allow the New York case to proceed, but said he didn’t intend to drop his case against Mangione.
Mangione’s Pennsylvania-based defense attorney did not promptly respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Thompson died last Wednesday as an inevitable result of a ”gunshot wound to the torso,” as determined at his autopsy, according to the felony arrest warrant for Mangione issued in New York.
Mangione, who grew up outside of Baltimore but recently lived in honolulu, was arrested Monday morning at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, after a fellow patron thought he resembled the suspect in Thompson’s killing. Authorities released a photo Tuesday of Mangione munching on a McDonald’s hash brown shortly before his arrest.
This image released by Pennsylvania State Police shows a video image of Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., Monday. Credit: AP
Police found “a black 3D printed pistol and a black silencer … the pistol had a metal slide and a plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel” inside Mangione’s backpack, according to a criminal complaint filed in Blair County. ”The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter full metal jacket rounds. There was also one loose nine-millimeter hollow point round.”
mangione was arraigned Monday on those forgery and weapons charges in Blair County, and ordered held without bail.
According to the Pennsylvania complaint, police were dispatched to the McDonald’s on Plank Road in Altoona at 9:14 a.m. for a “suspicious male” who resembled the CEO shooter.
Mangione, wearing a blue medical mask and a beanie, was sitting at a table in the rear of the restaurant and looking at a silver laptop when police walked up to him, the complaint said. A backpack was on the floor next to him,the complaint said.
Rookie police Officer Tyler Frye, who has been a police officer for about six months, said he and his partner “recognized him immediately.”
“We didn’t even think twice about it,” Frye said. “We knew it was our guy.”
Frye said Mangione pulled down his mask when he directed him to do so and described Mangione as “pretty cooperative.”
Mangione provided police with a New Jersey driver’s license bearing the name of Mark Rosario with a birth year of 1998 when asked for identification by the officers, the complaint said. The NYPD said the ID is fake and was the same one used to book a hostel on the Upper West Side where the alleged shooter stayed before the shooting.
When the police asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” the complaint said.
when questioned about the identification he provided and told he would be arrested if he lied about his identity, Mangione told the officers his name, the complaint said. When asked why he initially lied, Mangione said, according to the complaint, “I clearly shouldn’t have.”
At the time of his arrest, Mangione, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, was carrying a three-page “manifesto” that “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, who said the document indicated that the suspect “has some ill will toward corporate America.”
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, appears in an undated photograph. Credit: TNS/business Wire
Surveillance video showed what police said was the targeted and brazen killing of Thompson, who was shot from behind in the back and calf, as he walked on a sidewalk outside the Hilton about 6:44 a.m. last Wednesday.The shooter, wearing a mask and hood, was believed to have left the scene on an electric bike.
NY
Manhattan Shooting Suspect Tracked Through Surveillance Network
New york City detectives have uncovered a detailed trail of the suspected shooter responsible for a recent fatal attack in Manhattan, thanks to the city’s extensive surveillance network. The inquiry has shed light on the suspect’s movements before and after the shooting, providing crucial insights into the case.
According to a police official, the suspect arrived in New York City on November 24, 2023, at the Port Authority Bus Terminal around 10 p.m.He had traveled from Atlanta on a bus, though it remains unclear where exactly he boarded the bus. Upon arrival, he checked into a hostel on Amsterdam Avenue, where he stayed for five days before briefly checking out on November 29 and returning the next day.
On the day of the shooting, the suspect left the hostel at 5:30 a.m.and was seen entering a nearby Starbucks. After the shooting, which resulted in the death of the victim, identified as Thompson, the suspect fled the scene. Thompson was pronounced dead at a hospital approximately 30 minutes after being wounded.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect’s escape on what police believe was an electric bicycle. He entered Central Park at 6:48 a.m. and was later spotted at Central Park West at 6:56 a.m. and then at 85th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes later.By 7 a.m., he had abandoned the bike and was seen walking north on 86th Street. The suspect then hailed a cab and was next observed near the Port Authority bus station near the George washington Bridge at 7:30 a.m.
At the crime scene, investigators discovered several pieces of evidence, including an apparent message etched onto three shell casings. The words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were found on the casings, according to a law enforcement source. These words are strikingly similar to those found in a 2010 book titled “Delay, Deny, defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It” by Jay M.Feinman. The connection has piqued the interest of investigators, who are exploring whether the message holds any importance in the case.
As the investigation continues, authorities are leveraging the city’s extensive surveillance infrastructure to piece together the suspect’s movements and build a comprehensive profile. The case underscores the critical role of technology in modern law enforcement, offering a glimpse into how digital evidence can be instrumental in solving complex crimes.
Key Details of the Investigation:
- Suspect arrived in NYC on Nov. 24, 2023, at 10 p.m. via bus from Atlanta.
- Stayed at a hostel on Amsterdam Avenue, checking out and back in on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30.
- Left hostel at 5:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting, entered a Starbucks nearby.
- Fled on an electric bicycle, entering Central Park and later abandoning it on 86th Street.
- Hailed a cab and was spotted near the Port Authority bus station at 7:30 a.m.
- Evidence includes shell casings with the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose.”
The ongoing investigation is expected to provide further clarity on the suspect’s motives and connections, and also the potential significance of the message found on the shell casings. Stay tuned for updates as this story develops.
By Nicole Fuller and Anthony M. DeStefano
