Police: Gun Found on Suspect in UHC CEO Killing Matches Crime Scene Evidence “`
ALTOONA, Pa. — Ballistics evidence links the firearm recovered from the suspect to shell casings discovered at the murder scene, New York City’s police commissioner announced Wednesday.
Suspect Luigi Mangione’s fingerprints were also found on a water bottle and protein bar wrapper located near the crime scene; police say the gunman purchased these items at a nearby coffee shop while waiting for his victim, Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated during a separate press conference.
The 26-year-old Mangione has been charged with the murder of the CEO of the United States’ largest health insurance company, which occurred last week in midtown Manhattan.
Authorities have indicated that writings found in Mangione’s possession suggest an animosity towards corporate greed.
They’ve recovered a spiral notebook belonging to Mangione, along with a three-page handwritten letter discovered during his arrest, a law enforcement official reported Wednesday. Police have not yet revealed the contents of the notebook.
The letter, found upon Mangione’s arrest Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, suggested that further clues to the attack – “some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it” – might be found within the notebook, the law enforcement official said. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Kenny told CBS New York that the motive may stem from an accident that led to Mangione’s emergency room visit on July 4, 2023.
A law enforcement bulletin obtained by the AP earlier this week indicated that the letter expressed anger towards what Mangione termed “parasitic” health insurance companies, and a general disdain for corporate greed and power. The prep school and Ivy League graduate wrote that the U.S. has the world’s most expensive healthcare system, with major corporations continuing to see rising profits while life expectancy remains stagnant, according to the bulletin.
In his first public statement since his arrest, Mangione exited a patrol car Tuesday yelling about an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” as deputies escorted him into a courthouse. Mangione remains incarcerated without bail in Pennsylvania, where he initially faced gun and forgery charges.
Manhattan prosecutors are working to extradite Mangione to New York. At a brief hearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania, defense attorney Thomas Dickey stated Mangione would not waive extradition and instead requested a hearing on the matter.
“You can’t rush to judgment in this case or any case,” Dickey said afterward. “He’s presumed innocent. Let’s not forget that.”
Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, approximately 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City, after a McDonald’s customer recognized him and alerted an employee, authorities stated.
New York police officials have said Mangione possessed a firearm similar to the murder weapon and the same fraudulent ID used by the suspected shooter to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and additional fraudulent identification documents.
Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on Dec. 4 while walking alone to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Surveillance footage shows the shooter quickly leaving the city, likely by bus.
His subsequent movements are unclear, but authorities believe he took steps to evade detection. Prosecutors mentioned at his Pennsylvania hearing Tuesday that at the time of arrest, he possessed bags designed to block signals from his cellphone and laptop, hindering tracking efforts by authorities.
Mangione, the grandson of a prominent Maryland real estate developer and philanthropist, holds a graduate degree in computer science and previously worked for a car-buying website. During the first half of 2022, he resided in a “co-living” space in Hawaii, where acquaintances described him as suffering from severe, occasionally debilitating back pain.
His family released a statement expressing their “shock and devastation” at his arrest.
Sisak reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.