NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel, is now charged with murder, according to court documents.
The New York City Police Department and Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday the 26-year-old was taken into custody earlier in the day on forgery and illegal gun charges in Pennsylvania. At the time, he was still considered a person of interest in the case.
“He matches the description of the identification we’ve been looking for. He’s also in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident,” Adams said Monday. “How did we do it? Good old fashioned police work.”
The murder charge starts the extradition process back to New York that could take days or weeks. Police believe Mangione had been traveling around Pennsylvania in the days after Thompson was killed, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Altoona, where he was recognized earlier Monday by a customer.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a tipster called police after seeing a man who looked like the suspect at a McDonald’s.
“The suspect was in a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport,” she said. “Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder. They also recovered clothing, including a mask, consistent with those warn by our wanted individual.
“Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch added.
NYPD officials described the weapon as a possible “ghost gun,” and said the written document was three pages long.
Tisch said Mangione was also found in possession of the same fake New Jersey ID the person of interest used to check into a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he was seen in surveillance images without a mask. He was later seen at the Port Authority bus terminal in Washington Heights and was believed to have boarded a bus there after the shooting.
UnitedHealthcare CEO shot and killed in Manhattan
BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/United Health Group
Thompson, 50, was gunned down by a masked shooter on Dec. 4 outside the Hilton Midtown hotel, where UnitedHealthcare was set to hold its annual investors conference.
The NYPD called it a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” and launched an intense manhunt. Police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and the FBI later upped the ante to $50,000.
Investigators quickly began piecing together a timeline of the shooting, including the suspect’s movements and escape route. The next day, police released images of a person wanted for questioning, as they zeroed in on the hostel where he was staying.
NYPD
Police had numerous clues early on in the investigation. They were able to trace the suspect’s movements prior to the shooting and his escape by bicycle through Central Park.
Investigators spent days searching the park and found a backpack containing a jacket and Monopoly money, but it did not have the murder weapon. Dive teams in scuba gear continued to comb a pond near the park’s Bethesda Fountain for the gun.
CBS News
Police also found expended shells at the scene that had “delay” and “deny” meticulously written on them. Investigators believe those words were related to a reference made by critics of the health insurance industry.
Officers also recovered a cellphone from the scene, as well as a water bottle and a candy bar wrapper they believe the suspect left at a Starbucks prior to the shooting.
Meanwhile, investigators have been probing every aspect of Thompson’s life to try to find a motive.
“They’re going to look at the business end, you have a company that’s laid people off. They’re going to look at the personal stories, and they’re going to focus on letters, desperate people who were denied care or tests or something that could’ve saved a life or who blame the company,” said former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.
Thompson, a married father of two, had been in New York City for two days before he was murdered. His wife, Paulette, spoke about the family’s loss.
“Brian was a wonderful person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest,” she said. “He will be greatly missed by everybody. Our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news.”
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
Pat Milton
contributed to this report.
