Luigi Mangione blames back injury for CEO killing

Luigi Mangione, who admitted shooting dead UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in Manhattan, used a court appearance to blame a back injury and said his crimes sought to make “health care work better for everyone.”

Mangione, 28, was arrested in Pennsylvania after a tipster saw him at a McDonald's. Thompson, a father of two, was killed in broad daylight in 2024.

The case drew attention to anger at the United States' privatized medical system. AFP reported that an apparent manifesto found on Mangione after his arrest contained anti-corporate comments and called the health insurance industry a “greed-fueled cartel” that “extracts human life force for money.” No explicit political affiliation has emerged.

Mangione previously worked as a data engineer at TrueCar and left in 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. He grew up near Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, in a prominent Italian-American family that owns local businesses, including Hayfields Country Club. The University of Pennsylvania said he completed bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science by 2020.

A former Gilman School student who knew Mangione told AFP he seemed like “a normal guy, nice kid.” Mangione's social media activity has been scrutinised for possible motives, including a spine X-ray photo, a Goodreads review of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto and posts about religion. He faces life imprisonment at sentencing in December.