UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect was not an insured member, company says (original) (raw)

Luigi Mangione, the man charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, did not have coverage from the health insurer, the company said Friday.

Authorities charged Mangione, 26, with murder this week and said they believe the motive was animus toward the health insurance industry and corporate America. Police said they found a three-page handwritten document on Mangione that expressed disdain for the health business.

UnitedHealthcare said in a statement to The Washington Post on Friday that Mangione and his mother “were not UnitedHealthcare members.” It added: “We are working closely with law enforcement officials who continue their investigation of this horrific crime, and we continue to support those who depend on us for their health care.”

Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, told NBC New York on Thursday: “We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health-care organization in America, so that’s possibly why he targeted that company.”

Kenny noted that Mangione “had prior knowledge” of the annual UnitedHealth Group investors meeting at which Thompson was slated to speak Dec. 4, when he was killed while walking to the event.

Mangione suffered from an apparent painful spinal condition, according to interviews with friends. “The injury that he suffered was a life-changing, life-altering injury,” Kenny said Thursday, “and that’s what may have put him on this path.”

Thomas M. Dickey, an attorney for Mangione, did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Dickey indicated in court this week that his client would not consent to extradition to New York but it now appears he’s reconsidering. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, citing court officials in Pennsylvania, said Mangione could waive his right to challenge extradition but he could not appear in court to do so until Tuesday. “Indications are that the defendant may waive but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding,” Bragg said. A proceeding was not on the schedule as of late Friday afternoon, according to a court official.

Officials are still trying to piece together Mangione’s movements in the summer and fall. Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, called the San Francisco police in November and said her son had not been heard from since July, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The day after the shooting, an officer in the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Victims Unit recognized the man suspected of killing Thompson as possibly resembling Mangione, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. The officer made the possible connection based on surveillance photos authorities shared of the suspect, and the missing person’s report filed by Mangione’s mother.

The Special Victims Unit, which was investigating the missing person’s case, contacted the FBI about the possible connection that same day, the person said. It is unclear whether there was any subsequent communication between the FBI and SFPD on this matter. Mangione was arrested four days later in Altoona, Pa. The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report SFPD’s contact with the FBI.

In a statement, the FBI confirmed it received a tip from the SFPD “regarding the possible identity of the suspect. FBI New York conducted routine investigative activity and referred this and other leads to the New York City Police Department as part of our assistance to them in their investigation." It credited the arrest to extensive sharing of photos by law enforcement.

NYPD and SFPD did not respond to requests for comment.

Shayna Jacobs in New York contributed to this report.