NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare 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 for forgery and illegal weapons 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 were looking for. He is also in possession of several items that we believe link him to this incident,” Adams said Monday. ‘How did we do that? Good old-fashioned police work.’
The murder charge triggers the extradition process to New York, which could take days or weeks. Police believe Mangione had traveled through Pennsylvania in the days after Thompson was killed, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Altoona, where he was recognized earlier Monday at a McDonald’s restaurant.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a tipster called police after seeing a man who looked like this the suspect at a McDonald’s.
“The suspect was in a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs as well as a U.S. passport,” she said. “Upon further investigation, officers located a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder. They also found clothing, including a mask, consistent with the clothing worn by our wanted person.
“In addition, officers recovered a handwritten document that demonstrates both his motivation and his mentality,” Tisch added.
NYPD officials described the weapon as a possible ‘ghost gun,” and said the written document was three pages long.
Tisch said Mangione had the same thing in his possession fake New Jersey ID that the person of interest used to check into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he was seen on surveillance footage without a mask. He was later seen at the Port Authority bus station in Washington Heights and is believed to have boarded a bus there after the shooting.
UnitedHealthcare CEO shot dead in Manhattan
BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/United Health Group
Thompson, 50, was shot by a masked gunman on December 4 outside the Hilton Midtown hotel, where UnitedHealthcare was scheduled to hold its annual investor conference.
The NYPD called it a ‘premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack’ launched an intensive manhunt. Police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and the FBI later upped the ante to $50,000.
Researchers soon began putting the puzzle 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 targeted the hostel where he was staying.
N.Y.P.D
The police had numerous clues early in the investigation. They were able to track the suspect’s movements prior to the shooting and his escape by bicycle through Central Park.
Investigators searched the park for days and found a backpack containing a jacket and Monopoly money, but it did not contain 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 spent grenades at the scene “delay” and “refuse” written on it carefully. Researchers believe these words were related a reference from critics of the health insurance industry.
Officers also found a cell phone at the scene, as well as a water bottle and a strip of candy wrapper that they believe the suspect left at a Starbucks prior to the shooting.
Meanwhile, investigators have been looking into every aspect of Thompson’s life to find a motive.
“They’re going to look at the business side, you have a company that has laid off people. They’re going to look at the personal stories, and they’re going to focus on letters, desperate people who have been denied care or tests. or something that could have saved a life or that the company is to blame,” said John Miller, former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism.
Thompson, a married father of two children, had been in New York City for two days before he was killed. His wife, Paulette, spoke of the family’s loss.
“Brian was an amazing person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest,” she said. “He will be deeply missed by everyone. 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.
