Luigi Mangione— the mancharged with murderingUnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson— had reportedly been dealing with “debilitating” back pain before going “radio silent” with friends over the summer.
On Monday, Dec. 9, PEOPLE confirmed that Mangione, 26, had been charged with one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a firearm.
He’s accused of killing Thompson just before 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Sixth Avenue.
After the charges were reported, friends of Mangione spoke out about living with the accused man at Surfbreak — a co-living space near Honolulu’s Ala Moana Beach Park in Hawaii — where he stayed from January to June 2022, per theHonolulu Civil Beat.
Luigi Mangione.PA Department of Corrections
PA Department of Corrections
Founder of the co-living space, R.J. Martin, recalled Mangione suffering from “chronic back pain” from an apparent pinched nerve, which he’d had for years, according to the outlet.
“I loved this guy,” Martin said, per the publication. “In some ways I feel like my members are my kids.”
Josiah Ryan, who is Martin’s spokesperson, told theAssociated Pressthat Mangione had undergone a background check before moving into the co-living space.
Luigi Mangione.Altoona Police Department via Getty
Altoona Police Department via Getty
“Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said, per the outlet. “There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.”
Ryan added that Mangione’s back pain did get in the way of his day-to-day life at times, recalling, “He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back.”
Ryan told AP that Mangione and Martin would regularly go to a rock-climbing gym together, before the accused went to get surgery on the mainland.
Luigi Mangione.Luigi Mangione/Facebook
Luigi Mangione/Facebook
TheNew York Timesreported that Mangione had undergone back surgery last year.
“His spine was kind of misaligned,” Martin said, according to the publication. “He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve. Sometimes he’d be doing well and other times not."
The outlet stated he suffered from “debilitating pain” at times and had to “switch out his mattress” after taking part in a group surfing lesson.
Martin added to theNew York Timesthat Mangione said he wasn’t in a relationship as “he knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible. I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks.”
Despite Mangione staying in contact with Martin and texting him photos after having his back surgery, the co-living space founder stopped hearing from him over the summer.
“He went radio silent in June or July,” Martin said, per theCivil Beat.
Brian Thompson.UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group
According to theCivil Beat, Mangione had “no significant criminal record in Hawaii,” aside from having to pay a court-ordered $100 fine in November 2023 after pleading no contest to a petty misdemeanor offense for trespassing in a “closed area” of Oahu’s Nuuanu Pali Lookout.
Aaron Cranston — Mangione’s former classmate at Gilman School in Baltimore — also told theNew York Timesthat he and some others had been forwarded a message earlier this year because Mangione’s family had been trying to get in touch with him. Cranston, who said he hadn’t stayed close with the suspect after high school, told the outlet Mangione’s family hadn’t heard from him in “several months” following his “back surgery.”
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Mangione was detained on Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn., after a customer spotted him and notified an employee. The employee then called the police.
Officersdiscovered him in possession of a 9mm “ghost gun” similar to that used to shoot Thompson, multiple fake IDs, anda 3-page manifestocritical of the health insurance industry.
source: people.com
