Luigi Mangione’s mother made a shocking confession to authorities before the suspected assassin was arrested, officials revealed on Tuesday. The NYPD had been actively searching for the man responsible for the point-blank shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50. In their efforts, they released surveillance images of the alleged gunman.
One of the photos, that shows the suspect with his mask lowered, caught the attention of a San Francisco police officer who had been searching for Mangione, 26, since mid-November, after his mother, Kathleen, reported him missing. Kathleen said that she had not been in contact with her son since July 1 as Luigi has been missing since that time.
Shocking Confession
Kathleen also said that he was employed by San Francisco-based TrueCar, an online automotive marketplace. However, she was unaware that Mangione had been laid off earlier in 2023.
After identifying the suspect, the San Francisco officer alerted the FBI and shared Mangione’s name, leading New York authorities, working with the FBI’s task force, to reach out to Kathleen.
“They had a conversation where she didn’t indicate that it was her son in the photograph, but she said it might be something that she could see him doing,” NYPD Chief of Police Joseph Kenny said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The officer said that the conversation took place “very late” on December 7, and the information was passed on to New York City police the next morning. However, Mangione wasn’t arrested until December 9, when he was found eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione has been formally indicted on a murder charge as an act of terrorism in connection with Thompson’s death.
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Under New York law, this charge applies when a crime is “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.”
Planned Murder
The slain CEO was fatally shot while walking to a Manhattan hotel, where UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the United States, was hosting an investor conference. “This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday.
“It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatened the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day.”
Mangione has two court appearances scheduled in Pennsylvania on Thursday, including an extradition hearing, according to Bragg.
Sources told Fox News that Mangione is unlikely to contest extradition, meaning he could be transferred to New York City as early as the same day.
Some legal experts have suggested that Mangione should forego disputing his guilt and instead focus on seeking a reduced sentence by arguing that he acted under extreme emotional distress.
