The bad experience that Luigi Mangione had due to a back surgery is one of the aspects that appear as the likely motive for the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, who was shot on December 4th in New York.
UnitedHealthcare stands out as one of the largest health insurers in the United States. The company was holding a conference in Manhattan, New York, when Thompson was shot and killed. The murder was captured by security cameras, which allowed for the identification of the suspect.
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The New York Post reported that, according to sources, the 26-year-old suspect, who is already in custody, had suffered trauma from a recent back surgery and was experiencing constant pain. The mentioned media outlet presented images of scans showing four huge screws in the lower part of his spine.
Luigi Mangione lost contact with his family members.
The police said that Luigi's mother reported him missing since November 18th. His last known address is in Honolulu, where he was not found.
The Post cited The New York Times, which reported on Aaron Cranston, a former classmate of Mangione, who said that earlier this year, his relatives sent messages asking for information to anyone who knew him, as they had lost contact.
RJ Martin, a friend and former roommate in Hawaii, told CNN that Mangione had previously mentioned his back problems. “I remember he said he had a back problem, and that he hoped to strengthen it in Hawaii,” he said.
According to The Post, Martin recounted that Luigi Mangione's back problems were so "traumatic and difficult" that a basic surf lesson left him bedridden for a week. In fact, the pain from the apparent nerve pressure prevented him from being intimate.
“I knew that going out and being physically intimate with his back condition was not possible... I remember he told me that, and my heart just breaks,” Martin revealed, according to The Post.
When he underwent surgery, Martin said his friend sent him images of the X-rays. "It looked gruesome, with only giant screws going into his spine," said the former University of Pennsylvania classmate, also noting that the young man had books on how to treat chronic back pain.
However, another possible motive that The Post initially considered is Luigi's probable grudges for how his father had been treated in health centers.
Judicial process of Luigi Mangione
Luigi Mangione was arrested during Monday morning while eating at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he remains behind bars without bail. He was charged with possession of a firearm without a license, forgery, and providing false identification to the police, in addition to being charged with murder.
The young man, belonging to a wealthy family dedicated to real estate, will be extradited to New York.
Luis Mangione has always stood out for being an excellent student. On LinkedIn, he shows that he graduated cum laude from the private Ivy League institution in Philadelphia with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE), Computer Science, and Information Sciences in 2020. He also obtained a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE), Computer Science, and Information Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.