By Mark Scolforo and Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — The police commissioner of New York City announced Wednesday that the gun that was discovered on the suspect in the murder of the CEO of United Healthcare matched shell casings that were discovered at the scene of the crime.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at an unrelated press conference that suspect Luigi Mangione’s fingerprints also matched a protein bar wrapper and a water bottle that police discovered close to the scene and claim the shooter bought at a neighboring coffee shop while waiting for his target.
Mangione, 26, was charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the head of the biggest health insurance firm in the US, last week in midtown Manhattan.
Writings discovered in Mangione’s possession, according to authorities, alluded to a dislike of corporate greed.
According to a law enforcement official on Wednesday, they have retrieved a spiral notebook that Mangione kept and a three-page handwritten letter that was discovered when he was taken into custody. What was in the notebook has not been revealed by the police.
The letter, which was discovered in the notebook after Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, hinted that there might be hints of the attack in the form of a few straggling notes and To Do lists that shed light on the main idea of it, according to the law enforcement official. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity, was not permitted to reveal details about the inquiry.
According to Kenny, the motive may have been connected to an incident that put Mangione to the hospital on July 4, 2023, as reported by CBS New York.
According to a law enforcement report that the AP was able to receive earlier this week, the letter expressed hatred for corporate greed and power as well as animosity towards what Mangione described as parasite health insurance corporations. According to the bulletin, the Ivy League and prep school graduate claimed that the United States has the most costly health care system in the world and that although life expectancy is down, the profits of large corporations are increasing.
As deputies forced him into a courthouse on Tuesday, Mangione made his first public remarks since his arrest when he yelled about an insult to the American people’s intelligence while getting out of a patrol car. Mangione was first accused with firearms and forgery violations in Pennsylvania, where he was still detained without being granted bail.
Prosecutors in Manhattan were trying to get Mangione to come to New York. Defense attorney Thomas Dickey stated at a brief hearing in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that Mangione will not waive extradition and that he prefers a hearing on the matter.
Dickey later remarked, “You can’t rush to judgment in this case or any case.” He is thought to be innocent. We must remember that.
According to authorities, Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona, which is roughly 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of New York City, when a McDonald’s patron recognized him and alerted a staff member.
According to New York police, Mangione had a passport and other forged identification with him, along with a gun similar to the one that killed Thompson and the same phony ID that the alleged gunman had used to check into a hostel in New York.
On December 4, Thompson, 50, was assassinated while making his way alone to a hotel in Manhattan for an investor meeting. Investigators in New York concluded the shooter swiftly left the city, most likely by bus, based on CCTV footage.
Although it’s unclear what he did after that, officials think he took precautions to avoid being noticed. At his hearing in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, prosecutors said he had bags for his laptop and smartphone when he was seized, which stop them from sending signals that allow police to follow them.
Mangione, a graduate computer science student and former employee of a car-buying website, was the grandson of a prominent Maryland philanthropist and real estate developer. He lived in a co-living facility in Hawaii throughout the first part of 2022, and according to others who knew him, he experienced excruciating and occasionally incapacitating back pain.
In a statement, his family expressed their shock and sadness at his imprisonment.
News from New York was reported by Sisak. Jennifer Peltz, a journalist for the Associated Press, contributed.
Healthcare CEO shooting
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