The police have arrested a suspect in brutal Manhattan murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare after a McDonald’s customer in Altoona, Pennsylvania, saw a man who officers found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush.
Luigi Nicholas Mangionea 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, had a gun believed to be the weapon used in last Wednesday’s shooting. Brian Thompsonas well as writings suggesting anger at corporate America, police said.
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The warrant for murder and other charges is a step that could help expedite his extradition from Pennsylvania.
In court documents made public Tuesday, a New York City police detective reiterated key findings in the investigation that he said linked Mangione to the killing, including surveillance footage and a fake ID he used to check into a hostel in Manhattan on November 24.
Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found that ID when they arrested Mangione on Monday.
Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of a firearm without a license, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with five counts, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Mangione does not yet have an attorney who can speak on his behalf, court officials said.
Footage of Mangione released Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police shows him pulling down his mask in the corner of the McDonald’s while holding what appeared to be hash browns and wearing a winter coat and ski hat. Another photo from a cell showed him without a smile and with messy hair.
Mangione’s cousin, Maryland Assemblyman Nino Mangione, announced Tuesday morning that he is postponing a fundraiser scheduled for later this week at the Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore, which was purchased by the Mangione family in 1986.
“Due to the nature of this terrible situation involving my cousin, I do not believe it is appropriate to hold my fundraising event for next Thursday at Hayfields,” Nino Mangione said in a social media post. “I want to thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support. My family and I are heartbroken and ask that you keep Mr. Thompson’s family in your prayers. Thank you.”
Officers used New York City’s muscle monitoring system. Researchers analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. The police went door to door looking for witnesses.
When an arrest came five days laterthese extensive research efforts shared the honor of the instincts of an alert citizen. A customer at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania noticed another customer who resembled the man in the oblique security camera photos released by the New York Police Department.
He remains imprisoned in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possessing a firearm without a license, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a murder charge, according to an online court docket.
It is unclear whether Luigi Nicholas Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. When Mangione was asked at Monday’s arraignment whether he needed a public defender, he asked if he could “answer that in the future.”