Luigi mangione contests extradition in unitedhealthcare ceo killing

UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2024 AT 15:52 PM ET Luigi Mangione, the man facing charges in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was denied bail in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The

26-year-old has 14 days to contest the bail decision, The Associated Press reported. Mangione's defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, on Tuesday informed the court his client would be

contesting extradition back to New York, the AP reported. But Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said it won't be a substantial barrier to returning Mangione to that state. As

he was being escorted into the courthouse by police officers, Mangione yelled out to reporters that some unintelligible thing was "an insult to the American people." Thompson was

headed to an investor meeting in New York City last Wednesday when a person approached him from behind and shot him. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Officials searched the city for

days for a suspect but later said they believed the person fled New York after the shooting. Mangione was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania. Here's what to know about the case so far.

MANGIONE IS FROM MARYLAND AND WORKED AS A DATA ENGINEER Mangione was taken into custody by police in Altoona, Pa., after he was recognized at a local McDonald's and reported to

authorities. He is facing charges that include murder, illegal possession of a firearm and lying about his identity. At the time of his arrest, Mangione had with him a ghost gun thought to

be used in the shooting, a fake ID and three pages of text possibly indicating his motive, police said. NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said the document in Mangione's possession

indicated some "ill will toward corporate America." Online accounts and school records show that Mangione is from the Baltimore area and was the valedictorian of the private Gilman

School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's and a master's degree, both in computer science, with a focus on artificial intelligence. The Maryland

native appeared to come from a well-heeled Baltimore family that owned several businesses — including, at one time or another, country clubs, a nursing home and a radio station — and had

long ties to the area. Mangione most recently worked as a data engineer and was living in Hawaii, according to his LinkedIn profile. His interests — which seemed at times to hold

contradicting moral values — ranged from literature to philosophy. In an online review of a book by Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the "Unabomber," Mangione wrote,

"It's easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it's simply

impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out." Mangione does not have any known criminal history, police said. He is related to Maryland

Republican Delegate Nino Mangione, who represents parts of Baltimore County. The politician said in a statement on behalf of the family that they are "devastated by this news" but

only know what they have read in the media and cannot comment on news reports. "Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest," he said. "We offer our prayers to

the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved." WHO WAS BRIAN THOMPSON? Thompson had been CEO of UnitedHealthcare since 2021 but had been at UnitedHealth

Group since 2004, serving in various executive roles for divisions including Medicare and employer and individual plans. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's in

business administration and accounting in 1997, according to his LinkedIn page. > This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and > health care community in Minnesota.

>  > Minnesota is sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the > UnitedHealthcare team. https://t.co/6lAL2lJXzn > — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 4, 2024 Thompson

lived in Minnesota, where the company is based, and was a husband and father to two children. After his death, an outpouring of support from Minnesota politicians poured in, including from

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Gov. Tim Walz, the former vice presidential candidate. His wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats recently. While responses from official

sources decried the violent action taken against Thompson, a vocal populist consensus emerged on social media that condemned the idea of for-profit health care. Supporters of the

shooter's actions painted potential vigilantism against a health care CEO in a climate of crippling medical debt as the inevitable outcome of a failed system. WHAT'S NEXT IN THE

CASE? Mangione is currently being held in Pennsylvania. New York law enforcement officials are drafting their own charges for Mangione. Officials are also investigating if Mangione may have

had help in committing the crime or evading police. Copyright 2024 NPR