Luigi Mangione captivated the nation when he was arrested for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot outside a hotel in Manhattan in December 2024. Though he has pleaded not guilty, Mangione’s diaries revealed he targeted Thompson to make a political statement against the for-profit health insurance industry.
The ideologically charged crime has had polarizing effects on the public, with some turning him into an anti-capitalist folk hero and others condemning him as a cold-blooded killer.
Now awaiting two separate trials in New York—one in state court and one in federal court—the 28-year-old stands accused of second-degree murder and other serious criminal charges.
Here’s what we know about Luigi Mangione and his high-profile murder case so far.
Who Is Luigi Mangione?
Mangione was born on May 6, 1998, in Towson, Maryland. He comes from a wealthy family, with his father, Louis Mangione, operating the real estate and business conglomerate Mangione Family Enterprises, which was founded by Luigi’s late grandfather, multimillionaire Nicholas Mangione Sr. His mother, Kathleen Mangione, runs a boutique travel company.
As a teenager, Mangione attended the Gilman School, a prestigious all-boys school, where he participated in several sports, including soccer, wrestling, cross-country, and track and field. During this time, he taught himself how to code and took an interest in video game development, leading him to cofound the gaming startup Approar Games.
After graduating high school as class valedictorian in 2016, Mangione went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania. There, he majored in computer and information science and founded the school’s first video game development club.
During this time, he interned at Firaxis Games and completed a robotics internship at Johns Hopkins University. Mangione also worked as the head counselor of Stanford University’s Pre-Collegiate Studies Program in summer 2019.
In 2020, he graduated from UPenn cum laude, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering, and soon took a job as a data engineer for the digital automotive marketplace TrueCar. Since his job was remote, Mangione moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he briefly lived in a co-living space called Surfbreak.
While he moved out of Surfbreak after only six months, he went back and forth between the East Coast and Hawaii, returning for doctors’ appointments and medical procedures.
In February 2023, Mangione left his job at TrueCar to focus on his health. He was reportedly experiencing chronic back pain and underwent major back surgery. At some point, he lost contact with friends and family. In November 2024, his mother filed a missing persons report in San Francisco, where his former employer was headquartered. In the report, she revealed she last spoke to him that summer.
How Was Luigi Mangione Caught?
Just a few weeks later, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed near the entrance of the hotel New York Hilton Midtown on December 4, 2024. He was in the city to speak at the annual UnitedHealth Group Investor Conference. After a highly publicized manhunt, Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A manager called 911 after other customers reported they were suspicious of him and thought he resembled the widely circulated surveillance photos.
Altoona police quickly arrived on the scene and asked Mangione to pull down the mask he was wearing and identify himself. He gave them a fake New Jersey license with the name Mark Rosario and was arrested for possessing forged documents.
After placing him in custody, police searched his backpack and found a 3D-printed firearm with a silencer, a loaded magazine, and a red notebook detailing his frustration with the health insurance industry, among other items.
What Are the Charges Against Luigi Mangione?
Mangione was indicted on both federal and New York State charges. While he originally faced state terrorism charges, those counts have since been dismissed. In addition to forgery, he is currently charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in New York.
Mangione also faces two counts of interstate stalking in federal court, since he crossed state lines to allegedly target Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
What’s the Evidence Against Luigi Mangione?
Following his arrest, authorities were able to match the weapon to the shell casings at the scene of Thompson’s murder, which were engraved with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.” The words are similar to a 2010 book title critical of the insurance industry. They also found his fingerprints and DNA on items the shooter left at the crime scene, including a water bottle, snack wrapper, and cellphone.
Manhattan prosecutors argue the notebook recovered from Mangione’s backpack contains several entries outlining his motive and plot to allegedly kill Thompson, with the pages suggesting he targeted Thompson because UnitedHealthcare is the largest insurance company in the world.
“I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right/justified. I’m glad—in a way—that I’ve procrastinated bc it allowed me to learn more about [UnitedHealthcare],” he wrote in an August 2024 entry. “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Another entry from that October references the time and place where Thompson was shot. “1.5 months. The investor conference is a true windfall. It embodies everything wrong with our health system, and—most importantly—the message becomes self-evident,” Mangione wrote. “The problem with most revolutionary acts is that the message is lost on normies.”
The day he was arrested, he also had with him a handwritten note that read in part: “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done … Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.” In the same note, he also addressed the authorities directly, writing, “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.”
In a hearing this May, however, a judge ruled that some of the contents of Mangione’s backpack must be suppressed in his state trial because the search was unlawful. These items include the loaded magazine and cellphone, as well as a wallet, passport, and computer chip. The remaining evidence, such as the gun and notebook, will still be admissible in court.
Will Luigi Mangione Face the Death Penalty?
Although Mangione was originally indicted on federal firearms charges that carry the possibility of capital murder, a judge dismissed the death-eligible murder charge, as well as a firearms offense. As a result, he will not face the death penalty, but he could still be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
When Is Luigi Mangione’s Trial?
Mangione’s state murder trial is set to take place this fall, with jury selection beginning on September 8. While his lawyers signaled in June that they planned to argue a psychiatric defense strategy known as “extreme emotional disturbance,” they withdrew the plan just one day later without explanation.
His federal stalking trial will follow in January 2027.
Where Is Luigi Mangione Now?
Mangione is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He reportedly works as an orderly and is referred to as an “ambassador” by other inmates for his willingness to help newcomers adjust to prison life.
Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
