The UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot dead last week and Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania and charged with murder on Monday (9 December).
He now has 14 days to challenge the bail decision and will continue to be housed at a state prison in Huntingdon.
Mangione is being held in Pennsylvania on additional charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot outside hotel
Luigi Mangione appeared in court on Tuesday (10 December) (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed by a masked gunman outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday (4 December), at around 6:46 am local time.
Thompson, 50, was shot at least once in the back and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The suspected shooter fled the scene with the help of an e-bike in Central Park, ditching it around 7.00am near 85th Street.
After days of looking, police responded to a sighting of the suspect at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Luigi Mangione’s lawyer says his team have received emails
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City last week (UnitedHealthcare Group)
Defence attorney Tom Dickey says his staff have received emails from people offering to help pay for Mangione’s legal bills.
“I have received some emails. I have not seen them personally, but my understanding from my staff is people are doing that,” Dickey told CNN.
“Obviously my client appreciates the support that he has, but I don’t know, … it just doesn’t sit right with me.”
The lawyer said his client will be pleading not guilty to the charges in relation to possession of a fake ID and a gun which were found when Mangione was searched.
He also expects Mangione to plead not guilty to the murder charge in New York and that it’s ‘a possibility’ he could represent him there.
“I haven’t seen any evidence that they have the right guy,” Dickey added, saying that New York officials ‘need to convince me’.
The Ivy League graduate, 26, from Maryland, who has been charged with the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was taken into custody on Monday (9 December).
A McDonald’s employee identified Mangione at the Pennsylvania eatery after police found him with items linking him to the murder, such as a gun, mask, and writings.
Luigi Mangione has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (PA Department of Corrections)
He is currently being held without bail in Pennsylvania and is likely be transferred to a Pennsylvania state correctional facility this evening, Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
Alongside the murder charge, Mangione has been charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false identification to police.
Thompson, 50, who took the UnitedHealthcare CEO role in 2021, was shot dead outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday.
At around 6:46 am local time, the father-of-two was shot at least once in the back and once in the calf before he was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
Suspected Brian Thompson shooter Luigi Mangione has been detained (Altoona Police Department via Getty Images)
Before Mangione was located, police found what is believed to be his bag there on Friday, which included a stack of Monopoly money, sparking a major theory.
Now, in the suspect’s bag found with him at the Pennsylvania McDonald’s, there was reportedly a 262-word handwritten note.
A senior law enforcement official who reportedly saw the document told The New York Times that the note appeared to show Mangione open up about the shooting.
“To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the suspect reportedly wrote, adding companies that ‘continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it’.
He also reportedly wrote that ‘these parasites had it coming’ and ‘I do apologise for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done’.
“The suspect was in a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police,” she said.
“Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport.
“Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.
“They also recovered clothing, including a mask, consistent with those worn by our wanted individual.
“Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.”
The health company boss was murdered with three gunshots in front of a New York City hotel by a masked assassin last week (December 4), who escaped on foot.
They then rode a bike into Central Park, where CCTV lost track of them, as authorities later found a bag that they suspected belonged to the individual.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot last week in New York City (UnitedHealthcare Group)
Thompson was the head of UnitedHealthcare, the single largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US, generating $281 billion (£219 billion) in revenue alone, say The Washington Post.
But now, a man named as Luigi Mangione has been held for questioning in relation to the crime following a tip from someone who spotted him, say three law enforcement officials.
Mangione was found and detained in a McDonald’s at around 9.15am local time this morning (9 December), Sky News reports.
A handwritten manifesto was found on his person as he was detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as a gun reportedly similar to the one used in the attack, and false identification cards, a senior law enforcement official said to the New York Times.
In the manifesto that was found on his person, it criticised health care companies for putting profits above the care of customers, the official further detailed.
The full content of the alleged manifesto has not yet been released, and Mangione has not yet been arrested or charged in connection with the shooting.
Investigators said that he had a ‘ghost gun’, meaning it was assembled with parts sold online, matching the gun used in the shooting of Thompson, the senior law enforcement official further said.
Originally detained and questioned in Altoona on local charges, in order for him to be charged in New York, he would have to be extradited, officials confirmed.
Following strange messages on the bullet casing used to murder the health CEO, an image of the person was released to the public to help find him.
The investigation to find the killer is currently ongoing (CNN)
A backpack was uncovered in Central Park, after a burner phone and water bottle were found at the crime scene.
In the backpack were some peculiar items, not containing a weapon but instead a jacket and some Monopoly money, for some reason.
Police sources couldn’t confirm if the jacket was the same one that was found in surveillance images, as the backpack has been sent to a forensic laboratory for examination after discovery.
The evidence was discovered on the authorities’ second sweep of the park, with the bag found between boulders next to the park’s carousel over the weekend.
American health boss Thompson was shot outside a New York City hotel on Wednesday morning (4 December) by a masked assassin.
After the crime, they escaped on foot, before riding an e-bike into Central Park where CCTV cameras lost track of them.
Thompson’s death sent shockwaves across the nation, as he was head of the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US, which made $281 billion (£219 billion) in revenue last year, according to The Washington Post.
The NYPD has been conducting an investigation following the sudden killing of the father-of-two, finding that the bullet casings of the shots read ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’, a connection to a book titled Delay, Deny, Defend.
It became famous for critiquing the way that health insurance companies work in the US.
After an image of the suspect was released to help the search, items such as a phone and water bottle were found at the scene of the crime which are undergoing DNA testing.
Now, a backpack has been found by officers in the hunt for the masked killer, though it did not contain the weapon.
Sources revealed to Bloomberg that a jacket was found in the bag, as well as some Monopoly money, oddly.
Authorities originally uncovered the bag in Central Park on Friday (6 December).
Police sources couldn’t confirm if the jacket was the same one that was found in surveillance images, as the backpack has been sent to a forensic laboratory for examination after discovery.
This new evidence was discovered on the authorities’ second sweep of the park, with the bag found between boulders next to the park’s carousel.
The DailyMail further reported on Saturday (8 December) that footage revealed police divers in the water near Bethseda fountain as the search continues, while investigators confirmed it was related to Wednesday’s murder.
According to The New York Post, New York mayor Erica Adams claimed that the ‘net is tightening’ on the killer.
The police have not publicly revealed the name of the suspect, as they continue to trace his steps before escaping.
