CEO murdered

First details from the Grinse Killer’s manifesto

Luigi Mangione is taken away by the police.

(Bild: AFP/Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Why was Brian Thompson executed in cold blood on the streets of New York? A manifesto found with his killer could shed light on the death of the insurance company boss ...

Luigi Mangione, who was arrested in Pennsylvania, was carrying a letter in which he expressed his anger at the healthcare system. The 26-year-old was charged with murder after his arrest. On Tuesday, he refused to comply with a transfer to New York.

"I was able to read this manifesto," New York Police Chief Investigator Joseph Kenny told ABC. Mangione was frustrated with the healthcare system in the USA.

In his text, he pointed out that the US healthcare system was the most expensive in the world - but that the USA only ranked 42nd in terms of life expectancy. "He wrote a lot about his contempt for US corporations and the healthcare industry in particular," said Kenny.

Mangione was arrested on Monday after a days-long manhunt in the Pennsylvania town of Altoona and was subsequently charged with murder, firearms possession and possession of forged documents. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old appeared in court in Blair County.

Grin killer put up a fierce fight
TV footage showed the 26-year-old being brought to court in handcuffs and an orange prisoner's uniform. There he refused to be transferred to New York, according to public prosecutor Peter Weeks. His lawyers now have two weeks to present arguments in favor of his remaining in Pennsylvania. While Mangione was being led away by police officers, he struggled, sometimes violently, and shouted "unjust" and "an insult to the intelligence of the American people".

A photographer captured the scene.

(Bild: AFP/Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The police found a firearm and a silencer on him, "possibly made with a 3D printer". Mangione is strongly suspected of shooting the 50-year-old head of the health insurance company United Healthcare on the street in New York last Wednesday.

Thompson had been at the helm of the company, one of the largest health insurers in the US with 440,000 employees and an annual turnover of 371 billion dollars (approx. 353 billion euros), since 2021.

Killer is partly celebrated
His murder caused shock, but also led to a series of hateful comments about US health insurers on the internet. The companies were accused of enriching themselves at the expense of patients.

The Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, condemned the act. "You don't kill someone in cold blood over political issues or to make your opinion known," the Democratic politician said. The White House also reacted on Tuesday. "Resorting to violence to combat corporate greed is unacceptable," said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

Mangione comes from a wealthy family
According to the New York Times, Mangione suffered from severe back pain and underwent surgery last year. A photo on one of his internet accounts showed an X-ray of an apparently injured spine.

According to US media, Mangione is the son of a wealthy family from the Baltimore region that owns several country clubs, among other things. The family released a statement saying they were "shocked and devastated". According to investigators, Mangione grew up in the US state of Maryland, studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in engineering and was considered an excellent student. According to the police, Mangione's last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.