The blood is thicker than a viral surveillance image showing a murder suspect smiling at a flirtatious clerk in the lobby of a New York City hostel.
Luigi Mangione, a former Ivy League computer science major now accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, has dozens of family members from prominent Maryland families. I have a cousin. But no one seems to recognize him after his smiling face went viral in connection with a nationwide search operation that ended on Monday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told “Your World” host Neil Kabuto that of the more than 200 tips police had received in the case, not a single one mentioned Mangione. He said there wasn't.
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CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione screams while being restrained by police as he arrives for his extradition hearing in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, December 10, 2024. (David Dee Delgado, Fox News Digital)
One of Mr. Mangione's high school classmates offered a simple explanation. The assassin suspect is best recognized by his dark curly hair, which was obscured in images released by the NYPD before his arrest.
“I think when something this serious happens naturally, I automatically ignore it,” former classmate Freddie Leatherberry told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday. He thought it could be anyone, but not someone he knew.
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Luigi Mangione, the suspected gunman in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was seen on surveillance footage flirting with a hostel employee before the Dec. 4 shooting. . (New York City Police Department)
“And what I remember about Luigi, if anything, was his really distinctive curly hair. The surveillance camera footage only showed him with a hat or a hood on. ” he said. “That wasn't the connection I was trying to make. And of course, Italians in New York are like dime-a-dozen people. So just the jaw structure, just the face, that wasn't the connection I was really trying to make in a hurry.” There wasn't.'' So, to be honest, when I saw it, I didn't really care. ”
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The suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Luigi Mangione is photographed at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, December 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Still, law enforcement officials told Fox News Digital on Monday that what made Mangione stand out to customers and local residents at a McDonald's in Altoona was his distinctive eyebrows and medical mask.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and Sergeant John Chell told MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Wednesday that investigators are reviewing additional information and it is unclear whether the relatives were contacted. spoke.
“Thank God for the customer at McDonald's,” said Daughtry, who rushed to Altoona, Pennsylvania, with a detachment of NYPD and Manhattan prosecutors the Monday after his arrest.
Both witnesses and responding officers immediately recognized the suspect after seeing widely circulated wanted posters, according to court documents.
Despite the nature of the crime, in which a masked gunman sneaked up behind Thompson and shot her in the back as she headed to a hotel for a business meeting, surveillance images of the suspect smiling were widely shared and praised on social media. Collected voices. Left-wing commentators ridiculed the victims.
Surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a masked gunman sneak up behind UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and shoot him in the back in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. There is. (New York City Police Department)
The suspect garnered so much cult-like notoriety that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro declared at a press conference after Mangione's arrest that “this killer was no hero.”
“In some dark circles, this killer is being hailed as a hero,” Shapiro told reporters Monday. “Listen, he's not a hero. The real hero in this story is the guy who called 911 at McDonald's this morning. The real heroes in our society every day are the people who wear uniforms like this. These are the women and men who go out.'' This murderer should not be celebrated in our community for keeping us safe. ”
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Several of Mangione's relatives did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. In a joint statement, the families said they were “devastated” by the news.
Luigi Mangione appears in a Pennsylvania mugshot after being arrested in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
His cousin, Maryland State Representative Nino Mangione, elaborated a bit more in his own statement.
“Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the reports regarding Luigi Mangione,” he said. “We only know what we read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest. Our prayers go out to Brian Thompson's family. We also want to thank everyone involved. I ask people to pray for everyone.”
John Kelly, a criminal profiler and president of STALK, said it was not unusual for no one who knew Mangione to turn him in.
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This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/United Health Group)
“He was very distant to his friends, family and acquaintances because no one believed he was capable of such violence,” he said.
Josiah Ryan, a member of the surf break co-op in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Mangione lived in 2022, said there were no warning signs that Mangione or his other friends were aware of.
“He was just a great guy, you know?” he told Fox News Digital. “I think in a situation like this it's easy to look back and find weird things about people… to highlight those things and say, 'Hey, he was always weird.' And People aren’t doing that. There’s just nothing.”
The Mangione family owns real estate throughout Maryland, including golf courses, clubs and radio stations, Fox News Digital reported.
Because of his family's wealth, the suspected murderer was able to attend the Gilman School in Baltimore, a private K-12 school with annual tuition of about $40,000. He graduated as valedictorian in 2016 and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Ivy League school in 2020 with a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science.
Luigi Mangione is seen in a photo obtained by Fox News Digital. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
“He seemed like a smart kid and always seemed to do the right thing,” another former classmate told FOX News Digital on Monday. “I wasn't crazy.”
Mangione has only a minor criminal history, including a trespassing incident in December 2023 when he entered the closed Nuuanu Pali Observation Deck in Honolulu. Officials told Fox News Digital they do not believe the booking photo was taken in connection with the citation.
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Kenney said Mangione specifically mentioned UnitedHealthcare in his manifesto and the shareholder meeting that Thompson was chairing at the time of the shooting. The suspect also allegedly posted online about his back injury, and investigators are looking into whether the health insurance industry denied his claims or withheld any medical treatment.
Fox News' Alexis McAdams and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
