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Friends of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of the December 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, believe that the 26-year-old went "absolutely crazy" after going through an agonizing back surgery for a misaligned spine.
Knewz.com has learned that police found a gun, silencer, numerous fake IDs, and a three-page handwritten "manifesto" allegedly detailing his clear “ill will towards corporate America” in Mangione's possession at the time of his arrest.
The suspected CEO killer was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald's following a manhunt spread across several states.
Reports have mentioned that Mangione, 26, suffered from a condition known as spondylolisthesis, a spinal disorder where a vertebra moves out of the proper position.
His condition is said to have gotten significantly worse after he suffered a surfing accident, following which he underwent back surgery—one that involved placing four large screws deep into his spine to help with the pain.
However, reports have mentioned that the surgery went wrong, and according to Mangione's former high school classmates, this could have been what pushed the wealthy former valedictorian toward a "worrying spiral" over the past year.
According to reports, Mangione is believed to have moved to Japan following the botched surgery around six months ago, living a life in seclusion and not maintaining any contact with his friends or family.
A deep dive into his X, formerly known as Twitter, account showed multiple posts from earlier in 2024 tagging the suspected killer and asking him if he was alright.
One of the posts read, "Hey are you ok? Nobody had heard from you in months, and apparently you family is looking for you."
"Hey man I need you to call me. I don't know if you are okay or just in a super isolated place and have no service... But I haven't heard from you in months," read another.
The theory that he was driven to "absolute craziness" by the painful botched surgery is reportedly supported by Mangione's Goodreads history, which features multiple books dealing with back pain.
RJ Martin, the founder of Surfbreak HNL – a co-living and co-working space in Honolulu and Mexico – who shared a room with the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer told reporters that Mangione also had trouble having sex with his "back condition."
"His spine was kind of misaligned. He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve. Sometimes he’d be doing well and other times not... He knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible," Martin said in a statement.
Mangione himself has not commented on any of this, as reports mentioned he has been refusing to cooperate with the authorities following his arrest and has not said a word to the police yet.
A Maryland relative of the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer described Mangione as "the most gentle soul" in a statement to the media.
"He is the most gentle soul you could possibly meet – the most gentle... We’re talking about someone that I have known since birth, who is the gentlest human being you could possibly meet," she told The Telegraph, adding that it was "impossible" for Luigi to have committed the crime.
An individual described in reports as a regular customer at the Turf Valley Resort – a country club owned by Mangione's grandfather and currently run by one of his uncles – also commented on Luigi's arrest, saying, "When I saw the news, I was like: ‘That’s wild – I know the owner of the country club [presumably talking about Nino Mangione], and that’s his nephew.’"
At the time of his arrest, police found the 26-year-old in possession of a gun, silencer, numerous fake IDs, and a three-page handwritten "manifesto" allegedly detailing his clear “ill will towards corporate America,” according to NYPD police chief Joseph Kenny.
The hand-written document read: "It had to be done. These parasites had it coming... I don’t want to cause any trauma, but it had to be done."
The "manifesto" also reportedly raised questions about "why America has the most expensive healthcare in the world without the quality of care to match."
It is worth noting that the bullet used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was inscribed with the words "Deny," "Defend," and "Depose," which echoes a phrase often used by attorneys to describe how insurers deny services and payment—"Delay, Deny, Defend."