By Maria Cramer and Shayla Colon
The FBI’s New York field office stated last week that investigators had received a lead from the San Francisco Police Department identifying Luigi Mangione as a suspect before his arrest in the murder of an insurance executive in midtown Manhattan.
This lead, which the FBI forwarded to New York authorities, was among numerous tips received in the days following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4.
Weeks prior to the incident, Mangione’s family had reported him missing in San Francisco. It remains uncertain when the bureau notified New York police with this information or if it played a role in hastening his capture.
According to Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for New York police, Mangione was not on their radar before his arrest Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where a McDonald’s customer recognized him from images shared by authorities.
Mangione has hired defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a previous high-ranking member of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and plans to waive extradition to New York soon, according to a source familiar with the situation. Prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder.
On Friday, fragments of new insights and hypotheses surfaced regarding the killing, which resonates in a nation where health insurance and access to medical care have long been contentious issues.
New York police indicated they have new theories about how the assailant escaped after biking through Central Park. Following the attack outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on West 54th Street, he likely discarded the bicycle on the Upper West Side, where authorities believe it was seen and taken by someone else, explained Carlos Nieves, the department’s assistant commissioner of public information.
Initially, investigators speculated that the individual who shot Thompson had exited New York via a bus from a terminal in Washington Heights. Surveillance cameras documented the individual entering the bus depot on West 178th Street around 7:30 a.m., but none captured him leaving.
After escaping midtown on the bicycle early in the morning, the shooter hailed a taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, traveling to the bus station and paying the fare in cash.
However, newer surveillance footage examined by investigators indicated he departed the bus depot using the subway. He walked from the bus terminal to the 190th Street station, then took the A train downtown to Pennsylvania Station, as confirmed by police. A surveillance camera in a subway elevator documented his movements, Kenny stated.
Despite numerous trains departing daily from the station heading west, police are still trying to determine exactly how the suspect reached Pennsylvania, where he was apprehended after nearly a week, as Nieves shared.
The footage of the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Mangione, provided investigators with additional details as they attempted to trace his journey from New York to the McDonald’s in Altoona where he was discovered on Monday.
At the time of his discovery, Mangione was consuming hash browns and gazing at his laptop when another patron noted to a friend that he resembled the individual in the images released by the police. A restaurant employee overheard the comment and dialed 911, alerting police, who found Mangione with a handgun, ammunition, and fake IDs.
Additionally, authorities uncovered a handwritten manifesto of 262 words in his possession, in which he seems to take accountability for the murder.
Although Mangione is anticipated to be transported to New York shortly, his attorney in Pennsylvania, Thomas M. Dickey, had earlier requested the judge to halt extradition and set bail for his client.
Currently, his next court date is scheduled for Dec. 23, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where he faces charges including carrying a firearm without a license and forgery.
According to Nieves, Mangione’s family has yet to communicate with New York police.
Regarding the bicycle, police continue to hope for its recovery, he noted.
“Bicycles don’t remain on the streets for long around here,” Nieves stated. “If someone spots it, they take it, and that’s the end of it.”