Luigi Mangione’s twisted path from wealthy Ivy League tech graduate to alleged killer of insurance company boss Brian Thompson is being exposed by friends and family, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 26-year-old was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, December 9, after becoming the world’s most wanted fugitive following the murder of the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York five days before he was captured. by police.
It is now said that he went nearly insane after a painful back surgery so painful that he looked into psychedelic drugs to numb his chronic pain – plunging him into a sad, celibate existence.
Friends of the ultra-privileged student and heir to his parents’ booming real estate empire say he disappeared completely from the radar when his life disappeared following a surfing accident.
It is now reported that he named UnitedHealthcare in an extensive 262-page “manifesto” he had with him when he was arrested.
He criticized the US insurance industry in the document, angrily saying in handwritten scribbles: “These parasites expected it. I apologize for all the conflict and trauma, but it had to be done.”
In the backpack found when he was arrested, police also found an alleged homemade ‘ghost gun’ pistol and a printed silencer, both 3D printed.
And Mangione had a passport and $10,000 in cash, $2,000 of which was in foreign currency.
Mangione was in regular contact with friends and family until about six months ago, when he suddenly went “dark” and stopped communicating with them.
He was suffering from a painful back injury and his friends wondered why they hadn’t heard from him.
One of his former roommates has now said that Mangione flew under the radar: “I remember him saying he had a back problem and he hoped to get stronger in Hawaii.
“It was really traumatic and difficult.” He added that Mangione had sent him X-rays of his spine, saying: “It looked horrible, with just giant screws going into his spine.” Mangione is also said to have used psychedelics and magic mushrooms while trying to recover from his surgery.
His family was so concerned about him that he was reported missing on November 18.
They broke their silence in a statement on Monday evening, saying they were “shocked and devastated” – adding: “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for everyone involved.”
Mangione was charged with murder by New York City officials on Monday after his capture in Pennsylvania. where he is imprisoned.
He had tweeted online about psilocybin – also known as magic mushrooms.
And on January 25, he added a book to his Goodreads with the title Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide And Mushrooms of Hawai’i: An Identification Guide
Details have also emerged about Mangione’s lonely “incel style” and apparent celibate life.
In recent years, he lived in Honolulu in a “co-living” space called Surfbreak, which caters to remote workers.
Its founder, RJ Martin, said he met Mangione in 2022, when he was applying to be among the first 20 residents paid about $2,000 a month to share their quarters.
He said the young man seemed smart and talented and was an “ideal member” for the community.
But he added: ‘His spine was a bit misaligned. He said his lower vertebrae were almost half an inch away, and I think he had a pinched nerve.
“He knew that dating and being physically intimate was not possible with his back condition.
“I remember him telling me that, and it just breaks my heart.”
Mr. Martin said Mangione left Hawaii in the summer of 2023, apparently for back surgery.
And in August of that year he received pictures of his back surgery.
The scans of his spine were so shocking that Mr Martin texted Mangione to check on him.
Mangione responded, “So long story. I’ll tell you personally. Back in Hawaii, as soon as I can, I have to figure out some spine stuff here first.”
His years as a tortured surgery victim — apparently on mushrooms and mind-altering drugs to kill his pain while harboring hatred for the health insurance industry — are in stark contrast to the Ivy League version of the suspected shooter.
He filled the Web with images of his tanned, chiseled look in beach photos and party photos with college friends, and had been the valedictorian of a prestigious Baltimore prep school that cost $40,000 a year in fees.
The enormous ‘manifesto’ he carried also stated: “To spare you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I did not collaborate with anyone.”
It added that corporations “continue to abuse our country for massive profits because the American public has let them get away with it.”
When Mangione was arraigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, a judge asked him if he had contact with his family. He replied, “Until recently.”
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