Suspect in CEO Killing Struggled with Chronic Back Pain, Records and Accounts Reveal
The recent arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has thrust his personal struggles with chronic back pain into the spotlight. Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, stands accused of gunning down Thompson in Manhattan last week, leading police to embark on a nationwide manhunt before his capture in Pennsylvania.
Pain that Allegedly Derailed Career and Relationships
Since Mangione’s arrest, a horrified public has been piecing together the troubled life of the young medical insurance executive and the events leading up to the violent crime.
“Weeks before the shooting, I had a conversation with him about returning to Hawaii to be with friends,” Mangione’s former roommate, identified only as RJ, told CNN. “He was in agony.”
according to the same source,
“He said, he hadn’t been able to have intimate relationships due to how intense the pain was and he was ultimately worried it meant a life stuck in a desk job instead of living in Hawaii, surfing,
and being active.” ~ RJ Martin.
An individual claiming to know Mangione relayed, “after a surfing lesson, he was down with pain so bad it kept him in bed for a week.”
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The former roommate stated that Mangione was recovering from back surgery during the last year and told him “my spine was kind of misaligned, you know the lower vertebrae were like almost a half-inch off. I think it pinched a nerve, he added. “He realized just physical intimacy and dating were impossible with the pain.
According to the New York Times, Mangione sent pictures of the surgery to this roommate and spoke with the manager of the rectory that housed him during his time in Hawaii, and the X-rays publicly available, seem to “look exactly like mine from 2022, it’s kind of wild. The scans look almost identical. I know it’s me because I can vaguely remember the exact cracking sound my bones made during the incident.
Mangione’s X profile shows an x-ray of a person who had undergone an l5-1 and he joined discussion boards detailing an unusual type of back condition known as L5-S1 isthmic spondylolisthesis, where one vertebra slips forward and presses on the one below it. A source familiar with the situation told reporters a colleague out sick at least twice in the last year due to back pain.
A Trail of Posts and a Manifesto
As authorities dig deeper into Mangione’s past, they’re uncovering a trail of social media posts indicating frustration with the dissatisfaction with the healthcare system.
Following the arrest, police recovered a manifesto from Mangione alleging that anxieties regarding health insurance corporations are what drove him to act
: “They prioritize profit over the well-being of people.”
Mangione was reportedly frustrated with the limitations imposed by his insurance plan, leading him to question if those who make big decisions understand what it’s like, manned him to question if those who make big decisions understand what it’s like to suffer from chronic pain.
Further, the New York Times reported a Delaware, confirmed that Mangione worked as a marketing specialist for Tru
