NEW YORK – Fingerprints belonging to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, match those found on a water bottle recovered not far from the scene of the deadly shooting, people said police sources told CBS News.
This is the first positive forensic match linking Mangione to the scene where Thompson was shot dead outside the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York on December 4.sources say.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about the evidence in the case Wednesday afternoon.
“We were also able, in our crime lab, to match the fingerprints of the person of interest to the fingerprints we found on the water bottle and at the Kind bar near the scene of the homicide in Midtown ” she said.
Mangione was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania and charged with counterfeiting and firearms offensesand is being held without bail. He appeared in court on Tuesday and contested his extradition to New Yorkwhere he will face second degree murder charges.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot and killed
Thompson, a 50 year old man father of two childrenwas shot dead outside a hotel where UnitedHealthcare was to hold its annual investor conference.
Tisch called it a “premeditated, planned and targeted attack,” saying the shooter had been waiting for several minutes before shooting Thompson in the back and leg.
Police have launched a manhunt for the suspect and I started to make a timeline.. Investigators said he fled the scene on a bicycle and went to Central Park, where sources said they later found a backpack which contained a jacket and Monopoly money, but not the murder weapon.
The biggest break in the case came from an Upper West Side inn where the shooter is believed to have stayed in the days before the shooting. He was seen on surveillance footage lowering his mask after sources said the woman at the front desk asked to “see his pretty smile.”
The police later released more images showing him inside a taxiwhom they believe took to the Port Authority bus terminal in Upper Manhattan and boarded a Greyhound. Investigators believe he left town immediately after the shooting and was traveling in Pennsylvania before he was arrested.
He was spotted on Monday inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvaniaabout 300 miles from the crime scene. A customer recognized him and alerted an employeeWho called the police.
Mangione was found in possession of a fake New Jersey ID, likely the same one he used to check into the hostel, and was initially placed in police custody for forgery. The police searched his belongings and found a 3D printed ghost gun consistent with the one used in the shooting, as well as a U.S. passport, $8,000 in cash and a handwritten note.
Sources say CBS News investigators are referring to the note as a claim of responsibility. They believe the suspect’s grievances with UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance companies are what motivated the killing.
In addition to the note, sources said shell casings were found at the scene. the words “delay” and “refuse” were written on itwe think it is a reference used by critics of the insurance sector.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
CBS News has learned the 26-year-old is coming of a prominent Maryland family. He valedictorian graduated from a private high school and received his master’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the information regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” his family said in a statement after his arrest . “We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family and ask people to pray for everyone involved. We are devastated by this news.”
Mangione resided in a co-living space called Surfbreak in Hawaii until 2022, when a community spokesperson said he left due to a lifelong back injury, exacerbated by surfing and hiking . The spokesperson also said he believed Mangione returned to Hawaii in 2023 and started a book club, which several members left due to “discomfort in choosing books.”
Sources told CBS News that back pain was a major factor in his life and appeared to be a source of frustration.
“We are learning that he may have suffered an accident that caused him to go to the emergency room on July 4, 2023,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told Marcia Kramer of CBS News New York.
In recent months, posts tagging Mangione on social media imply he has lost touch with his friends, with some asking where he was and what he was doing, wishing him well and hoping he was okay. His mother filed a missing person’s report in November in San Francisco, fearing he wasn’t communicating.
Pat Milton contributed to this report.
