Luigi Mangione latest: Top New York attorney tapped by CEO murder suspect

More than $70,000 has been raised to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills as he faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.

The December 4th Legal Committee launched the public appeal on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which garnered the vast sum after the 26-year-old was changed in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that he gets a fair trial with competent legal counsel,” said Carol Sherman, an organizer with the December 4th Legal Committee.

The group says that proceeds will go to “other political prisoners in the US” if Mangione’s charges are dropped, or he rejects the funds.

The CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company to UnitedHealthcare, admitted that the US health system “doesn’t work as well as it should”.

Writing in a New York Times op-ed on Friday morning, Andrew Witty lamented the loss of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, and addressed the US’s “patchwork” healthcare system.

The health insurance executive also wrote that he understood people’s frustrations with the health care system.

“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” he wrote. “No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”

He continued: “Our mission is to help make it work better. We are willing to partner with anyone, as we always have – health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others – to find ways to deliver high-quality care and lower costs.

“Clearly, we are not there yet. We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization.”

Luigi Mangione’s family are said to have hired a private investigator to search for the Brian Thompson’s suspected murderer after he cut communication with friends and family late last year, a friend said.

A friend who allegedly studied alongside Mangione at The Gilman School claimed that he stopped contact with his family at the end of 2023.

“I did know he was having some issues,” a schoolfriend told the Daily Mail. “He wasn’t talking with his family, and nobody could find him.

“They hired a private investigator, they were so worried.”

The friend claimed they’d been told that Mangione had struggled with pain medication due to an injury stemming from an accident.

“There was some sort of accident. I knew he was hurt some time ago and that led to the painkiller thing, and then the whole family issue,” he said. “I can’t confirm what the issue specifically was, but I know that he was estranged.”

The Mail claims that another schoolmate said had heard of Mangione’s alleged use of pain medication due to a chronic spinal injury.

In a public response to the outpouring of rage against health insurance companies following the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company admitted America’s health care system “is flawed” as he mourned the loss of a “brilliant, kind man.”

In an op-ed titled “The health care system is flawed. Let’s fix it,” published in the New York Times on Friday, Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, wrote that he “understands people’s frustrations.”

The shocking case has prompted a wave of support for the suspect, Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with Thompson’s murder and is fighting extradition to New York, as Americans vent their frustrations with the state of health care.

“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” Witty said. “No one would design a system like the one we have.”

Rhian Lubin has the full story.

Mangione is being held in a small cell — 15 feet by six feet — with a bed, sink, toilet and a desk with a seat, Newsweek reported.

He “can look out the front of his cell where there is a window which provides natural light,” a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokesperson told the outlet.

The 26-year-old has eaten all of his three meals each day in his cell and is “not interacting with other inmates at this time,” the spokesperson said.

New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has spoken out about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.

The congresswoman condoned the violence that took place in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, but says that those who had been denied health insurance claims may be interpreted as an “act of violence” against them.

Speaking to CBS News journalist Jaala Brown on Thursday, the Democrat said: “I think that this collective American experience [of healthcare], which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world, all of that pain that people have experienced is being concentrated on this event. And it’s really important that we take a step back.

“This is not to comment and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them.”

Luigi Mangione, the alleged perpetrator in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly suffered from chronic back pain.

Posts on the content-sharing platform Reddit under the now-defunct username “Mister_Cactus” appeared to reference the 26-year-old’s extensive health problems. The user referred to “spondy,” which is commonly known as spondylolisthesis.

Spondylolisthesis is a condition caused by a vertebra slipping out of place and putting pressure on the bones below. While it commonly occurs in older adults due to a type of arthritis, a common disease that causes joint inflammation and stiffness, it can also be brought on by trauma, spinal destabilization, bone disease, or a birth defect.

Julia Musto has the full story.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg believes the accused killer could waive his right to fight extradition, CNN is reporting.

“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding, which my understanding from court officials in Pennsylvania cannot happen until Tuesday,” Bragg reportedly said. “So until that time, we’re going to continue to press forward on parallel paths and we’ll be ready whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he’s going to contest extradition.”