NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #10 *Arrest*

[Friday Fan]

I do not see how one week after any surgery a person knows how well it worked.... there could be scar tissue, different complications during he healing process and 7-10 days is not enough time to know IMO

He felt it worked. I know when I had surgery 10 days out, I did not feel much better than one day out.

Some people who have had discectomies have felt better within several days.

The fact that he felt better indicates it was medically necessary and he wasn't "faking it". I was responding to the "faking it" in order to get surgery. I really don't think he was "faking it" in order to get a spinal fusion!!!

I think he needed the surgery. And this MOO: He likely participated in physical therapy afterwards. This is based on how analytical his writing style appeared. However, he may have been impatient with the results. The impatient part could be with his age. That's just MOO.

otto said:

In fact, given some of his reading choices, I wonder whether he really needed the surgery, or whether he faked some symptoms to get the surgery (e.g.: presenting symptom of involuntary urination).

 

[JDG]

He's not walking, regardless. If he gets a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict, he ends up in a locked facility for the criminally insane, which is still locked up. Locked up with some seriously mentally ill and homicidal people. I can't imagine that's a better outcome. It will be 20-30 years before LM breathes a breath of free air, if he ever does. MOO

I’m hoping it’s for the rest of his life, not 20-30 yrs.

Brian Thompson won’t be back in 20 yrs.

 

[otto]

Do you think Luigi thought he was going to get away with the murder? It's very interesting that he had foreign currency on him when he was arrested. But why be loafing around Pennsylvania after leaving NYC? Why not head for the Southern border and try to go to Mexico? And why not have a disguise? He could have put on a woman's wig, had a fake mustache or even died his hair blond. I'm just so curious how he ended up in a Pennsylvania McDonalds.

As I'm typing this I'm thinking of the Scott Peterson mugshot, where he had died his naturally dark hair blonde and headed South.

Since he had $10k in cash, and and his actions post-murder were so well planned, I'm surprised he didn't on a plane and head to Europe or Asia. Today, we know that wouldn't have helped.

The missing person report filed by his mother put him on police radar, SF reported his name to NY. If he had left the country after the murder, he would still have been arrested. If his mother had not filed the missing person report, he would have gotten away with it until his fingerprints or DNA showed up somewhere else.

 

[KooshBall]

You don't have to be addicted, or abusing pain meds, for them to affect your mental health. After back surgery I only took what was prescribed, never more, and began to think my family was plotting against me, I was full of rage, so much so that I was afraid to leave the house because I couldn't handle my emotions. This was a combination of severe pain mixed with pain meds.

I don't like seeing people assume pain meds equals addiction, because the stigma is keeping people in chronic pain suffering. I know a person suffering from Parkinson's and back pain after 9 back surgeries who is only given Tylenol, she no longer has the will to live. In order to have any quality of life, some people need pain meds.

I have been involved with pain support groups, have researched chronic pain, and the effects on mental health, over the last ten years and I am praying that if anything positive is to come out of this tragic murder of BT is that those who have never experienced chronic pain can understand there is a link between chronic pain and mental health , and stop with the judgements.I pray that Drs and insurance companies stop treating people like they are nothing but addicts, while also keeping different types of treatments from those who do not have good insurance.

 

[acutename]

Not commenting on what happened to Luigi (I think it is more of a personality type.) However, because so many people complain of back pain and vertebral fusion is an atrocious procedure. I always wondered why so popular in Europe polymer filling is not used widely here. Less invasive and cheaper. Maybe someone might find it useful.

Polymeric Hydrogels for Intervertebral Disc Replacement/Integration: Playing with the Chemical Composition for Tuning Shear Behavior and Hydrophilicity - PMC

Damages to the intervertebral disc (IVD) due to improper loading or degeneration result in back pain, which is a common disease affecting an increasing number of patients. Different strategies for IVD remediation have been developed, from surgical ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

For spondylolisthesis which comes in different phases, polymers have been used for a while too

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1529943002005363

I don’t know if Luigi’s pain was just due to this diagnosis or there was some emotional element, but in any case, intense exercise must have made it worse, not better.

as I understand it, he did not have disc degeneration per se (though that might have been occurring), he had a bone that was fractured or malformed working its way across the spinal column and impinging on the nerves IMO

 

[KooshBall]

I think it is wild that SFPD was able to see the released pics of the shooter and notice a resemblance to LM. I'm assuming they had photos of him from better times. Amazing attention to detail.

 

[Kapua]

Since he had $10k in cash, and and his actions post-murder were so well planned, I'm surprised he didn't on a plane and head to Europe or Asia. Today, we know that wouldn't have helped.

The missing person report filed by his mother put him on police radar, SF reported his name to NY. If he had left the country after the murder, he would still have been arrested. If his mother had not filed the missing person report, he would have gotten away with it until his fingerprints or DNA showed up somewhere else.

There's no question in my mind that he would have been caught eventually, no matter what he did, but he could have extended his time as a free man if he'd left the Northeast immediately, even if he'd used his real passport. He could have gone to one of the larger cities in Texas, for example, and then used another of his fake IDs to stay at another hostel for a bit. MOO

 

[KooshBall]

I hope they treat this reward with expediency... fairly and quickly. If they delay and quibble on this, the backlash will be horrible. IMO, get it out there as soon as possible.
Too many people are already getting heated about this.

I thought that when the reward was announced it included that the tip must lead to capture and successful prosecution. That would mean it could take years for the reward money to be released. MOO.

 

[ttjo]

I don't think that distorted thinking is a reasonable defence, particularly when it ends with murder, since there is no certainty that it won't happen again.

Especially if it is distorted due to drug misuse, the lawyers here can speak to this much better ( Intent and the ability to form it) In this case, they have his scribbler which shows intent, and his manifesto. which if written after, "it had to be done," shows no remorse.

 

[otto]

I think it is wild that SFPD was able to see the released pics of the shooter and notice a resemblance to LM. I'm assuming they had photos of him from better times. Amazing attention to detail.

It is remarkable! His friends might have seen a resemblance, but they couldn't compute that the shooter was their friend.

His mother said it might be her son after she was approached by police. A mother should know when they are looking at the eyes of their child, but perhaps she too couldn't compute that the shooter could be her son.

 

[otto]

Especially if it is distorted due to drug misuse, the lawyers here can speak to this much better ( Intent and the ability to form it) In this case, they have his scribbler which shows intent, and his manifesto. which if written after, "it had to be done," shows no remorse.

I think the type of evidence that is presented at trial is a fine line. If his manifesto and murder plan (scribbler) are admitted as evidence, it opens the door to arguing health insurance as motive. That is exactly what Mangione wants - to turn the murder trial into a circus about health insurance claims.

I think there is enough evidence to prove intent to commit murder without addressing motive and the mountain of tangents that come with it. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but once motive is mentioned, the trial focus and popular opinion will shift from murder to health insurance claims.

 

[acutename]

I think so too. And that's not "normal" behavior. If in fact he was becoming increasingly convinced that mere speeches (valedictory or otherwise) weren't going to "fix things," and he was beginning to plan acts of violence, he was concealing a great deal from so-called "friends" and family. IOW, he was betraying them by pretending to be normal (or possibly masking his motivations as pain-related.

I also think that most people who plan and carry out crimes of this time take a great deal of pleasure/pride in their planning and it consumes them. Why people become obsessed in this way is not well understood, but I cannot see LM as a "normal" young man who suddenly flipped out due to pain and organized this crime. He was reading a lot and spending a lot of time thinking about what he wanted to do. IMO.

To me, it doesn't seem as if he had long term friends from college still involved in his life, as well. I'm guessing that he may be preferring his own company and thinking for a very long time. He put on the guise of the typical 20-something bro-dude, while reading increasingly radicalized literature and wanting to change the world (by himself).

IMO.

If he had even one close friend or family member in whom he confided,they would have told him not to do this IMO and maybe he subconsciously knew that.

 

[citygirl]

Do you think Luigi thought he was going to get away with the murder? It's very interesting that he had foreign currency on him when he was arrested. But why be loafing around Pennsylvania after leaving NYC? Why not head for the Southern border and try to go to Mexico? And why not have a disguise? He could have put on a woman's wig, had a fake mustache or even died his hair blond. I'm just so curious how he ended up in a Pennsylvania McDonalds.

As I'm typing this I'm thinking of the Scott Peterson mugshot, where he had died his naturally dark hair blonde and headed South.

I really don’t think he was headed anywhere. Foreign currency was probably from Japan, I’m guessing. IMO, he was lost. Hadn’t planned so well after the fact. Cold, gaunt, nowhere to stay, hunkering down in a McDonalds. Frightened.

 

[caradana]

LM has materially changed the national dialogue about health insurance, and this will have an impact on policy in the years to come. I would argue that he achieved his goal; he will pay for it, as well he should. I think I would’ve liked BT a lot as a human and friend, and he should still be here.

 

[KooshBall]

Do you think Luigi thought he was going to get away with the murder? It's very interesting that he had foreign currency on him when he was arrested. But why be loafing around Pennsylvania after leaving NYC? Why not head for the Southern border and try to go to Mexico? And why not have a disguise? He could have put on a woman's wig, had a fake mustache or even died his hair blond. I'm just so curious how he ended up in a Pennsylvania McDonalds.

As I'm typing this I'm thinking of the Scott Peterson mugshot, where he had died his naturally dark hair blonde and headed South.

I'm wondering if he was so depressed that he didn't care what happened to him, death, prison, or continuing life as a loner always on the move. If BT had his security, maybe LM would have shot anyway. Once one stops caring, maybe all possible outcomes would be equal, so whatever happens, happens.

 

[KooshBall]

How did people figure out what Reddit account belonged to LM? The same thing happened in the Madeline Soto case, the public was able to figure out which Reddit account belonged to her alleged murder. I understand computer forensics can make these discoveries, but how is the general public doing it?

 

[citygirl]

He's not walking, regardless. If he gets a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict, he ends up in a locked facility for the criminally insane, which is still locked up. Locked up with some seriously mentally ill and homicidal people. I can't imagine that's a better outcome. It will be 20-30 years before LM breathes a breath of free air, if he ever does. MOO

Gawd. I hope not. MOO.

 

[Friday Fan]

I'm wondering if he was so depressed that he didn't care what happened to him, death, prison, or continuing life as a loner always on the move. If BT had his security, maybe LM would have shot anyway. Once one stops caring, maybe all possible outcomes would be equal, so whatever happens, happens.

After he "did the deed", then what? The build up to the crime was likely his focus. I think that he was more tired than anything.

 

[Tiff23fr]

An additional date related data point

September
In September, Mangione’s phone number disappeared from a WhatsApp group for Penn alumni in Hawaii, according to Raj George, president of the Penn Club of Hawaii. He briefly met Mangione in 2023 during a tour of the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design in Honolulu.

After his disappearance, Luigi Mangione re-emerged as the suspect in a high-profile killing. Those who knew him are dazed.

Before his arrest this week in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Mangione’s family desperately tried to find him, reaching out to former classmates and posting queries on social media.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Friday Fan]

How did people figure out what Reddit account belonged to LM? The same thing happened in the Madeline Soto case, the public was able to figure out which Reddit account belonged to her alleged murder. I understand computer forensics can make these discoveries, but how is the general public doing it?

Didn't the media figure it out?

Media has contacts in LE.