NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #8 *Arrest*

[ames85]

He didn't just lose his temper and kill someone, and he didn't suddenly go crazy and do what killers like that do.

I definitely think he suffered some type of mental break.

Just compare his writing before the murder to his manifesto.

 

[MassGuy]

And therein is the core of his defense. "The pain made me crazy." I'm sure it will be expanded in the months to come.

Well it'll fail, so that's good.

To use the insanity defense in New York, the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:

• They lacked the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of their actions
• They lacked the capacity to understand that their actions were wrong
• This lack of capacity was due to a mental disease or defect

Focusing on the first two. Did he know what he was doing, and did he know what he was doing was wrong?

I don't even have to make much of an argument here. He knew the crime was wrong because he disguised himself, plotted and executed his entry and exit, concealed his identity with a fake ID, left evidence pointing to his motive, left writings that explained why he did it, and that he knew it was against the law.

This was incredibly complex, and the complexity means that there is zero path to an insanity defense.

https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/cji/1-General/Defenses/CJI2d.Insanity.pdf

 

[Warwick7]

Other than the X-ray that he himself put up, has it ever been confirmed that there was a back surgery?

Because if of HIPAA who would be able to verify his medical records?

We have him, his family/friends and his reddit.

 

[MassGuy]

I definitely think he suffered some type of mental break.

Just compare his writing before the murder to his manifesto.

So do I. But the issue is that he didn't suddenly snap and do something spontaneous. This took considerable time to plan (months).

 

[TTF14]

One might get the impression that he’s playing up his disability for the cameras. He didn’t seem to be limping around during his crime spree. Maybe the jail cot wasn’t great for his back.

JMO

If the jail cot wasn't great for his back, he may legitimately be in pain. (No excuse for murder whether he's feigning or not).

 

[TTF14]

With respect, pain cannot be seen. Its invisible. Ask anyone with chronic pain.

Absolutely! I do not suffer from it, but know many brave people who do.

 

[Warwick7]

I like to understand these guys, as many times you can see acts of violence coming from a mile away. It doesn't just come out of nowhere; there are signs.

This guy is different from every other killer I've ever followed. Incredibly bright, well educated, well off financially, very well liked, seemingly a great family life, and appears to have had a wide circle of friends. Other than that review about the Unabomber, there's really nothing concerning there.

He didn't just lose his temper and kill someone, and he didn't suddenly go crazy and do what killers like that do.

There appears to have been a rapid decline mentally (inference based on concern from family and friends about his whereabouts), but it didn't affect him to the point that he wasn't able to carry out a crime that was unprecedented in its planning and execution.

That confuses the hell out of me, and I have so many questions I want answered.

Oh how I agree!!!!!!!

 

[Warwick7]

He lost his job in 2023, around the same time that he left Hawaii. He then focused on manipulating the medical community into doing back surgery that is not recommended for someone under the age of 40. He probably thought that the surgery would eliminate the injury, but surgery manages the injury - not restorative.

In July 2024, he cut off contact with friends. His mother filed a missing person report in November 2024.

He did have the surgery, they knew his age, how did he manipulate the medical community?

 

[Curiousobserver]

So do I. But the issue is that he didn't suddenly snap and do something spontaneous. This took considerable time to plan (months).

I think if you compare his whole life vs what seems to have started a year ago you have a very solid case for some as yet diagnosed mental illness.

 

[VAres67]

I believe that in his manifesto, he states that BT and UHC were targeted for symbolic purposes. I don’t think there is a direct connection between the alleged murderer and BT or UHC that has been demonstrated at this time. Moo.

^^ this. His “manifesto” (what’s the criteria for a manifesto b/c a couple paragraphs seems a little short?) just says that American life expectancy has not grown but private health insurers are richer than ever.

It doesn’t appears he’s mad because he couldn’t get some Percocet or whatever. You pay a bunch of money to suffer all the same.

 

[MassGuy]

I think if you compare his whole life vs what seems to have started a year ago you have a very solid case for some as yet diagnosed mental illness.

It’s really the only thing that works for me.

There’s just nothing else that explains it, based on his history.

 

[kamare]

Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare who was gunned down in a brazen killing in New York, was laid to rest this week at a private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown.

UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Laid to Rest as Family Mourns Privately

Brian Thompson was remembered in his Minnesota hometown as a devoted father to his two sons.

www.nytimes.com

 

[kaen]

So do I. But the issue is that he didn't suddenly snap and do something spontaneous. This took considerable time to plan (months).

I work with adolescents and young adults with learning and mental health issues. It is not uncommon for my clients to be struggling with mental health and attempt to use substances (legal and illegal) which cause them to have a major psychotic break. For some though, the use of mushrooms, acid, marijuana causes them to slowly slide into disordered thinking, including paranoia, all while holding jobs or still completing college. While I have not had any who plan this sort of murder, the reality is that some of them are appearing functional while behind closed doors they are becoming more and more disordered and isolated. Not saying this killer used drugs but when breaks happen there are often other factors that contribute--- could have been the surgery, could have been the job loss, could have been the rabbit holes he was going down on the internet or could have been his age and schizophrenia. We will find out eventually because he will be evaluated I am sure.

This young man is responsible for his actions, no doubt. But I do think a major break has happened. I am betting we will see very disruptive behavior now that he can not control all aspects of his environment and life. Also, not uncommon among some of my clients who also had breaks.

 

[TTF14]

He lost his job in 2023, around the same time that he left Hawaii. He then focused on manipulating the medical community into doing back surgery that is not recommended for someone under the age of 40. He probably thought that the surgery would eliminate the injury, but surgery manages the injury - not restorative.

In July 2024, he cut off contact with friends. His mother filed a missing person report in November 2024.

So you think someone of a young age should not have this type of surgery?

 

[arielilane]

I only got as far as the missing persons report before the paywall went up. His family had not heard from him since July? When was the supposed surgery? Were they worried about him for months, did they knew what was going on in his life? Not working? The report was filed in California-what was he doing there? Where was he living? Did he maintain the same phone number? Was there a falling out with the family-unless there was, you can bet I would worry if my kid stopped responding for months. None of this feels like the story.

Not sure why you received a paywall.

Paraphrase:

LM living in HI
-- Earlier this year, LM disengaged.
-- In Nov. 2024, his mother filed a missing person report in San Francisco, saying she had not spoken to him since July

-- Friends pleaded with him on X to return their messages

-- Nobody has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you [one person posted on X in October]

-- The mother told LE she last spoke with her son in July, and he told her he worked for TrueCar in its offices (San Francisco)

-- But TrueCar had shuttered its SF office by then

-- The company confirmed that LM has not been an employee of their company since 2023.

• A friend and former roommate of LM, stated that LM was in debilitating pain due to his spine being misaligned.

His lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve.
He was told by LM, he (LM) suffered a back injury and wanted to build strength.
After a basic surf lesson, he was in bed for about a week.
LM needed surgery, which weighed on him.
It prevented him from being intimate.
After six months, he left to see a doctor on the East Coast

The friend hasn’t communicated with LM since August 2023, when he texted him to ask how the back surgery went.

LM sent him X-rays. It looked heinous, with giant screws going into his spine.

LM said he would fill him in in person. Back in HI as soon as I can, need to figure out some spine stuff here first.


-- A few calls to LM between March and June 2024 to check in, went unanswered.

-- In late February, it appears he spent some time in Japan according to a post on X from a Japanese professional poker player, Obara J.

-- LM made comments about Japan’s falling birth rate, saying the country needed to encourage natural human interaction, s.x physical fitness and spirituality

In July, a friend asked him on X if he was going to attend the man’s upcoming wedding

 

[Curiousobserver]

It’s really the only thing that works for me.

There’s just nothing else that explains it, based on his history.

The person I saw at his hearing today is not the sort of person who accomplishes what he has academically, and not the personality who has the discipline to plan something like this over many months. There is a Jekyl and Hyde contrast.

 

[bestill]

If his attorney is receiving offers of payment for representing him then it may not be his family paying. If he was informed of this by his attorney that may have emboldened his outburst today when he was being transported to court. Can the court enforce disclosure of the source of payment for a defendants? For all we know it could be a Hollywood producer...jmo

 

[Parsnip]

^^ this. His “manifesto” (what’s the criteria for a manifesto b/c a couple paragraphs seems a little short?) just says that American life expectancy has not grown but private health insurers are richer than ever.

It doesn’t appears he’s mad because he couldn’t get some Percocet or whatever. You pay a bunch of money to suffer all the same.

Well, if he truly desires to emulate the unabomber, and I don’t know if he does, they are quite different people, are they not? TK hit his people from afar, via bombs, while living an ascetic life. TK’s manifesto had very little to do with himself. Rather, it was a long lament and tirade concerning the role of technology in the place of the “natural” role of humans. I oversimplify here. Just trying to make a point. Moo.

 

[sds71]

Along with a three-page handwritten “claim of responsibility,” as police characterized Luigi Mangione’s manifesto, investigators are also looking at pages of notes in a spiral notebook that the 26-year-old wrote in, a law enforcement source briefed on the matter told CNN.

It included to-do lists of tasks that needed to be completed to facilitate a killing, as well as notes justifying those plans, the source said.

In one notebook passage, Mangione wrote about the Unabomber who CNN has previously reported Mangione wrote about in posts online as well. In the passage in the notebook, Mangione concludes that using a bomb against his intended victim “could kill innocents” but shooting would be more targeted, musing what could be better than “to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference.”

Police have previously stated that after arriving in New York on November 24, Mangione allegedly took a cab to the New York Hilton to begin his reconnaissance and planning of the assassination.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/brian-thompson-luigi-mangione-unitedhealthcare-shooting-12-10-24/index.html

 

[Jamie737]

So you think someone of a young age should not have this type of surgery?

The problem with spinal fusion is that by fixing the one vertebra to the other, you transfer all the natural movement from that part of the spine to the next vertebra. So, if you have a L5/S1 fusion, eventually L4/L5’s disc tends to fail and so on.

For that reason it is preferred to delay fusion surgery until it’s a last resort. If a patient has bladder or bowel symptoms indicating nerve root pressure on the base of the spinal cord, surgery becomes an emergency - LM knew this and mentions telling doctors about bladder symptoms to sway their recommendations for treatment.