Luigi Mangione became a TikTok sensation despite his crime. Now prosecutors want to end his life.

It's the murder that's gripped the US. Multi-millionaire UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside the Hilton Midtown Hotel in Manhattan, New York on December 4, 2024.

For five days, police scoured the city for clues as they worked to track down the shooter and understand his motive.

"Our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed up on hundreds of tips and processed every bit of forensic evidence — DNA, finger prints, IP addresses and so much more — to tighten the net," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

They finally charged a man with murder: Luigi Mangione.

After being charged on both state offences and a federal charge of murder in furtherance of terrorism, Mangione has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, since his arrest.

In April 2025, prosecutors confirmed they would seek the death penalty for Mangione, in accordance with President Trump's renewed federal execution policy.

Here's everything we know so far.

Police have released a photo of Luigi Mangione after his arrest. Image: Altoona Police Department.

Who is Luigi Mangione?

Police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione on December 10, Australian time, as their person of interest in Brian's murder.

He was born and raised in Maryland and has ties to San Francisco, California, according to New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. His last address was in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mangione is related to a prominent family in Maryland, who own several country clubs and healthcare facilities, according to media reports.

He is also the cousin of Maryland Republican Delegate Nino Mangione, who represents parts of Baltimore County, per CBS.

Mangione was a 2016 graduate and valedictorian speaker at Gilman School in Baltimore.

"We recently became aware that the person arrested in connection with the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is a Gilman alumnus, Luigi Mangione. We do not have any information other than what is being reported in the news," Gilman's head of school Henry P.A Smyth said in a statement. "This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected."

According to his LinkedIn, he was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science.

A friend from university told the BBC he was "super normal" and a "smart person".

He most recently worked as a data engineer for TrueCar, a digital retailing website for new and used cars, and also spent time working as a programming intern at Firarixis games, according to LinkedIn.

A TrueCar spokesperson told the BBC he left the company in 2023.

Brian Thompson was shot dead walking to work outside the Hilton Midtown Hotel in Manhattan, New York on December 4. Image: UnitedHealthcare.

How was he arrested?

Police pounced on Mangione at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9, local time.

And while extensive police work helped find him, it was a tip off from a member of the public that was the key to his arrest. Police credited the tip to the wide circulation of a photo released of the suspect without a mask on.

He was "sitting there eating" when an employee of the restaurant called police, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. Kenny said "at this point in our investigation, we don't think he was trying to flee the country."

According to the criminal complaint read in court, when police arrived to arrest Mangione he was wearing a medical mask and beanie and sitting down looking at a laptop, per CNN.

Officers asked him to remove his mask and "immediately recognised him as the suspect". They then asked for his identification and he gave them a fake ID with the name Mark Rosario.

When they asked if he'd visited New York recently, he "became quiet and started to shake", according to the complaint, per CNN.

Officers couldn't find a match for the ID given and then Mangione told police his real name.

Mangione's backpack allegedly contained a 3D-printed pistol and silencer, per CNN.

He was allegedly found in possession of a firearm and suppressor "consistent with the weapon used in the murder," Commissioner Tisch told reporters.

Police said the weapon was a ghost gun capable of firing a 9mm round. Ghost guns can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them hard to trace.

He was also allegedly found carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, a US passport and clothing and a face mask that appeared to match those the suspected gunman was wearing.

One of the IDs matched one the suspect used to check into his New York hotel before the shooting, Tisch said. Police believe the suspect acted alone and said he had no prior arrests in New York.

Watch: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson gunned down in New York. Post continues below.

What was his alleged motive?

Chief Kenny said police found a three-page document with writings that suggested he "has some ill will toward corporate America".

"We don't think there's any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document," he told reporters.

Tisch said the handwritten document "speaks to his motivation and mindset".

Law enforcement sources told CNN the suspected manifesto apologised for any strife or trauma but said "it had to be done" and "those parasites had it coming".

Sources told the New York Post Mangione was against the medical community for its treatment of a sick relative.

Bullet casings at the scene of the shooting were reportedly marked with the words "deny," "defend" and "depose". Police are exploring whether this is linked to a popular phrase in the insurance industry: "delay, deny, defend".

Luigi Mangione has been identified as the person of interest in the shooting of Brian Thompson. Image: Linkedin and NYPD.

An account on Goodreads that matches his name and photo gave four stars to the antitechnology manifesto Industrial Society and Its Future by Theodore Kaczynski, the unabomber who terrorised the US for nearly 20 years, planting bombs that killed three Americans before his capture in 1966.

"He was a violent individual — rightfully imprisoned — who maimed innocent people. While these actions tend to be characterised by those of a crazy luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary," he wrote in his review.

The review referenced another post on the text, stating: "When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it's not terrorism, it's warm and revolution."

Pennsylvania Govenor Josh Shapiro said Mangione "is no hero."

"In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint," he told a press conference following Mangione's court appearance.

Google has since deleted YouTube channels belonging to the suspected killer and an impersonator, and Meta has removed his Facebook and Instagram, according to CNN.

The NYPD and FBI travelled to Altoona to interview Mangione.

After the arrest.

Mangione faced Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on December 9 and did not enter a plea at the time. The 26-year-old has been charged with offences including murder, murder in furtherance of terrorism, forgery, carrying a firearm without a license and tampering with records, on both state and federal charges.

He has remained incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, without bond.

Mangione has since pleaded not guilty to the state charges, which carry a maximum of life in prison, but is yet to enter a plea for the federal charges.

In April 2025, prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty against Mangione, a move which was made in line with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's directive under President Trump's renewed federal execution policy.

"Luigi Mangione's murder of Brian Thompson – an innocent man and father of two young children – was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America," Bondi said in a statement on Tuesday that described Thompson's killing as "an act of political violence".

"After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again," Bondi said.

Prosecutors will continue both the state and federal cases in parallel, but the state case will likely go to trial first. It's not clear if the death penalty directive will change this.

Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman-Agnifilo has criticised him being tried on both a state and federal level, referring to him as a "human ping-pong ball" between "warring jurisdictions."

Feature image: Facebook.

This article was originally published in December 2024 and has since been updated with new information. We will continue to update this as the case progresses.