Luigi Mangione's twisted way from a well-respected Ivy League pupil to the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was being pieced unneurotic by friends and family.
The 26-year-old man - who was arrested astatine a McDonald’s successful Altoona, Pennsylvania Monday - went ‘absolutely crazy’ aft a achy backmost country and explored psychedelic attraction for his chronic pain, it was revealed.
Friends said Mangione dropped disconnected the radar erstwhile 'everything changed' after a surfing accident.
'I retrieve helium said helium had a backmost issue, and helium was hoping to get stronger successful Hawaii,' erstwhile roommate R.J. Martin told CNN.
The acquisition was 'really traumatic and difficult' for him, the roommate said portion adding that Mangione sent him X-ray images of his spine.
'It looked heinous, with conscionable elephantine screws going into his spine,' Martin said.
Mangione abruptly went 'radio silent' portion recovering. He sought alternate forms of symptom management, including psychedelics and magic mushrooms.
His household was truthful acrophobic astir him that helium was reported missing connected Nov 18, according to The New York Post.
Luigi Mangione was down bars connected Monday nighttime awaiting extradition to New York implicit the execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Mangione (second from the left) stayed astatine a surfer's corporate portion surviving successful Hawaii before 'everything changed' pursuing a surfing accident
The Mangione household said they were 'shocked and devastated' successful a connection merchandise connected Monday night.
'We connection our prayers to the household of Brian Thompson and we inquire radical to commune for each involved,' the connection read.
Mangione was charged with execution by NYC officials Monday nighttime aft his seizure successful Pennsylvania wherever helium remains jailed connected firearms charges.
The alleged slayer besides provided cops with a fake ID erstwhile helium was approached successful a Pennsylvania McDonald's. When constabulary asked him if helium had been to New York recently, helium 'became quiescent and started to shake.'
In his backpack, constabulary recovered a 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed silencer. Mangione was besides carrying a passport and $10,000 successful currency — $2,000 of it successful overseas currency.
While his motive remains unclear, signs look to amusement the alleged slayer whitethorn person been self-medicating.
On X, helium had created a titled ‘psych’ afloat of tweets astir psilocybin, besides known arsenic magic mushrooms.
On January 25 this twelvemonth helium added to his Goodreads a publication called ‘Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide’, and ‘Mushrooms of Hawai’i: An Identification Guide’.
Mangione arrives astatine tribunal connected Monday nighttime aft being captured by Altoona Police
The alleged slayer was pictured wrong his jailhouse cell
He besides added a publication called 'How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics'.
Jack Mac, a staffer astatine Barstool Sports, said precocious schoolhouse friends of the alleged shooter assertion helium was 'crazy' aft being injured.
'Spoke with a root that had a batch of friends that went to precocious schoolhouse with Luigi Mangione,’ helium wrote. ‘What keeps coming up is simply a backmost country that “changed everything” for him and helium went “absolutely crazy.”
'Back wounded happened erstwhile helium was surfing successful Hawaii. Surgery didn’t spell great. Moved to Japan. His interaction with household stopped astir a twelvemonth ago. Recently the household reached retired to his friends from precocious schoolhouse asking if they had info connected him.’
The suspected gunman reportedly referenced UnitedHealthcare successful the handwritten papers recovered connected him.
Mangione mentioned the $515.93 cardinal institution successful his manifesto noting the size of the institution and however overmuch wealth it makes, a elder instrumentality enforcement authoritative who saw the papers told the New York Times.
Luke Goldstein, a writer astatine autarkic governmental mag The Prospect, said that a communal person went to precocious schoolhouse with Mangione and was connected the wrestling squad with him.
‘Says helium was the people valedictorian. He had backmost country a fewer months agone and went missing. No 1 had heard from him,' Goldstein wrote connected X.
Mangione spent clip successful Hawaii wherever helium hoped to retrieve from backmost surgery
An X-ray representation appeared to amusement Mangione's surgery
Mangione was seen with a look covering successful his archetypal representation aft his arrest
Mangione was valedictorian of his 2016 people astatine the Gilman School successful Baltimore, wherever tuition is $40,000 a year. He past graduated cum laude from Ivy League schoolhouse the University of Pennsylvania.
One workfellow told CNN they were 'flabbergasted' by quality of his arrest.
'I ne'er got the content helium would self-destruct,' the idiosyncratic told the network.
Another person of Mangione, Boston-based decorator Daniel Collins, took to X successful caller months successful a last-ditch effort to interaction him, saying that ‘nobody has heard from you successful months.’
‘Hey antheral I request you to telephone me,’ Collins wrote to Mangione connected September 7 this year. ‘I don’t cognize if you are good oregon conscionable successful a ace isolated spot and person nary service. But I haven’t heard from you successful months.
‘Your made commitments to maine for my wedding and if you can’t grant them I request to cognize truthful I tin program accordingly’
On October 30, different person with the X username TheRealMandusa wrote: ‘Hey, are you ok? Nobody has heard from you successful months, and seemingly your household is looking for you.’
On November 26, a 3rd X idiosyncratic with the sanction P. wrote: ‘Thinking of you and prayers mundane successful your name. Know you are missed and loved.’
Mangione is accused of sidesplitting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson astatine point-blank scope connected December 5
Mangione was spotted connected surveillance camera astatine a hostel successful NYC
The erstwhile Ivy League pupil had been researching psychedelics arsenic an alternate treatment
The reported claims from schoolhouse friends of a backmost wounded tally with the way Mangione near connected societal media.
One friend, Carolina Leon, tagged Mangione successful an Instagram station astir her day travel to Hawaii successful December 2022. Another, Stephen Rasinar, tagged Mangione successful a station astir a two-week travel to the Pacific archipelago – suggesting helium was determination with friends successful caller years.
His illustration representation connected X includes an evident x-ray of metallic pins successful a spine.
Emergency doc Dr. Kashif Pirzada wrote connected X that the representation ‘Looks similar a lumbar spinal fusion surgery’.
Mangione had an relationship connected publication reappraisal tract Goodreads.com, and listed books connected backmost symptom management.
One is titled ‘Back successful Control: A Spinal Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain’. Another is ‘Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting connected the Road to Recovery’.
But the astir intriguing is simply a reappraisal helium wrote of the Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s manifesto.
‘He was a convulsive idiosyncratic - rightfully imprisoned - who maimed guiltless people,’ Mangione wrote. ‘While these actions thin to beryllium characterized arsenic those of a brainsick luddite, however, they are much accurately seen arsenic those of an utmost governmental revolutionary.’
‘When each different forms of connection fail, unit is indispensable to survive,’ helium added.
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