NEW YORK — Fingerprints belonging to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in New York City, match those found on a water bottle recovered not far from the scene of the fatal shooting.
It is the first positive forensic match linking Mangione to the scene where Thompson was assassinated outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel on December 4sources say.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about the evidence in the case Wednesday afternoon.
“We were also able, in our crime lab, to match the fingerprints of the person of interest to those found on the water bottle and the Kind bar near the Midtown homicide scene,” he said
Investigators believe they also recovered a cup of coffee the gunman may have used at a Manhattan Starbucks before the shooting and dusted it for fingerprints, a senior law enforcement source said.
Mangione was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania and charged counterfeiting and firearms violationsand is being held without bail. He appeared in court on Tuesday and contested his extradition to New Yorkwhere he will face charges of second degree murder.
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, shot and killed
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of twowas shot and killed outside a hotel where UnitedHealthcare was scheduled to hold its annual investor conference.
Tisch called it a “premeditated, pre-planned and targeted attack,” saying the gunman had been lying in wait for several minutes before shooting Thompson in the back and leg.
Police launched a manhunt for the suspect and began to construct a timeline. Investigators said he fled the scene on a bicycle and rode up to Central Park. where sources said they later found a backpack which contained a jacket and monopoly money, but not the murder weapon.
The biggest break in the case came an Upper West Side hostel where the gunman is believed to have stayed in the days leading up to the shooting. He was seen on surveillance footage pulling down his mask after sources said the woman at the front desk asked to “see his beautiful smile.”
The police later he posted more pictures showing him inside a taxiwho they believe drove to the Port Authority bus terminal in upper Manhattan and boarded a Greyhound. Investigators believe he left town immediately after the shooting and had been traveling through Pennsylvania before he was caught.
It was discovered on Monday inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvaniaabout 300 kilometers from the crime scene. a customer recognized him and alerted an employeewho called the police.
Mangione was found in possession of a fake New Jersey ID, believed to be the same one he used to check into the hostel, and was initially arrested for forgery. The police searched his belongings and found a 3D printed ghost gun according to the one used in the shooting, along with a US passport, $8,000 in cash and a handwritten note.
Sources say CBS News investigators are referring to the note as a liability claim. They believe the suspect’s complaints to UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance companies are what motivated the killing.
In addition to the note, sources said that casseroles were found at the scene the words “delay” and “deny” were written on it.it is believed a reference used by critics of the insurance industry.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
CBS News has learned that the 26-year-old is coming of a prominent Maryland family. he graduated valedictorian from a private high school and obtained his master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the news about Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” his family said in a statement after his arrest. “We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family and ask people to pray for everyone involved. We are devastated by this news.”
Mangione had been staying at a co-living space called Surfbreak in Hawaii until 2022, when a spokesperson for the community said he left because of a lifelong back injury that was aggravated by surfing and hiking. The spokesperson also said they believe Mangione returned to Hawaii in 2023 and started a book club, which several members left due to “discomfort at the book choices.”
Sources tell CBS News back pain was a major factor in his life and seemed to be a source of frustration.
“We’re learning that he possibly had an accident that caused him to visit the emergency room on July 4, 2023,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CBS News Nova’s Marcia Kramer York.
In recent months, posts tagging Mangione on social media imply he lost touch with friends, with some asking where he was and what he was doing, wishing him well and hoping he was okay. His mother filed a missing persons report in November in San Francisco amid concerns he was not communicating.
contributed to this report.