Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murder in the deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione is in federal custody in New York City, where the shooting happened in early December.
“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 April 1. “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.”
The 26-year-old faces federal murder and stalking charges, as well as state murder and terrorism charges in New York. The state charges are not eligible for the death penalty.
Here’s what we know about Mangione.
He is awaiting trial after December arrest
Mangione is awaiting trial several months after he was arrested amid a massive manhunt for the shooter. He was taken into custody on Dec. 9 after being spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione arrived in New York in mid-December after he waived extradition in a Pennsylvania courtroom.
Federal prosecutors filed four charges against him — murder, using a weapon with a silencer, and two counts of stalking. Additionally, 11 state charges were filed by the Manhattan district attorney in December, including murder in the first degree and murder as a crime of terrorism. First-degree murder charges in New York are usually reserved for the killing of law enforcement officers.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges, but has not yet been arraigned on the federal charges. The federal charges could make him eligible for the death penalty, if he is convicted.
His next hearing in federal court is scheduled for April 18. A state court hearing is scheduled for June.
At his last court appearance in February, which was a preliminary pretrial hearing, Mangione sat attentive, wearing a bulletproof vest and shackles. New York prosecutors described some of the evidence they submitted, including surveillance video and forensic tests, while Mangione’s defense attorney expressed concern that she was still missing the bulk of the evidence, which she told the judge may infringe on his right to a fair trial, CBS News New York reported.
Getty Images 
Mangione’s lawyers have proposed that he receive a specially configured laptop in jail that would only allow him to review case materials, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons said it would review the request if it is formally submitted. The bureau added that discovery laptops are allowed only in the visiting room, not in housing units, CBS News New York reported.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office objected to the request, arguing that he can access desktop computers in the detention center.
Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice, has been retained to represent Mangione, her law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News.
Police say suspect’s mother said shooting “might be something that she could see him doing”
Speaking to reporters on Dec. 17, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that before Mangione’s arrest, his mother told an FBI task force that the shooting “might be something that she could see him doing.”
The task force contacted Mangione’s mother on Dec. 7 after a San Francisco police sergeant looking for Mangione alerted the FBI in San Francisco that the person of interest in the shooting could be him, Kenny told reporters. Mangione’s mother had filed a missing person report with San Francisco police on Nov. 18.
The FBI’s San Francisco field office passed the information on to the task force in New York.
He was not a UnitedHealthcare customer
The New York Police Department told CBS News that there are no indications that Mangione was a UnitedHealthcare customer.
Officials believe Mangione may have targeted the company because of its status as the largest health insurer in the United States.
He may have traveled to Pennsylvania by train
Following the shooting, investigators have said that the suspect fled into Central Park on a bike and then took a cab to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in upper Manhattan.
While investigators initially thought the suspect may have left New York City on a bus that departed from the bus station, NYPD Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves told CBS New York on Dec. 12 they now believe the suspect took the A subway line back down to Penn Station in Midtown, where they are looking into whether he traveled by train to Pennsylvania.
The NYPD was working with Pennsylvania State Police and Altoona police to track Mangione’s movements while he was in Pennsylvania.
His notebook says he considered using a bomb, sources say
Two law enforcement sources told CBS News that authorities recovered a notebook from Mangione at the time of his arrest. The sources said in the notebook he wrote that he considered using a bomb but decided on a shooting because it would be more targeted and would not put innocent lives in danger.
While in custody in Pennsylvania, Mangione has not made incriminating statements to NYPD investigators, according to police.
His fingerprints match prints found near shooting scene, police say
Fingerprints found on a water bottle and protein bar near where Thompson was killed match the fingerprints taken from Mangione when he was booked into jail, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Dec. 11. Police also told CBS News that fingerprints on a phone found at the scene are a match to Mangione’s.
Investigators also matched a “ghost gun” that police found with Mangione in Pennsylvania to three 9 mm shell casings from the shooting in New York, according to the NYPD.
The fingerprint match was first reported by CNN. It was the first publicly announced forensic evidence linking Mangione to the crime scene.
The NYPD received over 400 tips to its Crime Stoppers hotline about the case. All of the tips were vetted, and police said 30 were helpful. The New York City Police Foundation was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information, and will vet the tips to determine who gets the reward. Separately, the FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
What do police believe was the motive for the shooting?
Investigators’ working theory for the motive behind the shooting is animosity toward the health care industry. The NYPD said it appears Mangione suffered a debilitating back injury on July 4, 2023, that required a visit to an emergency room and subsequently screws on his spine, according to images posted on social media.
According to the NYPD, Mangione was in possession of notebook paper that had handwritten notes that expressed disdain for corporate America, in particular the health care industry.
Mangione was spotted and arrested in a McDonald’s
Mangione, who police said went to Pittsburgh and then Altoona after leaving New York, was arrested at a McDonald’s after a customer alerted an employee who called police. Officers questioned Mangione, who they described as acting suspiciously.
According to court documents, the Altoona officers found Mangione sitting at a table in the back of the McDonald’s wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop with a backpack on the floor near the table. When the officers asked him to pull the mask down, they recognized him from photos released to the media.
Pennsylvania State Police 
Mangione was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs and a U.S. passport, Tisch said at a news conference. One of the IDs matched the fake New Jersey ID that the shooting suspect used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the shooting, the commissioner said.
When the Altoona officers asked Mangione for his ID at the McDonald’s, he gave them the New Jersey ID, according to an affidavit submitted with the criminal complaint. When one officer was checking the ID with dispatchers, the other asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently, and Mangione “became quiet and started to shake,” according to the affidavit.
Mangione provided his real name after he was told he would be arrested if he lied about his identity, according to the affidavit. When an officer asked Mangione why he lied about his name, he allegedly said, “I clearly shouldn’t have.”
Officers found a gun and a suppressor that were consistent with the weapon used in the shooting of Thompson, Tisch said. Police said the gun found in his backpack appeared to be a 3D-printed ghost gun, with a loaded Glock magazine with six 9 mm full metal jacket rounds and a 3D-printed silencer. Clothing and a mask consistent with those of the suspect in the case were also recovered, police said.
Obtained by CBS News 
Mangione was charged Dec. 9 with five counts in Pennsylvania: forgery, firearms not to be carried without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime, and false identification to law enforcement. New York filed a murder charge later that night.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Mangione was initially cooperative and then stopped cooperating with investigators.
Held without bail at hearing
At an extradition proceeding on Dec. 10 in Pennsylvania, Mangione was denied bail.
As Mangione entered the Blair County Courthouse ahead of the Dec. 10 proceedings, he was aggressive and had to be contained, shouting that what was happening to him was “an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” While inside the courtroom, he quietly mumbled and mouthed words while sitting at the defense table.
Reuters/Matthew Hatcher 
At his office, Dickey told reporters Dec. 10 he hadn’t seen video footage of Mangione’s outburst but said, “Hopefully, there won’t be any more of that.”
Dickey said he was hired to represent Mangione and not appointed to the case. He wouldn’t identify who hired him, and he wouldn’t comment on what Mangione has said to him.
Dickey said Mangione would plead not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges, and said he’d advise Mangione to enter the same plea to the New York charges. Asked to clarify what specific charges Mangione would plead not guilty to, Dickey said, “Every charge.”
“Remember — and this is not just a small thing — the fundamental concept of American justice is the presumption of innocence and until you’re proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and I’ve seen zero evidence at this point,” Dickey said.
Police say Mangione had handwritten note expressing views
A three-page handwritten document that “speaks to both his motivation and mindset” was also recovered from Mangione when he was apprehended by police, according to Tisch. NYPD sources referred to the notes as a claim of responsibility where Mangione attempted to justify his actions.
Mangione wrote that the U.S. had “most expensive healthcare system in the world” but lamented that the country “ranks #42 in life expectancy,” according to NYPD sources.
Mangione also referred to corporations as “mafiosa [that] have gotten too powerful,” and said such companies abuse the United States “for immense profit.” He wrote that others had shone a light on corporations’ “corruption and greed” in the past and claimed that he was “the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”
NYPD intelligence officers believe Mangione might have been inspired by “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, with the handwritten note reflecting a similar mindset.
Kenny told reporters that officials “don’t think that there’s any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document,” but NYPD sources said police are concerned about the risk of extremists viewing Mangione as an example to follow. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed this concern during a news conference Dec. 9, and strongly condemned both the murder and those who celebrated it online.
“The suspect is a coward, not a hero,” Shapiro said.
He worked at TrueCar, has Ivy League degree
According to his LinkedIn account, Mangione worked as a data engineer at the car-buying website TrueCar. But a company spokesperson told CBS News that Mangione hasn’t worked there since 2023.
Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, a Penn spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. He received a Master of Science in engineering with a major in computer and information science, and a Bachelor of Science in engineering, majoring in computer science with a minor in mathematics, the spokesperson confirmed.
While at Penn, he worked as a teaching assistant and founded a video game development club, according to his LinkedIn account.
At Stanford University in California, Mangione was a head counselor for a pre-collegiate studies program during the summer of 2019, the university said in a statement to CBS News.
Mangione appeared to suffer from severe back pain
Mangione’s last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kenny told reporters. The Surfbreak co-living community in Honolulu told CBS News that Mangione had been a resident at the location in 2022.
Sarah Nehemiah, who knew Mangione during his time at Surfbreak, said he left the community in April 2022 due to a lifelong back injury exacerbated by physical activity on the island. According to posts on his Reddit account, Mangione’s back pain had been persistent for several years and worsened after surfing in Hawaii in 2022. Nehemiah and other members of the Surfbreak community “lost contact” with Mangione “after he left,” she said.
R.J. Martin, a close friend of Mangione’s in Hawaii, told CBS News that Mangione was often social except for “when he was in severe pain.”
“There were times where he would kind of hide out and I’d only hear about it afterwards, but he’s one of those people that was such a gentleman,” Martin said. “He never complained. He would only tell me about things after the fact.”
Martin said the pain “inhibited him from doing a lot of activities he wanted to,” but said Mangione was active when not in pain.
Martin grew emotional during the interview. “I just feel heartbroken, you know, somebody that I loved and cared about … could have done something so hideous,” he said.
The background image on Mangione’s X account shows an X-ray of a spine with hardware in it, reflective of previous surgery. It is not known if this is an X-ray of Mangione’s spine. An orthopedist told CBS News that the image appeared to show a hardware fusion, likely for a condition called spondylolisthesis, which is when a vertebra slips out of alignment. Mangione referenced the condition on Reddit and other social media accounts.
Mangione said on Reddit that he had spinal surgery in July 2023. In October, he indicated that the operation had gone well, saying that he was “taking zero pain meds” and hadn’t “had a bad day” since the surgery, eight days before. In February 2024, Mangione said the surgery came “after 1.5 years of failed conservative treatment.”
He’s related to a prominent Maryland family
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, Kenny said. He is related to a prominent Maryland family that owns country clubs, health care facilities and real estate companies, CBS News Baltimore reported. He’s also a cousin of Maryland state Delegate Nino Mangione, who represents parts of Baltimore County.
Mangione’s paternal grandparents, Nicholas and Mary Mangione, were real estate developers who purchased the Turf Valley Country Club in 1978 and Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley in 1986. They founded Lorien Health Systems in 1977, and operated WCBM, a Baltimore radio station.
Mangione’s family said Dec. 9 in a statement, “Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.”
Mangione graduated in 2016 from the Gilman School, an all-boys private school in Baltimore, according to his LinkedIn account. He was the school’s valedictorian and captained its robotics team. He also received a scholarship prize in 2014. He also volunteered at Lorien Health Systems in 2014, according to his LinkedIn.
A former classmate, who wishes to remain anonymous out of respect for the Mangione family and said he met Mangione in middle school and remained close with him through high school, told CBS News that Mangione “a good guy” who “didn’t have any enemies.” The former classmate said the two lost touch after high school, but said they felt sympathetic when they heard Mangione was a person of interest in the shooting.
“I don’t think he is a crazy person,” the former classmate said. “I hope that there’s a public trial and he gets the chance to explain how all of this happened in court.”
Mangione appeared isolated before his arrest
In the months leading up to Mangione’s arrest, posts tagging his account on the social media platform X indicate his friends may have been trying to contact him. His last post on the site was in June.
“Nobody has heard from you in months,” one post from October read.
Another post from July read, “I don’t know if you are okay or just in a super isolated place and have no service. But I haven’t heard from you in months.”
Mangione traveled to Asia for several months in early 2024, according to social media posts and people who spoke to him at the time. He posted about his travels on Reddit in April, saying he had visited “various countries” during the past two months. Gurwinder Bhogal, who said he corresponded with Mangione via email and a video call during this time, said he believes Mangione was in Japan until at least early May.
He reviewed Unabomber’s manifesto, books about back pain
On the book review site Goodreads, Mangione often reviewed and rated books. His activity there included a four-star rating and review of “Industrial Society and Its Future,” written by Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.
Two health-care-related books are on his read tab from 2022, including “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery” and “Back Mechanic.”
Nehemiah, from Surfbreak, said that Mangione returned to Hawaii “briefly in early 2023” and started a book club. However, “several members left due to discomfort in book choices.” She did not elaborate on what those books were.
Christina Fan,
Alice Gainer,
Ali Bauman,
Pat Milton,
Anna Schecter and
Lilia Luciano
contributed to this report.
