NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO was never a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City.
Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania.
鈥淲e have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that鈥檚 possibly why he targeted that that company,鈥� said Kenny.
remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonald's in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City. His lawyer there said he hasn't seen any evidence yet linking him to the crime.
Mangione's arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of outside a Manhattan hotel.
Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early on the morning of Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park, then heading to a bus depot.
Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face in Thompson's killing. A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 30.
The 26-year-old, who was found with a 鈥� 鈥� matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, his client is not guilty.
Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. On Wednesday, investigators are looking into an accident that injured Mangione鈥檚 back and sent him to an emergency room in July 2023. They're also looking at his writings about the injury and his criticism of corporate America and .
Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangione's family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November.
The Associated Press
