Yoga instructor says Luigi Mangione nursed injured back months before healthcare CEO's murder

BALTIMORE -- Power Yoga Hawaii instructor Dorian Wright remembers when Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Maryland native charged in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, came to the studio. He said Mangione was nursing an injured back.

"I remember with him, like a lot of people that come in with injuries, they tell me right in the beginning of class or while we're doing certain poses, they'll say 'Oh I can't do this,'" Wright said. "If I come to adjust them and help them they'll say 'Oh I can't do this, my back.' I do recall him saying something about his back."

When Wright saw Mangione's booking photo after he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, he knew he recognized the face.

"It was like in 2023, we had him on our books that he came in," Wright said. "I remember him being a nice guy." 

Mangione, who comes from a prominent Maryland family, is facing charges in the shooting death of Thompson on Dec. 4 in Midtown Manhattan.

Thompson, 50, was named the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021.

Suspect was rehabbing a back injury

Investigators believe the motive has to do with Mangione's disdain for the healthcare industry.  

Mangione's friends said he suffered from a back injury. On Reddit, Mangione wrote he had spinal surgery in July 2023.

R.J. Martin, who owns Surfbreak, a co-living and working space where Mangione spent six months in 2022, told reporters Mangione tried to stay fit by surfing, but aggravated a longtime back problem.

"I do know that he was suffering from a spinal misalignment that had been ongoing for quite some time," Martin said.

To help with the back injury, Martin took Mangione to Power Yoga Hawaii.

"There's a lot of postures in yoga that help lengthen the spine," Wright said. "It creates longevity. It creates a calm mind."

Governor condemns shooting

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore condemned the shooting in which Mangione was charged.

Moore said his father died of acute epiglottitis when he was a young child and that his father lacked the healthcare he needed. Though, he said a broken system doesn't justify murder.

"Because of the actions of this person, there are two teenagers right now in Minnesota who are growing up like I did, fatherless. And we can never forget that," Moore said.