Shell casings, fingerprints link UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione to crime scene, NYPD says
NEW YORK -- The 3D-printed gun found on the suspect in last week's killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson matches shell casings found at the site of the shooting, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday.
Tisch also said fingerprints belonging to Luigi Mangione, the man charged in the murder, match those found on a water bottle recovered not far from the scene.
"First, we got the gun in question back from Pennsylvania, it's now at the NYPD crime lab. We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide," Tisch said. "We were also able in our crime lab to match the person of interest's fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the KIND bar near the scene of the homicide in Midtown."
The NYPD later said fingerprints found on a cellphone in an alley near the hotel also matched his prints.
Mangione was arrested on Monday in Pennsylvania and charged with forgery and firearms violations, and is being held without bail. He appeared in court on Tuesday and contested his extradition to New York, where he will face second-degree murder charges.
Matches a major boon to the investigation
The gun is the first evidence tying Mangione to the crime, and the fingerprints on the water bottle are the first positive forensic match tying him to the scene where Thompson was gunned down outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel on Dec. 4, sources say.
Investigators are still awaiting the results of any DNA tests on that water bottle.
Investigators believe they have also recovered a discarded coffee cup the suspected gunman may have used at a Manhattan Starbucks before the shooting, and have dusted it for fingerprints, a high-ranking police source said.
According to law enforcement sources, police have recovered a notebook from Mangione at the time of his arrest in which he wrote that he considered using a bomb but decided on a shooting because it was more targeted and would not put innocent lives in danger.
As for how all the new evidence will impact the extradition process, CBS News law enforcement contributor Rich Esposito said, "What the evidence that is being collected now is helpful with is building the most solid case, and, believe me, they're going to need the most solid case. There's going to be quite a lot of public attention around any trial."
- Read more: Luigi Mangione's motive for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO is coming into focus, NYPD says
Mayor Eric Adams expressed his gratitude to law enforcement, saying, in part, "The number of hours they put in, around the clock, dedicated to bringing this person to justice, off the streets of America, specifically off the streets of our city, and we look forward to prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law."
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot and killed
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot and killed outside a hotel where UnitedHealthcare was scheduled to hold its annual investors conference.
Tisch called it a "premeditated, preplanned, 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 started piecing together a timeline. Investigators said he fled the scene on a bike and rode up to Central Park, where sources said they later found a backpack that contained a jacket and Monopoly money, but not the murder weapon.
The biggest break in the case came from an Upper West Side hostel where the gunman was believed to have stayed in the days before the shooting. He was seen in surveillance images lowering his mask after sources said the woman at the front desk asked to "see his pretty smile."
Police later released more images showing him inside a taxi, which they believe he took to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Upper Manhattan and boarded a Greyhound. Investigators believe he left the city immediately after the shooting and had been traveling around Pennsylvania before he was caught.
He was spotted on Monday inside a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 300 miles away from the crime scene. A customer recognized him and alerted an employee, who called 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 taken into custody on a forgery charge. Police searched his belongings and found a 3D printed ghost gun consistent with the one used in the shooting, along with a U.S. passport, $8,000 in cash and a handwritten note.
Sources tell CBS News investigators are referring to the note as a claim of responsibility. They believe the suspect's grievances toward UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance companies are what motivated the murder.
In addition to the note, sources said shell casings found at the scene had the words "delay" and "deny" written on them, believed to be a reference used by critics of the insurance industry.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
CBS News has learned the 26-year-old comes from a prominent Maryland family. He graduated valedictorian from a private high school and got his Masters in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
"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," his family said in a statement after his 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 had been staying at a co-living space called Surfbreak in Hawaii up until 2022, when a spokesperson for the community said he left due to a lifelong back injury that was exacerbated 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 over "discomfort in book choices."
Sources tell CBS News back pain was a major factor in his life and it appeared to be a source of frustration.
"We're learning that he did possibly suffer an accident that caused him to visit the emergency room back on July 4, 2023," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer.
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 the best and hoping that he was OK. His mother filed a missing persons report in November in San Francisco amid concerns he was not communicating.