26-year-old Luigi Mannion is an educated, sociable and handsome young man from a very well-established family. It seemed that life was about to smile at him. Yesterday (Monday) he was arrested in Pennsylvania, after being identified in a McDonald’s branch by one of the customers, and he is accused of murdering the CEO of the United Healthcare insurance company, Brian Thompson, last week with a gun.
Half a year ago Menion disappeared from social networks and the lives of his friends. “No one is able to contact you. I need to know if you are coming to my wedding,” a friend wrote to him in a message, which has since been deleted.
Mannion was born into a well-known family in Maryland. His grandparents bought a country club in the 1970s and developed a community of golfers around it. They expanded their business to other sports clubs as well as assisted living communities. Over time, the family accumulated more real estate assets. The family also owns a radio station that broadcasts content from the conservative side of the political map, as well as several charitable associations. One of the family members, Nino Mannion, is a Republican politician in the local government.
Mannion studied at the prestigious Gilman Boys School and was successful both in studies and in sports. He graduated from high school with honors, and in a speech at the graduation ceremony he described his classmates as “a unique group, with original thinking that challenges the world around them.”
A friend from this period who was interviewed yesterday (Tuesday) by the “New York Times”, said that Manion stood out as one of the brightest students at the school. While still there, he taught himself to program and created a mobile game. His friends testify that he was sociable and well-liked, did not hold a distinct political position, and that he intended to engage in high-tech entrepreneurship.
Manion was accepted to one of the elite universities of the USA, the University of Pennsylvania, he excelled there as well and was one of the outstanding students in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was accepted to a prestigious summer project at Stanford University and began working as a programmer at a high-tech company in California.
Chronic back pain and a review of the Unabomber’s book
From 2022, Mannion used to live periodically in a cooperative surfing community in Honolulu, Hawaii, called Surfbreak, and work remotely from there. According to the director of the community, R. J. Martin, Manion suffered from severe back pain. Apparently his back was injured from childhood, but a surfing accident made it worse. He didn’t care much, says Martin, but gradually the members of the community realized that this was not a trivial matter. His back hurt regularly, and the condition prevented him from having intimate relationships. In 2023 he left the community and said that he was expected to undergo back surgery. On Mannion’s profile on the X Network, an X-ray of his back appears as one of his three profile pictures.
Martin says that in the summer of 2023 he corresponded with Mannion, who said he wanted to return to Hawaii as quickly as possible, “but I need to resolve some matters related to my back.” Mannion did return to Hawaii at the end of 2023, though not to the same community.
Starting in mid-2024, Martin tried to write to Menion several times, but he did not answer. The high-tech company he worked for also stated that he left six months ago, but did not explain why. Friends testify that Manion’s family members contacted them during this period and asked if the friends had seen him, but did not receive good answers.
But at that time Menion was active on social networks. He published book reviews, mostly on health and self-help books, but also a review of Ted Kaczynski’s book, The Unabomber, a terrorist who sent explosive packages to various people in academia in the US and also tried to blow up airplanes. “It’s easy to dismiss these things as the manifesto of a madman , and thus ignore some of the unpleasant problems he identifies,” Manion wrote. Another book he wrote a review for is “Curves: How to be smarter than the back pain industry and get on the road for recovery”.
There is no evidence that Manion tried to finance a medical procedure and was refused by United Healthcare. Even if he were to encounter such a refusal, he does not match the profile of a person whose medical obligations prevent him from receiving medical treatment or whose medical treatment leaves him in debt that he cannot handle. His anger at the medical system seems to have been more general.
The “New York Times” yesterday revealed the “explanation” document that Manion wrote before committing the murder. Manion describes the murder in the document as a way to challenge the corruption and power games of the healthcare industry, and himself as a hero acting on behalf of the entire American public.
Manion is now accused of murder and other crimes of possession of weapons, use of weapons and forgery of documents. On the way to yesterday’s hearing regarding the transfer of his trial from Pennsylvania to New York, he tried to confront the policemen who dragged him in, and told the photographers: “It’s an insult to the intelligence of the American public,” although it was not entirely clear what he meant.
Thompson: A lot of criticism regarding United’s conduct during his tenure
And a word about Brian Thompson. He was 50 years old when he was murdered, married and the father of two high school aged sons. He apparently lived apart from his wife at this time. He was born in Iowa. His father worked as a laborer in the grain industry. He also excelled at his school, and later at the University of Iowa, where he studied business administration and met his wife. He was accepted to the consulting company PWC, where he advanced to managerial positions and in 2004 was recruited to United, and continued to advance to the position of CEO of the group’s insurance company.
Thompson received personal criticism regarding United’s conduct during his tenure, including the manner and frequency with which insured claims were denied, and was also accused of using insider information in trading the company’s shares.
He was active in the Special Olympics association, the organization for athletes with disabilities, and the organization’s organizing committee said that he was very dedicated to this role.
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