When Luigi Mangione was given his first meal behind bars, a square slice of pizza that officers shared with him and others at the police station, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had calmed down, police sources said as new mugshots and new footage of the person of interest in the high-profile murder case have been released.
The 26-year-old Ivy League grad was arrested by the Altoona Police after he was spotted at a McDonald’s. During his arrest, he was shaking but when he was in the jail cell, he appeared relatively calm, not angry or scared, reports said.
“As NYPD brass and Manhattan prosecutors were driving in at speeds above 80 mph from nearly 300 miles away, the local cops received donations of food and coffee from supporters around the country after the news broke. They shared some of it with the suspect,” Fox News reported.
Police released a new photo of Mangione taking a bite from his food at McDonald’s where he was identified.
Mangione views himself as a hero
An internal police report, according to New York Times, provided some analysis of Mangione’s thought process and it said that he “likely views himself as a hero of sorts who has finally decided to act upon such injustice”.
“Based on observed initial online reactions to the shooting, including celebrations of the killing of a health insurance executive, there is a risk that a wide range of extremists may view Mangione as a martyr and an example to follow,” the internal report said.
Did police plant evidence on Mangione?
In the court, prosecutors argued that Mangione was carrying about $10,000 in cash and that his bag was a Faraday bag that blocks cellphone signals. Mangione objected to these two claims and said he was not not aware of the money and that it could be planted. Then he said he was just carrying a waterproof bag and did not know about signal blocking.
