Luigi Mangione, charged in New York with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was unable to be physically intimate or have relationships due to his back pain, according to a friend.
R.J. Martin, who lived with Mangione in Honolulu, told The New York Times that Mangione had confided in him about his lack of a personal relationship, telling the newspaper that it wasn’t possible to date or to have physical intimacy, because of his back condition.
Newsweek has reached out to Mangione’s attorney outside of normal working hours via email for comment.
Martin is the founder of a co-living community in Honolulu called Surfbreak. Mangione had interviewed to be among the 20 initial occupants of the community, and Martin told the NYT that when he met Mangione in 2022, he was a smart, accomplished and upbeat engineer who had gone to Honolulu to work remotely.
Newsweek has reached out to Surfbreak outside of normal working hours via email for comment.
Mangione, 26, was arrested in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, five days after Brian Thompson was fatally shot by a masked gunman as he walked alone to his company’s annual investor conference in Manhattan at the New York Hilton Midtown at around 6:45 a.m. on December 4.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Mangione contested his extradition to New York, where prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder, two gun offenses, forgery and possession of a suppressor. He remains held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. His attorney has said he will plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania.
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Martin told the NYT that when Mangione had moved into their Honolulu space, he mentioned the back issues he was suffering and said that he was hoping to get as healthy as he could in advance of a major operation. He said Mangione’s spine was “kind of misaligned.”
“He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve. Sometimes he’d be doing well and other times not.”
During his time in Honolulu, Mangione’s back pain was so debilitating that he could not surf and had to switch out his mattress, Martin said.
It was after this that Mangione told Martin about his intimacy issues. “I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks,” Martin said.
Martin confirmed that Mangione had undergone spinal surgery back in 2023. When he texted to ask him how it went, Mangione responded “long story,” without elaborating further. The two texted in April and discussed catching up on the phone, but never did. Martin has said that he hasn’t heard from Mangione since then.
Following Mangione’s arrest, online observers are looking to find a motive in the killing, and whether his reported back pain played a role in the killing.
Shortly after his identity was revealed by law enforcement, observes flocked to Mangione’s social media. Before his arrest, many online had viewed the killing as an expression of anger at the health care system in America, and at insurance companies.
A Goodreads account which belonged to Mangione showed at least six books related to back pain on his shelf. On X (formerly Twitter) Mangione’s profile includes the image of an X-ray of a spine with hardware in it, likely from some sort of fusion. It is not clear if the image is of Mangione’s spine.
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