CEO Slaying Suspect Lurked In PA While On The Run: Where He Was, What We Know

ALTOONA, PA — Luigi Mangione traveled extensively in Pennsylvania before being arrested Monday and later being charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in Manhattan, officials said.

At a press conference Monday night, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Altoona and Pennsylvania State Police provided some details of Mangione's movements in the five days between Thompson's assassination and the suspect's arrest.

The briefing occurred before police in New York City charged Mangione with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a forged document and criminal possession of a firearm.

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Earlier in Blair County, Mangione was charged with five crimes: firearms not to be carried without a license, forgery, tampering with records, false identification to law enforcement, and possessing an instrument of a crime. He was arraigned on Monday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 23, court records show.

Mangione currently is being housed in the State Correctional Institution Huntingdon in Huntingdon County. His inmate number is QQ7787.

At the press conference in Altoona, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, Shapiro said it appeared Mangione made multiple stops in Pennsylvania following the shooting.

"You should know that this suspect traveled between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, making stops in between, obviously, here in Altoona," he said.

State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens elaborated, saying, "We do have a good idea how he got from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. But there are some gaps in time. Before we start laying out a timeline of his travel, we really need to work through all of that.

"We know that at some point it is likely he was in a variety of locations across the state to include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and points in between."

Bivens said Mangione was in Pennsylvania for several days.

"Based on everything we have seen, he was very careful in trying to stay low-profile, avoid cameras," Bivens said. "He took steps to avoid detection."

Altoona Officer Tyler Frye, who has only been on the job for about six months, and another officer responded to the McDonald's where Mangione was arrested after an employee recognized him and called police. Frye said they also recognized him instantly after instructing him to pull down his blue medical mask.

"We didn't even think twice about it," Frye said. "We knew that was our guy."

He added: “It feels good to get a guy like that off the street, especially starting my career this way. It feels great.”

Shapiro praised the observant McDonald's worker who notified police.

“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this, he is no hero,” he said. “The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning.”

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