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More details about Luigi Mangione are coming out, and it sheds light on why he may have allegedly murdered the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson.
In an interview with Honolulu Civil Beat on Monday, Luigi’s friend R.J. Martin revealed he met the 26-year-old at a co-living space in Hawaii, which he founded, called Surfbreak. Luigi was there from January to June 2022, and he suffered from “chronic back pain” from an apparent pinched nerve. R.J. reflected:
“I loved this guy. In some ways, I feel like my members are my kids.”
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Josiah Ryan, R.J.’s spokesperson, also told the Associated Press that Luigi had undergone an extensive background check before being allowed into the community living:
“Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints. There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.”
According to the Civil Beat, Luigi had “no significant criminal record in Hawaii,” except for having to pay a court-ordered $100 fine in November 2023 after pleading no contest to a petty misdemeanor offense for trespassing in a “closed area” of Oahu’s Nuuanu Pali Lookout.
Back with the AP, Josiah confirmed that the young man suffered from back pain, noting:
“He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back.”
When they couldn’t go surfing, Luigi and R.J. would regularly go to a rock climbing gym together. Speaking to CNN, R.J. recalled Luigi returning home from a surf lesson in which he’d injured his back, leaving him confined to his bed for about a week. It was a “traumatic” experience for his pal, who was in his 20s and suddenly unable to do basic things. Luigi eventually returned to the mainland to have surgery, which the New York Times reported occurred last year. R.J. told the outlet:
“His 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.”
The publication said he suffered from “debilitating pain” and even had to “switch out his mattress” after a group surfing lesson. This pain was affecting other areas of his life. He told his friend he wasn’t in a relationship because “he knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible. I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks.”
Once he left, the two stayed in contact via text and Luigi sent him photos after having back surgery, including an X-ray in which his back “looked heinous” with giant screws inserted into his spine, R.J. told CNN. Luigi posted an X-ray on his X (Twitter) account which is possibly the same one. See (below):
(c) Luigi Mangione/X (Twitter)Yikes. Over time, the friends fell out of touch over the summer, R.J. told Civil Beat:
“He went radio silent in June or July.”
Here’s where things get more concerning. Luigi wasn’t just not talking to his friends — he also shut out his family!
One of his former classmates at Gilman School in Baltimore, Aaron Cranston, told the NYT that he and many others had been forwarded a message earlier this year because Luigi’s family was trying to get in touch with him. Aaron hadn’t stayed in touch with the suspect since high school, but he was told Luigi’s family hadn’t heard from him in “several months” following his “back surgery.” Whoa. It sure seems like this surgery and chronic pain was a turning point for him. We wonder if he was denied medication or some health benefit that led him to allegedly do this?
Luigi hinted at his reason for allegedly committing this killing in a manifesto he was found with when he was arrested earlier this week, which read per CNN:
“I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done”
And:
“These parasites had it coming.”
So chilling, but this does start to explain what his motive may have been…
In the meantime, hear more from his friend (below):
Thoughts? Share them (below).
[Image via Altoona Police Department & Luigi Mangione/X (Twitter)]
English (US) ·