Luigi Mangione appeared carefree while enjoying a trip across Asia just months before he allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggesting he suffered a rapid unraveling in the lead-up to the brazen slaying.
One of a pair of friends who were vacationing across Asia told TMZ that they met 26-year-old Mangione by chance at a Muay Thai fight in Krabi, Thailand in April of this year. The trio quickly hit it off and decided to travel together.
After exploring Krabi together, the group parted ways when Mangione went to Phuket, while the pair of friends visited Malaysia. But they later reconnected for a road trip across Thailand, stopping off in Khao Sok and Bangkok, according to TMZ.
All the while, the source told TMZ, the software engineer did not show any signs of being a cold-blooded killer—in fact, he seemed like the typical young man enjoying the chance to explore a different country.
The source’s characterization of Mangione as a “super friendly, communicative, and open” person aligns with other accounts from people who had encountered the Ivy League graduate before he entered the public eye this week.
Although Mangione did mention his back injury—which has been widely speculated to have sparked resentment against the health insurance industry, perhaps motivating the killing—the source suggested that it didn’t often seem to limit his involvement in activities such as hiking and motorcycling.
Based on photos the source shared with TMZ from the trip, Mangione seemed to be having a good time. He can be seen playing pool in a local bar and grinning on the back of a motorcycle as he flips a characteristically Hawaiian shaka hand gesture—a symbol of carefree enjoyment.
There have been some signs, though, that in the months leading up to the shooting Mangione took a dark turn. His social media presence has revealed a suite of health struggles—as well as a penchant for radical political and social texts, including Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto.
Loved ones had expressed concern about Mangione on social media days before the murder, and The New York Post reported that his mother filed a missing-persons report for him last month.
He was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania and charged with the murder, as well as three gun charges and fraud. On Tuesday, as police walked him into a courthouse for an extradition hearing, he frantically shouted at reporters, seeming to say: “It’s completely out of touch. It’s an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
Mangione was denied bail on Tuesday and his lawyer indicated he would fight extradition to New York, a process that could take weeks to sort out.
