'Shocked and devastated': Family of suspected United Healthcare killer speaks out
The family of Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shared a public statement about their son just hours after Altoona police arrested him at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
"Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved," the family said in a statement on social media. "We are devastated by this news."
The Baltimore-area family issued the statement at around the same time New York City prosecutors charged Mangione with murder. The 26-year-old is currently being held in Pennsylvania but is expected to be extradited to New York.
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Mangione's family issued the statement from the account of first cousin Nino Mangione, a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates and one of just several prominent members of the Mangione family.
The targeted killing of the health care executive and the ensuing dayslong manhunt for a suspect has quickly spread the Mangione name around America. But in Baltimore, the family is better known for their contributions to the area.
Nicholas Mangione Sr., the suspect’s late grandfather and son of Sicilian immigrants, made a name for the family developing real estate, including a 1,000-acre golf club and resort hotel, according to his obituary on FamilySearch.org. He also owned two hotels, seven nursing homes, and two talk radio shows.
His grandmother, Mary Mangione, who died in 2023 at age 92, was active in community affairs including serving as a trustee for the Baltimore Opera Company, on a county tourism board and with groups such as the American Citizens for Italian Matters, according to an obituary from Loyola University.
Kathleen, his mother, is a member of the family that also owns a funeral home in the area, according to the news site Baltimore Fishbowl.
Mangione showed similar promise. He graduated as the valedictorian from Gilman School, a ritzy private school, and went on to graduate cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. He studied engineering and applied sciences at an Ivy League school, according to his LinkedIn.
His sister, MariaSanta, is a physician at the University of Texas Southwestern, according to her Vanderbilt School of Medicine profile. Lucia, another sister, is a talented visual artist.
Lucia Mangione shared a picture of her and her brother smiling on a beach in an Instagram post on Monday evening.
“Praying for you,” she wrote in the now unavailable post.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Family of suspected CEO killer speaks out