By Fox News (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-12 09:14:22 | Updated at 2024-12-25 13:27:19
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Blood is thicker than a viral surveillance image of a suspected killer grinning at a flirty clerk in the lobby of a New York City hostel.
Luigi Mangione, the former Ivy League computer science major now suspected of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back in New York City has dozens of cousins in his prominent Maryland family. But none of them appear to have recognized him after his smiling face went viral in connection with a nationwide manhunt that ended Monday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told "Your World" host Neil Cavuto that of more than 200 tips police received in the case, none of them named Mangione.
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CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione shouts as officers restrain him as he arrives for his extradition hearing in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (David Dee Delgado for Fox News Digital)
One of Mangione's former high school classmates had a simple explanation – the suspected assassin is most recognizable for his dark, curly hair, which was covered up in images that the NYPD released before his arrest.
"I think when something so large-profile happens naturally, I automatically disregard that," former classmate Freddie Leatherbury told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. He figured it could have been anybody – but not someone he knew.
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The suspected gunman in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder, believed to be Luigi Mangione, is seen flirting with a hostel employee on surveillance footage before the Dec. 4 shooting. (NYPD)
"And the thing that I remember about Luigi, if anything, was his really distinct curly hair, and in all the security camera footage, all you saw was him with a hat on or a hood on," he said. "That wasn't a connection that I was making. And, of course, Italians in New York are a dime a dozen. So just the jaw structure alone, the face, that wasn't a connection that I was really rushing to make. So I really just brushed it off when I saw it, to be honest."
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United Healthcare CEO slaying suspect Luigi Mangione pictured at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Still, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital Monday that it was Mangione's distinctive eyebrows and the medical mask that made him stand out to customers and locals at an Altoona McDonald's.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and Chief of Patrol John Chell told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday that investigators were still vetting additional tips and it was unclear whether any relatives had reached out.
"Thank God for the customer that was in the McDonald's," said Daughtry, who raced to Altoona, Pennsylvania, with a contingent of NYPD and Manhattan prosecutors Monday after the arrest.
According to court documents, witnesses and responding officers alike immediately recognized the suspect after having seen the widely circulated wanted poster.
Despite the nature of the crime – which involved a masked gunman sneaking up behind Thompson as he walked to a hotel for a business conference and shooting him in the back – a smiling surveillance image of the suspect circulated widely and received praise on social media. Left-wing commentators mocked the victim.
Surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a masked gunman sneak up from behind UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and shoot him in the back in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (NYPD )
The suspect gained so much cult notoriety that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, speaking at a press conference after Mangione's arrest, declared, "This killer was not a hero."
"In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero," Shapiro told reporters Monday. "Hear me on this. He is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald's this morning. The real heroes every day in our society are the women and men who put on uniforms like these and go out in our communities to keep us safe. This killer was not a hero. He should not be hailed."
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Attempts to reach a number of Mangione's relatives for comment went unanswered Wednesday. In a joint statement, the family said members were "devastated" by the news.
Luigi Mangione pictured in a Pennsylvania mugshot after his arrest in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
His cousin Nino Mangione, a Maryland state delegate, said a little more in a statement of his own.
"Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione," he said. "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."
John Kelly, a criminal profiler and the president of STALK Inc., said it's not unusual that none of Mangione's acquaintances turned him in.
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This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group)
"He was such a long shot in his friends', family, and acquaintances' minds, because none of them believed he was capable of such violence," he said.
Josiah Ryan, a member of the Surfbreak co-op in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Mangione lived in 2022, said there had been no warning signs that he or other friends were aware of.
"He was just a great guy, you know?" he told Fox News Digital. "I think it's easy in a circumstance like this to look back and find weird things about people…highlight them and say, ‘Hey, he was always a weirdo.’ And people aren't doing that. There's just nothing."
The Mangione family owns golf courses and clubs across Maryland, a radio station and other properties, Fox News Digital has reported.
The family's affluence allowed the suspected killer to attend Baltimore's Gilman School, a private K-12 school with tuition costing around $40,000 per year. He graduated as valedictorian of his class in 2016 – then went on to the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Ivy League school in 2020 with both a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science.
A photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows Luigi Mangione. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
"He seemed like a smart kid, he was always doing the right thing, it seemed like," another former classmate told Fox News Digital Monday. "Wasn’t crazy."
Mangione had only a minor criminal record – a trespassing case in Honolulu from December 2023 for entering the Nuuanu Pali Lookout when it was closed. Authorities told Fox News Digital they don't think a booking photo was taken in connection with the citation.
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Mangione specifically mentioned UnitedHealthcare and the shareholder conference where Thompson was headed at the time of the shooting in his alleged manifesto, Kenny said. He'd also had allegedly written online about a back injury, and investigators were looking into whether the health insurance industry had denied a claim from him or withheld some kind of care.
Fox News' Alexis McAdams and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
