The man charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the US was escorted into a Pennsylvania courthouse on Tuesday as he struggled briefly with the police and had an angry outburst.
The 26-year-old, who was arrested a day earlier after a massive manhunt, shouted "...completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!" to some reporters.
Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance arm, was shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel early on Wednesday morning last week by a masked man who apparently waited for his arrival before shooting the executive from behind.
Suspect to plead not guilty
The suspect, Luigi M., was arrested after a massive manhunt at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 375 kilometers (233 miles) west of New York, on gun charges. He was found with an untraceable firearm assembled from parts.
He was also carrying multiple fake identification cards.
His attorney Tom Dickey told reporters he would be pleading not guilty to the charges.
Luigi M. also planned to oppose extradition to New York, his defense lawyer added, where he is charged with murder and other crimes. This could delay the process by weeks but it is expected that he will be eventually transferred.
For now, the suspect will remain in jail in Pennsylvania, where he faces gun and forgery charges.
Motive believed to be frustration with healthcare system
Upon arrest, the suspect was carrying a handwritten manifesto. The New York Times reported that investigators found he viewed the murder as a justified response to corruption in the healthcare industry.
"These parasites simply had it coming," the manifesto reportedly said.
He wrote in the manifesto that the US has the most expensive healthcare system worldwide, complaining that major corporations' profits are on the rise, as opposed to "our life expectancy," as per the police arrest bulletin obtained by the Associated Press news agency.
The police bulletin also cited social media posts by the suspect in which he called "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, who carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology, a "political revolutionary."
"I had an opportunity to read the manifesto," the New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on the Good Morning America TV show.
"It's handwritten. He does make some indication that he's frustrated with the healthcare system in the United States."
What is known about the suspect
The suspect was an Ivy League graduate, who also attended private school.
Many media reports gathered from his social media posts that he suffered from chronic back pain which affected his daily life. On his X social media profile was an image of what appears to be an X-ray with screws and plates in the lower back.
Friends cited by news agencies also said his chronic back pain limited his daily life.
Luigi M. worked at a car purchase website called TrueCar from 2022 to late 2023 as a data engineer, a coworker told the Reuters news agency. He described him as "incredibly smart" and friendly.
UnitedHealth was one of the insurance providers offered by Luigi M.'s employer.
The suspect also briefly lived at the Surfbreak co-living community in Honolulu. He was involved in surfing, rock climbing and also led a book club, the founder told Hawaiian outlet Civil Beat.
"The Luigi that I knew is completely incompatible with an assassin," R.J. Martin, the founder of the community, told MSNBC describing him as funny, kind and thoughtful.
He left the community for the mainland to get surgery due to his back problems.
The suspect's prominent Maryland real estate family said they were "shocked and devastated" by the incident.
"We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved."
The arrest has led several others to express frustration with the American healthcare system on social media.
