New York police have filed a murder charge against the man suspected of assassinating healthcare executive Brian Thompson.
Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested in a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Monday, ending a five-day manhunt.
After Mr Thompson was shot in the early hours of Dec 4, the suspect was seen racing across New York City on a bicycle.
Despite leaving a trail of evidence in his wake, including ammunition near a bus station, the suspect was found hundreds of miles away.
Nov 24
10.11pm – The suspect arrived at the Port Authority Terminal in New York City on a Greyhound bus, which made six stops on its journey from Atlanta, Georgia. It is not clear where he got on the bus.
The suspect then took a taxi to the Hilton Midtown area of New York, where he hung around for around 30 minutes.
11pm (circa) – The suspect then rode another taxi to the HI New York City Hostel on 891 Amsterdam Avenue, where he is believed to have stayed until the morning of the killing 10 days later.
He gave hostel staff what police said was a fake ID and wore a mask in his room, meaning his two room-mates never saw his face.
However, he briefly lowered the mask when speaking to an employee at the hostel, smiling at staff. This later earned him the “smiling assassin” nickname as it was captured on the hostel’s CCTV and was widely shared by police.
The picture, captured on the hostel’s CCTV, earned Mangione the nickname of the ‘smiling assassin’ – NYPD/Reuters
Nov 29
The suspect was checked out of the hostel automatically, though police believe he checked back in later the same day.
Dec 4
5.30am (circa) – The suspect left the hostel before dawn.
YouTube/Eyewitness News ABC7NY
5.41am – CCTV footage showed the suspect walking back and forth near the Hilton hotel, where United Healthcare’s parent company – UnitedHealth Group – had been holding a conference.
Police said they believe he arrived on a bike as he appeared in such a short time.
Some time after arriving, he bought a bottle of water and an energy bar from Starbucks before returning to the area surrounding the hotel.
06.44am – The suspect shot Brian Thompson as he walked down the street. The suspect then fled.
X/Social Media/@d0ubletalk
06.45am CCTV obtained exclusively by The Telegraph appeared to show the suspect fleeing on a bicycle.
6.48am – The suspect cycled into Central Park via an entrance on 60th street. He discarded a grey backpack in the park, away from any security or cameras.
6.56am – He left Central Park at West 77th Street, still on a bicycle.
6.58am – He is captured on camera, still on his bicycle, on 85th Street and Columbus Avenue.
7am – The suspect appeared on 86th street without the bicycle.
7.04am – He entered a taxi on 86th street and Amsterdam Avenue.
7.30am – The suspect was seen at the bus terminal near the George Washington Bridge, which offers journeys to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.
Investigators later found ammunition with the words “delay”, “deny” and “depose” written on them.
Dec 6
Investigators said they believe the suspect left New York on a bus after being seen at the terminal near the George Washington Bridge.
Police found a backpack that had been disposed of in Central Park, though officers did not say what was inside at this point.
The suspect discarded a grey backpack in Central Park that was later found by police
Dec 7
Scuba divers were seen around Central Park, where they searched a pond.
Additional photos of the suspect were released showing him in the back of a taxi wearing a blue medical mask.
Mangione pictured in the back of a New York taxi – NYPD/AP
Dec 8
Scuba divers scoured the pond once again.
NYPD scuba divers search the pond in Central Park – Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Dec 9
9.14am – Police were dispatched to a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a male matching the description of the suspect was spotted.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, was taken into custody on unrelated charges, a spokesman from the local police department said.
Fox News
Police said Mr Mangione had been carrying a 3D-printed, homemade “ghost” pistol and silencer that matched images of the weapon used to shoot Mr Thompson on Dec 4.
Jessica Tisch, the New York Police commissioner, said Mr Mangione was in possession of “a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset”, while law enforcement sources told CNN that the letter said: “These parasites had it coming.”
Luigi Nicholas Mangione was taken into custody on unrelated charges on Dec 9 – Getty Images
Police in New York filed a charge of murder against the suspect.
Mr Mangione arrived at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg to be arraigned on gun charges.