The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said on Thursday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City.
Mr Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania, according to Mr Kenny.
“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organisation in America. So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” Mr Kenny said.
UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest US companies by market capitalisation but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest US health insurer.
Mr Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on Monday after being spotted at a McDonald’s in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometres) west of New York City.
Luigi Mangione pictured arriving for an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House – Reuters
His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has said Mr Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Mr Dickey also said he has yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime.
Mr Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family.
In posts on social media, Mr Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023.
Afterward, he posted that the operation had been a success and that his pain had improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery.
On Wednesday, police said investigators were looking at the posts about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the US healthcare system.
Mr Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mr Mangione’s family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November.