Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO murder fights extradition
Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, remains in Pennsylvania as he fights extradition to New York.
"An insult to the intelligence of the American people," Mangione shouted as he entered a Pennsylvania courthouse Monday afternoon.
The judge denied Mangione's bail.
"I haven't seen any evidence that says that he's the shooter," said Thomas Dickey, Mangione's defense attorney who also expressed dissatisfaction no bail was set.
Prosecutors claim they have a "mountain of evidence" linking Mangione to the early morning shooting of Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
This evidence includes a gun with a silencer and a handwritten document stating, "I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming."
"I can tell you that this is one of the last people you think would do something like this. You know, he was one of the nicest kids," said Freddie Leatherbury, Mangione's high school classmate.
Mangione, a former valedictorian at a prestigious Baltimore prep school and an Ivy League graduate, comes from a wealthy family in Maryland.
In a statement, his family said they were "shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest."
Mangione could remain in Pennsylvania for weeks as the extradition process plays out.
According to a police bulletin obtained by the Associated Press, Mangione is highly critical of the U.S. health system, writing that it is the most expensive and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while "life expectancy" does not.
In social media posts, Mangione called "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski a "political revolutionary," according to the police bulletin.