New information continues to come to light about the suspect in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, including a connection to the world of video games. The suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, worked at Civilization studio Firaxis Games, a spokesperson confirmed to Polygon.
What appears to be Mangione’s LinkedIn page states that he worked as a UI programming intern at Firaxis from May 2016-August 2017; he said he fixed more than 300 UI bugs in the game. Also in 2016, Mangione’s alleged LinkedIn page says he was the founder and president of “Upgrade,” a game development and research team at the University of Pennsylvania.
Following his Firaxis internship, Mangione’s subsequent career roles were seemingly outside of the game development scene.
Mangione was arrested on Monday, December 9, after he was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was later charged with the murder of Thompson in Manhattan on the morning of December 4. Mangione is currently detained in Pennsylvania; he is expected to be extradited to New York to face charges.
According to a law enforcement source talking to The Associated Press, Mangione was in possession of a three-page, handwritten letter that said in part, “I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.” The note reportedly added, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites had it coming.”
Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said in a court appearance that Mangione had $10,000 in cash when he was detained, including $2,000 in foreign currency. Police said they found a black, 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black suppressor in Mangione’s backpack. Police documents said Mangione “became quiet and started to shake” after being asked if he had been in New York recently.
