Luigi Mangione is currently on trial for the alleged murder of CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight, with newly released audio from the 911 call that led to his arrest.
Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days following the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare executive on a New York City street. The incident spurred a widespread police search for the masked perpetrator.
At 27, Mangione is charged with first-degree murder and over a dozen state and federal charges related to the alleged planned killing of Brian Thompson. Investigators discovered spent cartridges at the crime scene bearing the words ‘delay’, ‘deny’, and ‘depose’, a possible reference to denied insurance claims.
During the Manhattan state court trial, the audio was played in which the Altoona McDonald’s manager informs police: “I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York.”
The manager further explained that patrons had identified Mangione and were ‘really upset’ but hesitated to confront him. Despite wearing a ‘blue medical mask’, along with a plain black jacket and tan beanie, his appearance drew attention.
“The only thing you can see is his eyebrows,” she tells the operators, having scrutinized police-released images to calm her worried customers, one of whom was ‘frantic’ with anxiety.
Throughout the call, the manager describes him as ‘mid weight’ and ‘mid height’ with a ‘CVS or Walgreens bag with him’, leading to the dispatcher dispatching a squad car to the site.
The officer who eventually arrested the then 26-year-old Mangione noted that his ‘blue medical mask’ was the key identifying factor.
Altoona PD officer Joseph Detwiler commented that the mask stood out because: “We don’t wear masks, we have antibodies.”