How Luigi Mangione's agonising injury 'halted sex life' and sent him into healthcare spiral

Luigi Mangione, who is suspected of the murder of CEO Brian Thompson, lived with an agonising back injury, which reportedly took a terrible toll on his personal life, making 'intimacy impossible'

Suspected gunman Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly suffered back pain so debilitating that it put an end to his sex life.

The 26-year-old data engineer, who was denied bail after prosecutors determined he was too dangerous to be released, has been charged with gunning down healthcare boss Brian on the morning of December 4, just as the multi-millionaire boss was on his way to an investor meeting. His lawyer has since indicated that he will be pleading not guilty.

The shocking crime took place outside a Hilton Midtown Hotel on Sixth Avenue in bustling Manhattan - a stone's throw away from major tourist attractions. Mangione was arrested following a lengthy manhunt after the New York Police Department (NYPD) reportedly received a tip-off that the suspect was dining at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania - nearly 300 miles away from the scene of the tragedy.

It's since emerged that Mangione reportedly suffered an agonising back injury that made intimacy impossible. The University of Pennsylvania graduate is understood to suffer from a back condition known as spondylolisthesis, which occurs when one spinal vertebra slides out of place.

His condition worsened after a painful surfing accident in 2022, with a former roommate shedding light on how Mangione's condition had affected his personal life.

RJ Martin, who lived with the accused for six months at a co-working space in Hawaii, told The New York Times: "He knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn't possible. I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks."

Remembering how Mangione was left in even more pain following his surfing accident, he continued: "His spine was kind of misaligned. He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve."

In another interview with CNN, Martin, who says he fell out of touch with Mangione, revealed that the suspect had ended up “in bed for about a week” with back pain following a surf lesson. He recalled: “It was really traumatic and difficult, you know, when you’re in your early twenties and you can’t, you know, do some basic things."

Martin had exchanged texts with Mangione earlier this year, learning that his former roommate had undergone back surgery. Mangione sent him a photograph of his X-ray that, Martin remarked, "looked heinous, with just giant screws going into his spine." A similar picture had been used by Mangione for the backdrop of his X page, which has now been taken offline.

Posts from a since-deleted Reddit account that matches a number of Mangione's biographical details, including his education, age, and health condition, state that the user had lived with spondylolisthesis-related back pain since childhood, with surfing incident making things even worse.

In July 2023, the user wrote: "My back and hips locked up after the accident." Sharing that "intermittent numbness has become constant", they admitted: "I'm terrified of the implications." Just a few weeks after this post, the user revealed that he'd undergone spinal surgery, which had improved his symptoms. They did not appear to post about health insurance in relation to this surgery or make any links to UnitedHealthcare.

According to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by AP, at the time of his arrest, Mangione had been carrying a handwritten document detailing his anger towards what he referred to as "parasitic" health insurance companies while expressing disdain for corporate greed and power.

As per this bulletin, Mangione wrote that the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that major corporations' profits continue to rise while "our life expectancy" does not. Meanwhile, "wanted" posters showing the faces of top healthcare CEOs have cropped up in New York City in the aftermath of Brian's assassination.

Signs displayed on traffic control boxes on Canal Street, one of Manhattan's busiest highways, featured pictures of Brian and other CEOs that the Mirror has chosen not to name. It's unclear who is behind the posters, which include the words "Wanted. Denying medical care for corporate profit. Health care CEOs should not feel safe" in red and black. These posters also contain the message "deny", "defend", and "depose" - the three words found on shell casings found at the scene of the shooting.

It has since emerged that 'deny, depose and defend' could refer to Prof Jay M. Feinman's 2010 book ‘Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claim and What You Can Do About’, which takes a critical view of insurance companies. In this book, law expert Prof Feinman accuses such firms of following “unethical practices of delaying or denying legitimate claims.” The book is said to contain "dozens of stories involving major insurers", with the intention of educating readers "on how to make insurance buying decisions and pursue disputed claims.”

CEO Brian enjoyed a long and extremely successful career at UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the US. The fourth-largest public company in America, UnitedHealthcare, is positioned just behind Walmart, Amazon, and Apple and is said to be worth more than $550 billion (£ 433 billion).

In addition to the posters, viral posts found online also list the names and salaries of eight health insurance executives, prompting the NYPD to issue a bulletin on Tuesday (December 10) to emphasise the heightened risk for healthcare executives. This bulletin also warns that internet users may view Mangione as a "martyr" who could inspire extremists to action, reports ABC News.

The NYPD also included examples of individuals expressing their belief that Brian deserved to die on account of his role in the insurance industry. One woman wrote: "My mom was denied chemo multiple times and suffered tremendously. They missed her cancer for two years because she was constantly denied… she will have life-altering damage because of it. F*** him may he rest in piss."

Mangione was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police, and was later charged with murder. Manhattan prosecutors had been preparing to take steps to bring Mangione from Pennsylvania to New York, however, at a short hearing held Tuesday (December 10), defence lawyer Thomas Dickey stated that his client will not waive extradition and instead wants a hearing on the issue.

At the hearing, which was held in Pennsylvania, Mr Dickey told reporters that he would be representing Mangione in Pennsylvania and may also represent him in New York. He also shared that he anticipated Mangione would plead not guilty to murder charges in New York City.

Mr Dickey said: "We've pled not guilty, at least to the charges in Pennsylvania. Like I said, I'm not aware of any actual charges in New York." He continued: "I'm telling you, as his lawyer, he didn't have any representation until I got involved this afternoon. And I'm telling you he's pleading not guilty."

Asserting that he "hasn't seen any evidence that Mangione is the shooter", Mr Dickey added: "I have not seen one scintilla, one speck, one drop of any evidence yet. So, it's what I decided, I think, was in our best interest to do today."

Following his arrest, Mangione's family shared the following statement on social media: "Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson, and we ask people to pray for all involved."

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