The young man who was taken into police custody as part of an investigation into the assassination of the CEO of a US social security giant heard him charged with murder yesterday, US media reported Monday.
Luigi Manzioni, 26, faces charges of murder, two other offenses related to gun laws, and falsifying documents, according to the filing, which was obtained by the New York Times and the CNN television network.
Manzioni was arrested yesterday in Pennsylvania. “Members of the Altoona Police Department, 500 miles west of New York City, arrested the 26-year-old man for possession of firearms. At this time, we believe this is the person we are seeking for the targeted and heinous murder of Braian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare.” Jessica Tish, the New York City Police Director, said during a press conference, with Mayor Eric Adams by her side.
Manzioni was born and raised in Maryland, attended college in Pennsylvania, had ties to San Francisco and most recently lived in Honolulu, officials said.
Earlier, US media reported that the man was being questioned by local police as he was found in possession of the same type of gun used in Thompson’s murder.
According to the New York Times, which relied on well-informed sources, the man spotted by an eyewitness at a McDonald’s in Altoona presented a false identity, similar to the one the killer used to make his New York hotel reservation the night before the crime.
According to a police official, Joseph Kenny, the man carried a document suggesting that he “felt hostility toward American companies.”
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the killer approached the 50-year-old Thompson, and shot him in cold blood in the middle of the street in front of passersby outside a Manhattan hotel, a scene captured on a security camera that has now been seen by millions of people.
Thompson was due to attend an investor conference in the Midtown business district.
Authorities have also not confirmed media reports that the words “delay” and “deny”- terms often used by insurance companies to deny claims for compensation – were written on the shell casings found at the scene.
Several security camera photos of the suspect had been released by police, who promised a reward for any information that could help the investigation. The photos show a white man, young and thin, with his face uncovered, visible from the front, with a hood over his head and a black scarf wrapped around his neck.
The UnitedHealth Group insures 51 million people and works with government programs such as Medicare, the health insurance system for the elderly.
