Luigi Mangione, the suspect at the center of the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, has received over 100 pieces of mail just over a week after he was taken into custody.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed the news to The Independent.
As of Thursday morning, Mangione has received 54 emails, 87 pieces of mail and 163 deposits into his commissary account, an account that allows inmates to purchase items from behind bars.
The suspect was being held in pre-trial detention at a state correctional facility in Huntingdon before he was extradited on Thursday to New York, where he is facing a murder charge in connection with the killing of Brian Thompson, the healthcare company’s CEO, on December 4 in Manhattan.
The alleged assassin has drawn wide attention from internet admirers after he was taken into custody at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania last week. After his arrest, online retailers began hawking merchandise featuring Mangione’s mugshot and the words “Free Luigi.”
Moreover, his Pennsylvania attorney told reporters he declined offers to fund Mangione’s legal bills. Even so, his supporters have managed to raise over $100,000 for a defense fund.
The suspect appeared in court on Thursday, where he waived his right to extradition. He’s now being transported to New York to face charges of murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of murder in the second degree.
Upon his arrest, Pennsylvania officials hit him with charges of forgery, firearms not to be carried without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime and false identification to law enforcement authorities.
The Independent has emailed his attorney for comment.
Mangione’s alleged crime has left the internet divided. Some people believe the murder is a manifestation of the outrage felt by many US residents over the state of the healthcare industry. UnitedHealthcare reportedly denies more claims than other insurers.
Forty-one percent of voters between 18 and 29 say the killing was “acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable,” according to an Emerson College poll published this week.
Mangione’s alleged manifesto outlined his frustration against the healthcare industry.
“I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done,” Mangione allegedly wrote. “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.”
He had not been insured by UnitedHealthcare at the time of the shooting. His friends told news outlets that a spinal cord injury could’ve contributed to his alleged connection to the shooting.
This is a developing story…
