Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, took a trip across Asia in the months leading up to the incident.
Thompson was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024. Mangione is now facing murder charges at both the state and federal levels.
Before the shooting, Mangione traveled through Asia, visiting places like Japan and Thailand. He reportedly made friends during his travels and stayed in touch with them.
While in Osaka, Japan, Mangione joked in a text message to a friend about trying to pay a Yakuza boss (a leader in organized crime) for a prostitute using “pornstar Pokémon” cards instead of Japanese yen. He also told friends he wanted to find peace in the Nara Mountains of Japan.
Mangione, originally from Maryland and later living in Hawaii, traveled from Japan to Mumbai, India, before returning to the United States. He briefly lived in San Francisco before the shooting in New York City.
Mangione has denied all the charges against him.
Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was in New York for a conference. He was a father to two sons. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Mangione.
