Fingerprints taken from the 26-year-old Ivy League grad charged in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson match some prints found near the Manhattan crime scene where the 50-year-old executive was left to die, a senior law enforcement official said Wednesday.
It's not clear what items matched Luigi Mangione's fingerprints. Authorities had taken several key pieces of evidence from the area in the hours after the shooting.
Investigators are working to bring Mangione to New York City to face second-degree murder charges in Thompson's death.
An at times unruly Mangione protested extradition to New York City following a hearing in Pennsylvania Tuesday afternoon, where the judge also denied bail. Although he is contesting the request, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will seek the governor’s warrant to secure his transfer to the city, according to the DA's office.
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A day ago, defense attorney Thomas Dickey professed outside court, "You can't rush to judgment in this case or any case. He's presumed innocent. Let's not forget that."
Mangione will plead not guilty to charges in Pennsylvania and is expected to do the same in New York on any murder charge, his lawyer said.
The developments come as investigators comb through the background and lifestyle of Mangione in an effort to piece together the alleged crime. They say he left writings that say in part, "frankly these parasites had it coming," referencing the healthcare industry, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the case confirmed to NBC News.
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The senior official said Tuesday the three-page document also allegedly includes claims Mangione acted alone in the killing of the 50-year-old executive, who was gunned down as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference last week.
Another line from the 300-word rant allegedly says, "I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done," according to the senior law enforcement official.
Investigators say the note did call out specifically UnitedHealthcare, as well as the broader healthcare industry in the United States and large corporations in general, senior law enforcement officials say. Those officials say there are concerns that these writings could cause others to act out in a similar capacity.
In an NYPD preliminary analysis of the shooting, investigators are looking into whether the targeting of the CEO was the culmination of Mangione’s troubles and list of grievances, and if the murder was a “symbolic takedown” in a fight against corporate “power games.”
Investigators say he may have admired the past attacks of the so-called Unabomber - and allegedly echoed his own concerns about technological advancement.
Mangione was initially arrested on an unrelated weapons charge after a McDonald's worker recognized him and alerted police. He allegedly had a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting.
