911 call that led to Luigi Mangione’s arrest released following UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Topics: Luigi Mangione, Pennsylvania , New York, Crime
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Pool/Getty
Topics: Luigi Mangione, Pennsylvania , New York, Crime
The ongoing trial of Luigi Mangione for the alleged killing of CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight has seen the audio released of the 911 call that led to his arrest.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the UnitedHealthcare boss was shot down on the streets of New York City by a masked assailant causing a massive police manhunt.
Now 27, Mangione faces a first degree murder charge as well as more than a dozen state and federal charges for the alleged targeted hit on Brian Thompson, where the words 'delay', 'deny', and 'depose' were found on spent cartridges at the scene, according to NYPD’s Chief Detective Joseph Kenny.
Manhattan state court heard the audio of the call where the restaurant manager of the Altoona McDonald's tells police that: "I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York."
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The manager goes on to say that customers had pointed out Mangione and were 'really upset' but did not want to approach him. Despite wearing a 'blue medical mask' and a nondescript black jacket and tan beanie.
"The only thing you can see is his eyebrows," she tells the operators, after admitting that she had been looking at pictures released by police to see if she could reassure her customers, one of whom was 'frantic' with concern.
On the call, the manager continues to relay that he is 'mid weight' and 'mid height' and has a 'CVS or Walgreens bag with him', with the dispatcher eventually sending a squad car to the location.
The arresting officer who eventually tracked then 26-year-old Mangione down said it was his 'blue medical mask' that gave him away.
Altoona PD officer Joseph Detwiler said that the mask was a dead giveaway in the town because: “We don’t wear masks, we have antibodies.”
He went on to tell the court that this mask meant the subject he was looking at must be the same as the one identified in the call. “So he had to be the person we were called there for,” he told the New York court, after adding that 'no one wears masks'.
At the pre-trial hearing, Mangione's legal team attempted to seal much of the evidence before the main trial, with the 911 call only being released after arguments were made by present reporters.
Mangione's lawyers have also asked the judge to stop the prosecution from using key pieces of evidence, including his journal and the alleged murder weapon itself, as they were seized unlawfully by police during his arrest.
Further bodycam footage from his arrest was also seen in court, showing Patrolman Tyler Frye as he was told 'he's back there', before officers find the alleged killer eating a hashbrown behind the McDonald's.
Frye can be seen engaging in small talk about the Steak McMuffin with Mangione before he asks him: "Do you know what all this nonsense is about?"
The accused replied: "We're going to find out I guess."