Law enforcement officers investigating the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson say that suspect Luigi Mangione’s mother told authorities she “could see” her son being involved in the shooting.
Mangione was indicted Tuesday on three murder charges, including first-degree murder as an act of terrorism, in the Dec. 4 slaying of the health insurance executive.
At a news conference after the charges were filed, Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives in the New York Police Department, made a chilling disclosure about a conversation authorities had with Kathleen Mangione two days before her son’s Dec. 9 arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Kenny told reporters that a task force of FBI and NYPD personnel got in contact with Mangione’s mother following a tip from San Francisco police. The San Francisco department told the NYPD that it believed security camera images of the shooter resembled Luigi Mangione, who had been reported missing by his mother on Nov. 18.
Kenny said members of the NYPD and FBI task force then “had a conversation” with Kathleen Mangione, who “didn’t indicate that it was her son in the photograph” but told them “it might be something that she could see him doing.”
Kenny added that her information was not immediately relayed to NYPD detectives assigned to the case.
He explained that the details were “going to be passed along to the detectives the next morning, but fortunately we apprehended him before we could act on that.”
Luigi Mangione’s New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment when contacted about the NYPD’s account.
Mangione had reportedly been out of contact with his family and friends for at least six months before the shooting. He was arrested on Dec. 9 at a fast-food restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
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On Wednesday, Mangione’s attorney told ABC News and CBS News his client plans to waive extradition. The move would mean the accused may soon be taken to New York to be arraigned on the counts of murder and other related charges.