Mangione Episode 4: "Free Luigi"

Audio and 2020, Bird in a Proof, Luigi Manjione. Remember, you can also listen and add free

by subscribing to 2020 in True Crying Plus on Apple Podcasts. Click the link in the description to learn more. Now, here's the next episode of Bird in a Proof, Luigi Manjione. Hi, I'm John Favreau, we are launching the All New Star Wars the Mandalorian and Groguo official podcast. I'm sorry, I can't focus. We're going behind the scenes, but the casting crew sharing stories

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premiering September 2nd on Disney Plus or wherever you get your podcasts and catch Star Wars the

Mandalorian and Groguo on September 2nd on Disney Plus, turn supply. The defendant committed this murder in an attempt to drop public attention to his dislike of certain businesses. This is Jamie McDonald, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He's speaking at a press conference after Luigi Manjione pleaded guilty in a federal court to two counts of stocking and admitted to shooting Brian Thompson.

We live in a civilized society governed by the rule of law. We debate. We disagree. We protest

“we do not commit murder. No grievance, political belief, or ideological cause,”

can ever justify murder. There can be no celebrity in assassination. Brian Thompson's family, United Healthcare Executives and Law Enforcement attended the plea hearing and so did two rows of Luigi Manjione supporters. Any person who celebrates, encourages, or excuses, actions like these is fundamentally wrong. Through all the changes in this case, going all the way back to December 2024, one thing has been

consistent. Luigi Manjione has vocal supporters. And many of them seem as emblematic of rage against the US healthcare system. I was really proud that even when admitting his guilt, Luigi was able to find a way to still put the spotlight on an industry that is so unfair.

“How did the killing of one man become a flashpoint for widespread frustration with America's healthcare”

industry? From ABC audio and 2020, I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an attorney in ABC News legal analyst, and this is Birton of Proof, Luigi Manjione. Episode 4, Free Luigi. In a quiet part of Baltimore in a one-storying Rick Shopping Center, there's a pizza shop called Vito's Pizza. We have a good reputation of good pizza, and we have a sub, a pasta, a little bit of Italian news. That's Maria Montova, she and her husband Giuseppe, who are in their

sixties, own Vito's Pizza. We spoke to them months before Luigi Manjione's guilty plea ended mission. The Montova's say that back when Manjione was a student at Gilman in the 2010s, Vito's would get a lot of Gilman boys, ordering pizzas and subs. In December 2024, the Montova's heard Luigi Manjione was the pleases number one suspect in Brian Thompson's murder. Maria says that a few days after the news broke, her daughter came across a meme online,

a part illustrated part AI-generated image of St. Luigi. This feature of Luigi Manjoni in the rest of his scene. Maria's daughter printed out the picture and showed it to her parents. They all got a kick out of it at the time. To the Montova's, who are Roman Catholic, it was funny. Giuseppe asked his daughter to make a couple copies. She did, and he hung one up in the storefront right above the register. A local journalist posted about St. Luigi at Vito's.

And then from there, started all the drama I would say. Social media seized on the post with users commenting, liking and sharing it. It generated

over 6 million views. And quickly, the online frenzy spilled out into the real world.

At a time, Maria said the shop was flooded with customers who wanted to support the business and, according to her, make sure that picture of St. Luigi stayed up. Though, keep in mind, this was long before a Manjoni admitted to the shooting. But there was also a backlash online and in person. Maria said some people accused the pizza shop

It started to be a political, a political thing, which there was no intention about that.

“And this is just one example of the explosion of online commentary surrounding Brian Thompson's murder.”

Giotolentino, a staff writer at the New Yorker, says the reactions to Thompson's killing indicated at the time that many Americans believe the private health care system is a quote, "large-scale perveyor of death." The CEO of a giant corporation gets shot on the street and people celebrated as if a violent murderous dictator had just been taken out by a military team. There were some messages expressing sympathy for Brian Thompson and his loved ones,

but there were also jokes, sarcasm and laughter, lots of laughter.

In fact, tens of thousands of social media accounts reacted with a laugh on Facebook

to United Health Group's official announcement of Brian's death. Folk artist Jesse Wells

“dropped a John Prime-style protest song less than a week after the killing, with lyrics that”

took aim at United Health Care. Of course, many followers of the case also commented on Manjoni's looks. They talked about the clothes he wore to court and the music he reported listens to in jail. Some even cheered his mugshot, projected on a big screen during a dance party in Boston. There were Manjoni look-alike contests in Washington Square Park in New York,

and on college campuses in Florida and Texas. Luigi the Musical reportedly performed to small sold-out theaters. But my back gave out and doctors couldn't help me as dollar signs to sign who would live and who would not. Manjoni merchandise went up for sale online, t-shirts, vote of candles, Christmas ornaments, white glasses, wine tumblers, and baseball caps.

Some featured Manjoni's face, others set free Luigi or denied delay to pose. The words that please say were etched into the bullet casings found at the crime scene. After Manjoni was charged with Brian Thompson's murder,

online fundraising for his legal defense surpassed more than $1.5 million dollars.

Give Sen Goan the platform that hosts Luigi Manjoni's legal defense fundraiser, confirmed to ABC News that the fundraiser is still active and said that there was renewed interest in donating to the fund after Manjoni liquidity and federal court. Some donors posted comments like "Gilty, but not wrong." And Luigi is morally innocent. Luigi Manjoni's jail cell too. He started receiving mail at the detention center.

As of last summer, he was 10 to 115 letters per day, according to his attorneys. And this became more than an online phenomenon. It was impossible to attend one of Manjoni's hearings without seeing his supporters outside

“or inside the courthouse. So what's motivating Manjoni's supporters?”

And what do you think of the latest development when he stood there in court and admitted to this crime, putting guilty in federal court? What now? Mysteries unravel and stunning truths are revealed when 2020 investigates. Follow the clues, the evidence, the breaking new details. ABC's 2020 means true murder, mystery. If you follow true crime in 2020, then you've got to listen to this.

Subscribe now to 2020 True Crime Plus. Add free, exclusive true crime content. Search 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start your free trial. Terms apply. Two-poxa-core. Now, 30 years after he was gunned down in Vegas, a one-time reputed gang leader stands trial for his murder.

Follow every detail, streaming live daily on ABC News Live wherever you stream and follow burden of proof daily wherever you get your podcasts. For balls on, also is a law on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app. Montego, before he played a guilty in federal court, a few supporters of Luigi Manjoni

for fear of losing their job or harassment for their support.

“The main reason why I cared was because it seemed like the focus was”

corruption in healthcare and health insurance, and that was something that I care about. That's Stephanie. She's a 26-year-old nurse based in Connecticut.

As a critical care nurse, Stephanie treats people with immediate, often life-threatening medical

issues. She says she's also seen the high bills and claims the aisles that patients often face after seeking urgent care. She was already familiar with hospitals before her job. When she was a kid, she said she watched her mom go through years of treatment for stage 4 cancer. Years, she says, of watching her mom fight this sickness while also working to afford the treatment. So imagine that. I mean, you're given a prognosis of three months, and then which thankfully was

pushed to five years by the end. But she was working full-time, 40 hours a week, as a single parent

“to afford her health insurance so that she could continue to get chemo and whatever other care”

she needed to treat her terminal illness.

From the moment she heard about the shooting before anyone was arrested, Stephanie says she believed it was done to send a message. I thought maybe, you know, maybe killing somebody is not necessarily what we need to do, but I liked that somebody took it upon themselves and risked everything to make a statement. I felt like something is going to come up this, you know. So Stephanie decided she wanted to show her support. She started a pro-menjionia

account on a few social media platforms and they quickly grew a following. She shared tweets making fun of the near-of-city per-block on that dock in the East River and stylized edited videos of Manjony in court. But she says she prefers to focus on fundraising efforts and legal updates. She acknowledges that the Manjony posts that blow up are often the ones focused on his looks, but she says she tries to stay away from those.

“I mean, I think it would be silly to pretend that he's not good looking, you know, to pretend”

that that has nothing to do with anything would also be ridiculous, but the true supporters are not here for looks and it's a pretty ridiculous thing to suggest after over a year of this. Stephanie feels like people have been quick to dismiss Luigi supporters as some kind of fan girls. She says it's one reason why many of them are hesitant to speak to the press. You see headlines about, let me just throw any random number, 30 young women in line for 20 hours

to see sexy killer. Things like that. And I mean, wow, like how demeaning and it's the fact that it's not just young women or women in general. I mean, if you go to a hearing, there's people from all walks of life, all genders, all ages. Stephanie told us that Manjony's guilty plea and federal court has strengthened her support for him. Having confirmation that he did what he was accused of and clear insight to the motive has brought a real sense of relief because

now the supporters are free to stand behind him and his cause. I'll keep supporting Luigi through every stage of his legal battles and as a person, no matter how everything plays out. My support has not changed at all. That's Jamie, a public school educator in her 50s. She has a husband and an adult son. Jamie said she donated to Manjony's legal defense fund and has helped supporters leading efforts in New York City. She also said she's written to Manjony.

Jamie says she's been passionate about healthcare reform for a while now, but for her, this story started out much more personal. In June 2024, months before she would ever hear the name Luigi Manjony, Jamie decided to schedule an MRI. Press cancer runs in her family and it had been on her mind. She says she has good insurance through her job and she believed it would cover the MRI. So, she arrived at her appointment and started filling out the typical paperwork.

She was nervous. She was thinking about the different outcomes, the worst case scenarios.

But before she was taken to the MRI, they asked me for $1800 and that was the first time I

had been told that it wasn't covered or that I would have any person to pay. Jamie says she started panicking. She ran into the lobby and called her insurance company. She said they were just as confused as she was. It should be covered. I said, well, so it is a great word,

According to Jamie, they did not figure it out. Jamie left the appointment without getting the MRI. The bill was unexpected and way too high for her. She remembers leaving, getting home and bursting

“into tears. I didn't put myself first and I think as women we sometimes do that as moms,”

especially. And I just remember this overwhelming feeling of I've got to figure this out. Jamie says she still wanted an MRI. So, a year went by and my annual exam came up again and I asked my doctor again, but the difference this time was, it was the summer of 2025 and I had spent six months at that point following this story and really learning what it means to fight for myself

by watching somebody fight for it himself. So, ultimately, I was inspired by Luigi to fight for myself

and advocate with my insurance company. Jamie says it wasn't what managing he was at that point,

“accused of, and she was inspired by. Instead, she says she was inspired by what she learned about”

him outside of the allegations. What she read of his reported Reddit account were descriptions of his back problems, and comments advocating for others who struggle with similar issues and what she saw following the case from home. Manjoian Court fighting the charges. He held his head high. He clearly was wanting to fight these charges and did so with as much dignity as he could. Jamie thought she needed to fight harder for herself, for her health. She needed to be her

own advocate and try harder for an MRI. Jamie felt pushed to research her health care coverage and made calls, hours worth of calls she says, trying to get her procedure covered. Jamie says her insurance provider was extremely helpful in the process and the provider discovered a coding error that caused the unexpected bill. The MRI was supposed to be covered,

her insurance helps her book a new appointment. In summer 2025, a full year after that first MRI,

the one she'd walked away from, Jamie finally had a fully covered MRI. I had had a mammogram about three weeks prior that was clear, so I didn't have any reason to believe that the MRI would show anything, but it did. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in August of 2025 and at first I was really angry for all the normal reasons that you had be angry when you did diagnosed with cancer. Looking back now, Jamie's at peace with the way things worked out.

They caught it in time and she's now cancer-free. This person came into the universe and became a public figure at the right time for me, and so for that I am very, very grateful to him. Jamie says it was tough learning about man-genie's guilty play in federal court.

I never doubted that when he pled not guilty, it was to try to get the most advantageous result

not because he was actually not guilty and it's different to know that and to hear him admit it. And I kept having to tell myself that this was a choice he made, that he didn't find himself in these circumstances accidentally. The idea that he might serve the rest of his life and present

“is a hard thing to accept, but I think we have to know at least for me that this was that important”

to him and that's where we all have to do our part to make sure that people get the care that they

about patients who experienced delays in treatment because of insurance coverage. A spokesperson

“wrote that they recognize that patients are understandably frustrated when treatments or procedures”

are not approved as quickly as expected and pointed to providers' reliance on outdated manual processes as a source of delays. They also said that health plans are working to improve the consumer experience. We also asked AHIP about the stories people shared after Brian Thompson's murder about their frustrations with the healthcare industry. They said most Americans rate their health plans positively and that we agree that much more needs to be done to reduce costs and create a

simpler, more seamless experience for patients. Jamie remembers when she first heard about Brian

Thompson's murder and what man she only was accused of. She says she felt awful for Brian and his family. Obviously, murder, it was awful and so all of those thoughts are kind of going through my head. I remember thinking, you know, obviously that I felt terribly for this person as a person but the public at large really understood. I mean, we kind of felt like we understood why this happened. I wouldn't say I was ever in the camp of deserve is such a strong word that doesn't

“feel like how I ever felt but understand why I think that's where I landed.”

When Manjoni pleaded guilty to two counts of stocking federal court, he brought up health care. He

said during the plea hearing that he undertook his plan to stock and shoot Brian Thompson after enduring severe pain from a broken back and obstacles from the health insurance system. Manjoni's alleged writings also include criticism of the U.S. health care system. If Manjoni's day case does go to trial, health care will likely come up again. So what about the system is being criticized in these alleged writings?

And what do people who know the ins and outs of the health care system make of that criticism? What does it take to become a real lion king? A curved named kio is about to find out. From executive producers John Favro and Mike Honey, and with music by Hans Zimmer. National geographic and Disney present. Lion, the story of a cub who could be king. National geographic's lion is now streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.

In a sunny California in suburb, one family's home is unusually quiet. When detectives walked into that house, they said that it was like time just stood still. It's 2010 and the McStay family is nowhere to be found. Inside the home, no clear answer where the family could have gone. Has been wife and two children gone, like, puff disappeared. The search for the McStays quickly captures the nation.

But for years, the search for answers only brings more questions. Who's ever heard of an entire family going this thing? A family of four doesn't just drop off

“the face of the earth. Is this a family on the run? Or is the truth far more sinister?”

From ABC Audio in 2020, this is what happened to the McStays. Follow what happened to the McStays for weekly episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Or if you can't wait, entire series is streaming now, add free for subscribers to 2020 True Crime Plus. By 2020 True Crime Plus, on Apple Podcasts, to start your free trial today. In the letter to the fans, which authorities alleged was ran by Mangione, the writer claims

that greed fuels the American healthcare industry and says, "I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument, but many have a Lumae, the corruption, and greed." The writer then cites two names in parentheses, "Rosenthal, common more." Prosecutors say the more in parentheses is Michael Moore. The famous filmmaker who made a

according to prosecutors, is longtime health reporter Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthall. She wrote an American

“sickness, a book that argues that America's for-profit medical system exploits vulnerable and sick”

patients. When Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthall learned her work was cited in the letter to the fans, she could have easily found the letter and read it in one of the several places it was published in quoted online, but she didn't. I didn't really feel comfortable being connected with a murder. I was not in a place to read it. At the time, Dr. Rosenthall was in a hospital waiting room, where her husband was getting chemotherapy or stage four cancer. He was doing really badly,

and he was dying, and I was fighting many of the kind of patient battles that I'd written about, but hadn't experienced. Dr. Rosenthall has been a reporter for over three decades, covering healthcare for a much of that time. She's currently senior contributing editor at KFF Health

“News, a newsroom that covers health topics nationwide and conducts health policy research and”

polling. Before that, she was at the New York Times, and before her career in journalism, she worked as an ER doctor at the height of the AIDS epidemic. None of that prepared Dr. Rosenthall for her husband becoming so ill. And on top of that, having to grapple with the news that her work was allegedly cited by a murder suspect as prosecutors would eventually argue. It was an awful day on so many accounts, but you know, I

just didn't know what to say. I thought a lot of interview requests, and I was kind of like, I'm speechless. This is a terrible thing for someone to do, and

boy has it come to this. I never imagined that.

“It's been almost two years since Dr. Rosenthall was at hospital waiting room, almost two years,”

since that letter for a superior to the news. So when we asked her, if she'd be comfortable reading the letter now, she agreed. Dr. Rosenthall quietly looked over the letter. The criticism of this country's health care system, the reference to what prosecutors argued was herself and Michael Moore, the claim that for profit insurance has a mass power and wealth and become greedy. When she was done, she looked up for the paper and simply said, "Yeah, I mean, that's just true.

Listen, mix of analysis and statistics, and also just raw anger that was not going anywhere good." Though she might believe that the statements in that letter are true, Dr. Rosenthall wants to be really clear about something. Any attempt to kind of demonize one person or another is really, it's really wrong-headed. I mean, murdering someone is not any kind of answer to our health care problems.

Rosenthall worked as a reporter overseas, and as she encountered health care systems abroad in Sweden and Italy, and then returned home inside health care in the US, she says she saw problems here. When I came back to the United States after about a decade away, I was kind of shocked at how much everything costs. I mean, I just couldn't understand it. Dr. Rosenthall and other experts point out that compared to people in other wealthy countries

in the US, we pay more for health care and have worse outcomes. According to one commonwealth fund report from earlier this year, Americans have the lowest life expectancy compared to people in other wealthy developed nations. And health care in this country is so expensive that around one in five Americans carry medical

debt, totaling about $220 billion as of 2021, according to a recent JAMA study.

And part of the cost for Americans is claimed denial. Another commonwealth report from earlier this year found that one in five adults in this country, Americans who have private insurance, said that in the past year, they or a family member had acclaimed denied, were care recommended by a doctor. For many Americans, health care has become a pocketbook issue, right? And that's the way they

feel it is almost like their health care is secondary. It's like I can't afford this stuff.

root of these debt-inducing prices is America's for-profit system.

“We asked AHIP, the health insurance trade association about this conclusion.”

A spokesperson wrote, quote, "Health plans are the only part of the health care system focused on holding down costs and making coverage and care more affordable for consumers. They negotiate substantial discounts with providers, combat fraud and abuse. Promote the use of lower cost generic medications and help people access preventive care without cost sharing." They pointed to fee for service payment models that reward

volume rather than value, as the cause of expensive health care, and said that they strongly

support bipartisan reforms to lower health care costs for everyone.

Dr. Rosenthall points out that there are many entities within America's health care system, insurance companies, hospitals and medical providers, drug manufacturers. She says they are all part of the system working the way it does.

“Everyone's a bad guy. And I think that's the problem. People like to say, "Oh, it's the insurers”

or the insurers like to say, "Oh, it's the pharmacy benefit managers. I've done panels with people from each sector." And it's like a circular firing squad. It's a very overwhelming problem. And she says it gets even more complicated because each of these different parts of the system

can be owned by one company, something called vertical integration. So, Dr. Rosenthall might ask

an insurance company about a bill and they all say, "Oh, well, it's not us who are denying this claim. It's this claims review processor." And I'm like, "Wait, they are you. They have a different name. But you guys are the same company. How can that be?" In some ways, Dr. Rosenthall says, "It's like a twisted joke." But it's not funny, really. It's tragic. In the decades, Dr. Rosenthall has been reporting on health care in this country. She's seen the

close and health care plan get introduced in the 90s, the passage of Obamacare in 2010, and the Medicare for all debates in the 2010s. But after all that, Dr. Rosenthall says the system is still deeply dysfunctional. And most Americans agree, a 2024 Gallup poll found that nearly 70% of Americans see the U.S. health care system as being in a state of crisis or having major problems. In January, Congress held hearings on the cost of health care in America,

and the CEOs of several major insurance companies testified, including Steven Hemsley, the CEO of United Health Group. Like all of you, we are dissatisfied with the status quo. And nothing, no, we must all do better. And so we are committed to doing exactly that. In his testimony, he said insurance costs are going up because the cost of health care itself has been rising. Hospital and drug spending has soared at three times the rate of inflation

since before 2000. We limit these pressures as much as possible. In their testimonies, the CEOs of SIGNA, CVS Health, and Elevents also pointed to the growing cost of care as the driver of higher insurance premiums, deductibles, and the affordability crisis. Throughout the hearing, the committee members asked the CEOs about many of the same criticisms that Dr. Rosenthal and others bring up. Like the fact that in the U.S,

compared to other wealthy countries, we spend more in health care, but have worse outcomes. I love American exceptionalism. But why are we exceptional in this? Why have so many other

“first world countries figured out how to do this and we have not?”

We have a system that drives volume over value and outcomes. And we have a system that drives very strong pricing. The CEOs are also asked several times about their company owning a health insurance division as well as a pharmacy benefit manager and medical clinics, the kind of vertical integration Dr. Rosenthal mentioned. So Mr. Helmsley, when United owns the insurer, the doctors, the pharmacy benefit managers, and the care delivery system, and to end, where exactly is the

competitive pressure supposed to come from to keep prices down? The structure of that is in response to the marketplace to actually drive more value and drive cost down by integrating and allowing these elements of health care services to actually serve the consumer better. There is a great deal of oversight and regulation on the establishment of pricing within an organization like ours.

have to fight your company to get their claims covered? They shouldn't have the fight. We should make this much easier and intuitive and we use technology for that purpose. We have a number of initiatives in market right now. And they were asked about Americans medical debt.

Americans now owe $220 billion in medical debt. $220 billion dollars. But it simply,

the system is failing the people it's meant to serve in that as the patients. Mr. Joyner in 2024, CVS Health, spin a staggering $41 million in compensation to you and your colleague, Kieran Lynch. This is enough to cover the premiums for thousands of American families. How do you justify

“getting paid that much when so many of your patients struggle to afford skyrocketing premiums?”

That was not my compensation that you referenced this past year. My compensation was 17 million. It was 17 million. Of which one point one was my base salary. At the rest is long-term incentives. And the bonus, based off the performance of the year, I did return my bonus back to the employee

relief fund. So the employees that were going through challenging and difficult times got the benefit

of my bonus last year. CVS employees? Yes, sir. This hearing happened about a year after Brian Thompson's murder. And in the immediate aftermath of his death, there were conversations about health care. The United Health Group CEO at the time wrote an op-ed in the New York Times and said the health system doesn't work as well as it should and no one designed the system this way. But in the hearing, Brian Thompson came up just once.

Hemsley was asked to stay into the congressional record what kind of man he was. Brian Thompson was a force for good. He was a creative and effective man in terms of trying to address many of the challenges that had been presented today.

Ultimately, Brian Thompson's murder hasn't led to any major legislation or any real political

gains for health care reform. When we asked AHIP, whether the health care industry has made or plans to make significant changes since Brian's death, a spokesperson wrote there was no place for violence in the health care system. There's a lot of uncertainty about where this case goes next. We know Manjoni faces sentencing in his federal case in December,

but we're still waiting to find out if you'll go to trial from murder in his stay case.

“So what should we be watching for in the coming months?”

What are the different ways this story that's been with us since December 2024? Come to an end. Burton of Proof, Luigi Manjoni, is a production of ABC Audio and 2020, hosted by me, Ryan Buckmeyer, produced by Vika Aeronson and Audrey MossTech, our lead producer as Camille Peterson, edited by Tracy Samuelson, music by Evan Viola, mixing by Bob Mallory, special thanks to Katie Dendos,

Sasha's Lamian, Michelle Margallis, Tanya Simpson, Aaron Katerski, Josh Margolan, Guter-Harlombos, Jared Kovsky, Jake Leferman, Katie Moldowni, Lauren Lantry, Sony Salzman, and Liz Nipple-Rent. Josh Kohan is our director of podcast programming. Amen McNiff is our executive producer.

In February of 2024, celebrated illustrator and children's book author, Patre Mathers, and her husband, Michael, male letters to dozens of friends and family members, to let them know they had died by suicide. Dear honeys, this is goodbye. By the time you get to Schletter-Bove Petra and I will be dead, next stop Wonderland. Why did they do it? And what did it do to the people they left behind?

Listen to death of an artist wherever you get your podcasts. A headline can tell you what happened. It rarely tells you who was lost, the people left behind, or the impact that still ripples through a community years later.

“That's what I do every week on my podcast, Dark Down East.”

I'm Kylie Lowe, and every Thursday I dive into true-crime cases from a cross-main

and examining the lasting impact on those left searching for answers. Listen to Dark Down East every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.