Luigi Mangione: Suspect in Killing of Healthcare Executive Had Discussed Back Condition on Reddit for Years | US News
Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of a US health insurance chief executive in New York, seems to have been sharing his experiences with chronic back pain and spinal surgery on Reddit for several years.
Mangione, 26, is alleged to have killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last Wednesday outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan.
He was charged on Monday in New York with one count of murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of possession of a forged instrument.
Luigi Mangione. Pic: Pennsylvania Dept of Corrections
The attorney representing the suspect has stated he plans to plead not guilty to all allegations.
Mangione, an Ivy League alumnus, has reportedly been active on Reddit since 2016 under the username Mister_Cactus, where he discussed topics related to spine health, gaming, and travel, as reported by Sky’s US partner NBC News.
The activity from the now-deleted account has been archived and corroborated by friends as matching significant events in Mangione’s life.
The posts prominently mentioned a condition known as spondylolisthesis.
Mister_Cactus remarked in a conversation in April about how his condition “deteriorated to the point where I felt it every day.”
In 2018, the account holder shared experiences of “restless sleep,” noting frequent awakenings at night and feeling “unrefreshed regardless of sleep duration.”
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Mangione seems to have been struggling with back pain since childhood, with reports indicating a worsening condition after he went surfing in recent years, according to a post from July 2023.
One post detailed an incident: “I slipped on a piece of paper and my right glute locked and right leg shut down for a week.”
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Mister_Cactus noted that he had been suffering from right hip issues for the previous year and a half.
He described pain while sitting, along with muscle twitching in his legs and intermittent numbness and tingling in his groin.
“When my spondy [spondylolisthesis] worsened last year, it was devastating for me as a young athletic individual,” he stated in an August 2023 post.
The Reddit discussions indicate the account holder may have undergone spinal fusion surgery in 2023.
Additional posts suggest favorable outcomes post-surgery, with him reporting being “on literally zero pain meds” just a week later and finding he could sit, walk, and stand comfortably.
A spokesperson for Reddit informed NBC News that the platform typically suspends accounts potentially linked to suspects in prominent criminal cases, a common measure among tech firms to prevent impersonation or interference during investigations.
