[Article][Archive]
By Anna Young
Published Oct. 21, 2025, 8:28 p.m. ET
Luigi Mangione was roughed up by a group of transgender women during a wild night out in Thailand in the months before he allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a new report claims.
The 27-year-old accused assassin allegedly bragged to friends over WhatsApp about his raucous nightlife backpacking through Asia before he returned to the US in July 2024 and allegedly shot Thompson that December, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
In one eyebrow-raising message, Mangione claimed he had been beaten up by seven “ladyboys” — a colloquial term for transgender women — in Bangkok and shared a photo of his battered and scratched arm, according to texts reviewed by the outlet.
The Ivy League-educated tech whiz set off on a solo trip abroad in early 2024, befriending soccer player Christian Sacchini and an unidentified companion along the way.
Sacchini, who met Mangione at a Bangkok pub in March, told the publication the accused killer initially talked about video games and Pokemon before veering into a rant about how “effed up” the US health care system is compared to Thailand.
“He couldn’t believe it,” Sacchini said of Mangione’s shock at the low cost of an MRI in the Southeast Asian nation
The alleged killer, who hails from a wealthy Maryland family, eventually escaped to the lush Mount Omine mountains in Japan, seeking a slower pace and hoping to “meditate” and “do some writing” by a serene hot spring.
Fellow travelers, locals, and Mangione’s own notes suggest he went from craving human connection at the start of his trip to isolating himself, while obsessing over how to make a dramatic statement about injustice over insurance coverage, the Times reported.
“He didn’t use any digital devices,” said Juntaro Mihara, owner of a small guesthouse in Tenkawa, where the University of Pennsylvania grad stayed for six days.
“He was quiet, and only had minimum necessary conversations with other guests or maybe didn’t talk with anyone.”
Family and friends said Mangione went off the grid when he returned to San Francisco in July, noting that he had stopped responding to messages and had gone silent on his social media months earlier.
In one August diary entry, the alleged gunman described sleeping poorly and feeling “foggy” while fixating on how to battle what he felt was injustice.
“I finally feel confident about what I’ll do,” he wrote, the outlet reported.
“The details are finally coming together. And I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right/justified. I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated, bc it allowed me to learn more about UHC. The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges for allegedly shooting the 50-year-old health care honcho in cold blood outside the insurance giant’s annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024.
After the killing, cops found the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on shell casings found at the scene.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania following a dramatic, five-day manhunt.
The feds are seeking the death penalty against Mangione, who has since gained a cult-like following of twisted fans cheering on the targeted attack against the father of two.
Mangione is due back in federal court on Dec. 5.
No trial date has been set.
By Anna Young
Published Oct. 21, 2025, 8:28 p.m. ET
Luigi Mangione was roughed up by a group of transgender women during a wild night out in Thailand in the months before he allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a new report claims.
The 27-year-old accused assassin allegedly bragged to friends over WhatsApp about his raucous nightlife backpacking through Asia before he returned to the US in July 2024 and allegedly shot Thompson that December, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
In one eyebrow-raising message, Mangione claimed he had been beaten up by seven “ladyboys” — a colloquial term for transgender women — in Bangkok and shared a photo of his battered and scratched arm, according to texts reviewed by the outlet.
The Ivy League-educated tech whiz set off on a solo trip abroad in early 2024, befriending soccer player Christian Sacchini and an unidentified companion along the way.
Sacchini, who met Mangione at a Bangkok pub in March, told the publication the accused killer initially talked about video games and Pokemon before veering into a rant about how “effed up” the US health care system is compared to Thailand.
“He couldn’t believe it,” Sacchini said of Mangione’s shock at the low cost of an MRI in the Southeast Asian nation
The alleged killer, who hails from a wealthy Maryland family, eventually escaped to the lush Mount Omine mountains in Japan, seeking a slower pace and hoping to “meditate” and “do some writing” by a serene hot spring.
Fellow travelers, locals, and Mangione’s own notes suggest he went from craving human connection at the start of his trip to isolating himself, while obsessing over how to make a dramatic statement about injustice over insurance coverage, the Times reported.
“He didn’t use any digital devices,” said Juntaro Mihara, owner of a small guesthouse in Tenkawa, where the University of Pennsylvania grad stayed for six days.
“He was quiet, and only had minimum necessary conversations with other guests or maybe didn’t talk with anyone.”
Family and friends said Mangione went off the grid when he returned to San Francisco in July, noting that he had stopped responding to messages and had gone silent on his social media months earlier.
In one August diary entry, the alleged gunman described sleeping poorly and feeling “foggy” while fixating on how to battle what he felt was injustice.
“I finally feel confident about what I’ll do,” he wrote, the outlet reported.
“The details are finally coming together. And I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right/justified. I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated, bc it allowed me to learn more about UHC. The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges for allegedly shooting the 50-year-old health care honcho in cold blood outside the insurance giant’s annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024.
After the killing, cops found the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on shell casings found at the scene.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania following a dramatic, five-day manhunt.
The feds are seeking the death penalty against Mangione, who has since gained a cult-like following of twisted fans cheering on the targeted attack against the father of two.
Mangione is due back in federal court on Dec. 5.
No trial date has been set.
