Information has surfaced about the life of Luigi Mangione before he went to court for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
During a backpacking trip in Asia last year, Mangione told a friend he was assaulted by seven transgender women while in Bangkok, according to a new report by The New York Times. WhatsApp messages reportedly showed that the University of Pennsylvania graduate shared images of his bruised and scratched arm.
At the time, Mangione had visited a local bar in an area known for its "raucous nightlife" and met two other American men, one of them being Texas native Christian Sacchini.
During the group's conversation, Mangione encouraged Sacchini, who was a soccer player, to pursue a career in artificial intelligence, telling his new friend that it was "going to change the world."
Mangione reportedly also discussed how "effed up" the healthcare system was in the U.S. in comparison to Thailand, where an MRI scan costs significantly less.
In Mangione's texts about the assault, he referred to the group as "ladyboys," an derogatory term for trans women, specifically those in Thailand.
Later, Mangione sought a "slower pace" and departed Thailand for Mount Ōmine in Nara, Japan, to "meditate" and "do some writing." The Times' report extensively covers Mangione's other travels in the months leading up to him being charged for Thompson's murder.
Last week, attorneys for Mangione announced their plans to dismiss a federal charge for their client to receive the death penalty.
The 26-year-old is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside of a Hilton in Manhattan last December when the healthcare executive was preparing for a UnitedHealthcare annual investor conference.
Shotgun shells found at the scene read "delay," "deny," and "depose," purportedly in reference to allegations of health insurance companies avoiding paying out claims.
Mangione, who is being held without bail in New York City, is charged with state and murder charges.