(File Photo: Source for Photo: Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Janet Klingbeil via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City.

Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania.

“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” said Kenny.

UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest U.S. health insurer.

Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonald’s in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City. His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has said Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Dickey also said he has yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime.

Mangione’s arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.

Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early on the morning of Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park.

Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face a murder charge in Thompson’s killing. A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 30.

The 26-year-old, who police say was found with a “ ghost gun ” matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.

Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. In posts on social media, Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023. Afterward, he posted that the operation had been a success and that his pain had improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery.

On Wednesday, police said investigators are looking at his writings about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the U.S. health care system.

Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangione’s family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November.

 

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Washington, D.C.) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s Office, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 was passed. The release notes that this bill helps to both develop and conserve water.  Deluzio is also working to ensure that the Montgomery Locks and Dam Project will get the required money to be finished.

(File Photo of a work zone, name of caption of photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT announced that the Grand Avenue ramp to I-79 going north will be closed weather permitting on Saturday, December 14th. Work to repair decks on the ramp will take place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day. The traffic also will take a detour during this closure.

(File Photo: Source Photo: Norfolk Southern Railroad ceo Alan Shaw speaks during an interview Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Midland, PA) According to a release on Thursday from Terrence Smith, the CEO of The Midland Innovation and Technology Charter School, it was announced that the Midland school received a grant of $20,000 from Norfolk Southern Corporation. Smith notes that the money will go to a new welding lab that will help students to use hands-on learning for the technical education path of courses that the school provides Smith also states that the grant comes along with two Norfolk Southern initiatives started last year to encourage community needs and safe living. These programs are the Safety First Grant Program and the Thriving Communities Grant Program. 

(File Photo of Center Township Police Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Center Township, PA) Center Township is looking for more police officers that can work part-time, and today is the final day for those to get their application. If you are at least nineteen years old and have finished Act 120 training with a validated license for a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania, you can be eligible. Applications are at the Center Township Municipal Building from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and must be completed and returned by 4 p.m. on April 3rd, 2025.

(File Photo of Conway Fire Department and Truck)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The fire chief of Conway is no longer in his position. Daniel Bryne was removed after an overwhelming vote was taken by members of the department. According to sources, Bryne still came to events held by his department even though he had been suspended. Bryne took his resignation at first and then returned. Bryne then accepted his suspension and did not take it seriously. The Conway Fire Department now has a new chief and assistant chief after this move was taken.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published December 12, 2024 1:11 P.M.

(Beaver, Pa) The Beaver County Commissioners held their public meeting Thursday morning at the County Courthouse. A proclamation was given to congratulate Rose Sutter for 45 years of service in Beaver County through the Beaver County Transit Authority.

A second proclamation was approved as well declaring December 21st, 2024 as Local Homeless Persons Memorial Day in Beaver County. Members of the Beaver County Continuum of Care and others were present to thank the Commissioners for the proclamation and they noted that 2 local people died while homeless in the past year.

Sheriff Tony Guy made an announcement that the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office was reviewed by the State Accreditation Program. Jim Adams, PA Chief of Police Accreditation Program Coordinator, went on to say that the Sheriff’s Office went through a two year program to be reviewed on 370 best practices. The State awarded accreditation to the Sheriff’s Office for a status of three years.

Also announced were the Courthouse Holiday closures, which will be December 25th, 26th, and January 1st.

(Photo Provided with Release)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from the United States Marshal Service in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the announcement was made by U.S. Marshal Stephen Eberle that Theodore Jaymes, a fugitive, was arrested that same day with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. The release states that Jaymes has been charged with second degree attempted murder after being connected to an incident in which a female was shot in the leg multiple times on the Light Rail train in Saint Paul, Minnesota close to both Western and University Avenues. The release also notes that Jaymes was arrested without an incident by members of the U.S. Marshal Service in Pittsburgh at the 5400 block of Baywood Street.

(File Photo of a couple and their baby)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Nationwide, Black women face a maternal mortality rate three times higher than that of white women. To address this, Maternity Care Coalition is providing doulas to women in underserved rural areas in Pennsylvania. Jamiylah Miller says the Maternity Care Coalition’s Doula and Lactation program supports families from pregnancy to three months postpartum, helping during labor and delivery, pain management and adjusting to a newborn. However, some families who are not connected with a doula through community organizations like Maternity Care Coalition struggle with the cost of doula services. Miller says recent legislation now extends Medicaid coverage to help offset cost. Miller notes that their doula services are free to expecting families in the community. She advocates for more organizations to provide doula services to families facing financial barriers.

(File Photo of CCBC logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Brady Butler, the Associate Vice President of Marketing and Media Relations for LaRoche University in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, LaRoche University is offering students that transfer from CCBC to LaRoche an option to earn their bachelor’s degree. Butler states that those who have graduated from CCBC will only spend $500 each credit from a tuition discount of 40%. Butler also notes that there will be a quicker academic process for students with them being exempt from any education courses that are general, as well as students achieving more than 60 credits getting direct admission to the undergraduate programs offered by LaRoche, and both of these options will be given if students possess an associate degree from CCBC.