Lots of lore about Luigi Mangione — the 26-year-old man identified as a “strong person of interest” in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — has started trickling out onto the internet.
While it’s a rather serious topic, there have already been countless memes and thirst posts about the man currently in custody, and some of his friends have even come forward to reveal tidbits about his personality.
One of his friends told TMZ Mangione is “an exceptionally kind and compassionate friend”, before saying the University of Pennsylvania alum is “very intelligent”.
A former Penn classmate told the New York Post that Mangione was part of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
“He was just a normal frat guy. He played beer pong. Some girls thought he was hot,” the insider said.
Another told Fox News Digital that Mangione was “always doing the right thing” and “always had a smile on his face”.
“Never really got the vibes of him being socially awkward. So that’s why I’m really surprised. I graduated in 2015, he graduated in 2016. It’s crazy how 10, nine years later how people can change,” the classmate added.
YouTube account linked to Luigi Mangione shares cryptic video
The saga got even more complicated when a video was uploaded to the YouTube account @PepMangione. This account hasn’t been confirmed to be Mangione’s, but it was created on January 20, 2024.
While it’s made to look like Mangione’s account, it’s possible that somebody else changed an existing YouTube account to match the handle of his X account. Users noticed that the profile picture was replaced while Mangione was in custody which would be rather difficult.
The video in question a silent, 84-second long video with a cryptic caption: “If you see this, I’m already under arrest”. There was also a 60-second countdown with a message reading “Soon…” and “All is scheduled, be patient. Bye for now.”
YouTube deactivated the account before the second video went live, but it had a caption written in binary. According to X user @alexabwilkinson, this binary code translated to “the truth will set me free”.
No screen recording, but youtube just deleted Luigi Mangione's channel where he had a video that said "If you see this, I'm already arrested". the second video that was waiting to upload had a binary code as the thumbnail that translated to "the truth will set me free" pic.twitter.com/2QZPmLUpmu
— Alexa Wilkinson (@alexabwilkinson) December 9, 2024
The profile picture on the YouTube channel being associated with Luigi Mangione that posted this afternoon has changed at least once since it went live and started getting attention, so take it with a grain of salt (see last two screenshots) pic.twitter.com/lT2Ts8Qiw2
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) December 9, 2024
Did Luigi Mangione “go missing” due to health issues?
There’s so much speculation flying around online and until there’s confirmed proof, please take this all with a grain of salt.
Online sleuths reckon Mangione may have had issues with his back, because one of his three photos on his X (formerly Twitter) appears to show an X-ray of somebody’s back, with what could be a lumbar spinal fusion. On his Goodreads account, it shows that Mangione has been reading books about chronic back pain.
Luke Goldstein, writer for political magazine The American Prospect, said a mutual friend with Mangione claimed he’d “gone missing” after back surgery a few months ago.
Turns out a mutual of mine went to high school with Magnione and was on the wrestling team with him. Says he was the class valedictorian. He had back surgery a few months ago and went missing. No one had heard from him. https://t.co/PUk6NcHjoO
— Luke Goldstein (@lukewgoldstein) December 9, 2024
A journalist for Barstool Sports, Jack Mac, spoke to a source who “had a lot of friends that went to high school with Luigi Mangione”.
“What keeps coming up is a back surgery that ‘changed everything’ for him and he went ‘absolutely crazy’,” Mac claimed. “[The] back injury happened when he was surfing in Hawaii. Surgery didn’t go great. [Mangione] moved to Japan.”
The journalist’s source claimed that Mangione had cut off contact with his family approximately a year ago, which checks out with his tags on Instagram — there were lots with his family in 2023, but none recently.
Spoke with a source that had a lot of friends that went to high school with Luigi Mangione.
— Jack Mac (@JackMacCFB) December 9, 2024
What keeps coming up is a back surgery that “changed everything” for him and he went “absolutely crazy.”
Checks out with his GoodReads history and the X-Ray in his header. pic.twitter.com/dsrXMQcqB2
It also appears that Mangione was supposed to take part in a wedding but went off the grid in July. Danny Collins, who has now set his X profile to private, previously tweeted multiple times at Mangione asking for a reply.
“Hey man I need you to call me. I don’t know if you are okay or just in a super isolated place and have no service. But I haven’t heard from you in months. You made commitments to me for my wedding and if you can’t honour them I need to know so I can plan accordingly,” he wrote.
It looks like Luigi Mangione was supposed to be in a wedding and then went missing. pic.twitter.com/Bjkhz9bnNd
— Max 📟 (@MaxNordau) December 9, 2024
Luigi Mangione’s online footprint
While both his X and Instagram accounts have now been suspended (which Elon Musk is looking into) screenshots are forever. People have been sharing any other bits of information they can dig up on Mangione online, including a video that shows his entire Valedictorian speech from 2016. He attended the Gilman School in Baltimore.
Another X user found Mangione’s high school yearbook, where his family describe him as a “talented, hard-working, accomplished brother” with “genuine respect for others”. His parents go on to say that he has the “courage and strength to be true to [himself]”.
Luigi Mangione’s high school yearbook with his parents praising him as a courageous and respectful young man. pic.twitter.com/jGzjkjubny
— SyeClops (@SyeClops) December 9, 2024
A previous post on the Facebook group Penn Crushes shows someone actively thirsting over Mangione back in 2019.
— Charlotte E. Rosen (@CharlotteERosen) December 9, 2024
Somewhere out there, Netflix producers are salivating over this whole saga and getting ready to cash in on Mangione’s newfound popularity. Prepare yourself for the swath of documentaries and TV series to come.
Lead image: Instagram @luigi.from.fiji, X @pepmangione
The post All The Lore About Luigi Mangione, From The Cryptic Video To What His Friends Say About Him appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
