Luigi Mangione has written a letter from his prison cell to a mother who ‘made him tear up’ as she detailed her struggles to pay for her daughter’s healthcare.
“Your letter is the first to make me tear up. I am so, so, sorry for what you and your daughter so senselessly had to endure,” Mangione wrote from his cell at the end of December.
Mangione’s letter to “Karen” was shared with journalist and novelist Ashley Shelby, who published it on her Substack dedicated to the case. The mom, Karen, detailed how her daughter deals with a life-threatening condition. Karen told said that her daughter requires constant care and medical treatment and last year, costs mounted after she was hospitalized for 60 nights, according to the Substack.
“What she and I went through as a result of insurance calling the shots rather than the doctors is a horrible story,” Karen said. “She is improving, but hardly close to her old self.”
The mom referenced the famed mosaic of Christ in Majesty at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and referred to it as “Warrior Jesus” in her letter.
She vowed that she would “keep up the fight” in Mangione’s name.
Mangione has developed a following of fans since his arrest in connection to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot outside of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4. Mangione has pleaded not guilty. A specific motive for the killing has not been released, but many have speculated that is tied to Thompson’s role with the insurance company.
The 26-year-old is awaiting trial in New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. New York, where he sent the letter from.
“If you are able to send a photo of you/your daughter or the mosaic, it would mean a great deal to me,” Mangione wrote to mom. “I will put it up on my prison cell wall next to your letter. Your daughter is blessed to have a mother who loves her so much and fights for her so relentlessly.”
Initially, Karen felt “very weird” about writing to Mangione, she said, but did so after being “driven by some force that didn’t make sense but couldn’t be ignored.”
The mom added that after hearing similar stories of Americans’ battles with health insurers, her anger has turned to determination to support “nurses and doctors, telling them that a change was surely coming.”
Mangione has been inundated with fan mail since he began his prison stint.
Last month the murder suspect released his first public statement since his December arrest where he told supporters he reads every letter he receives.
“I am overwhelmed by - and grateful for - everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe,” Mangione’s statement said. “While I can't reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future.”
Supporters have been donating to his legal defense fund, which currently stands at $641,491. One generous donor gave $30,000 last month.
Hundreds of his fans turned up in droves to support Mangione at his pre-trial hearing inside a New York courthouse last month.
“I think what happened was inevitable given the amount of tension” between Americans and the healthcare industry, one New Yorker told The Independent outside the court.
One person who traveled three hours from Maryland just to see the reaction to the hearing remarked on this tension: “Something’s gotta give and that something was Luigi Mangione …. he’s a go-getter.”
Another protester, who flew in from Chicago to show solidarity, said: “I think major changes are needed in insurance.” Thompson’s killing “brought a spotlight and a charge to take action against wrongdoing by corporate entities milking as much as they can from normal people.”
