(NewsNation) — Before Luigi Mangione was accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, he had mentioned Thompson’s name while backpacking in Japan and Thailand.
Christian Sacchini, a fellow American whom Mangione met in Thailand, told „Banfield“ that Mangione was shocked by how little an MRI scan cost in Thailand, a total of $180 to $200.
„When that happened to me, I couldn’t believe it, and I told this story to Luigi,“ Sacchini said. „He couldn’t believe it, either.“
„So it was a huge moment where he just couldn’t believe how inexpensive things were without any insurance at all over here in Thailand.“
Sacchini recalled one conversation he and Mangione had about Sacchini acknowledging his belief his soccer-playing days were dwindling and his interest in pursuing computer science. He said Mangione encouraged him to specialize in artificial intelligence.
„He was very eager to say ‘AI,'“ Sacchini said. „He said it would be the next big thing.“
„And the way he spoke about it, he seemed very intelligent about it. So I absolutely took his word and believed him.“
Luigi Mangione said he was attacked by ‘ladyboys’: Acquaintance
Sacchini also said Mangione texted him and his friend one night, saying he had been beaten up by some transgender women while in Bangkok.
However, Sacchini said from the picture Mangione sent, it showed a couple of scratches on his arm and red mark on his face.
„It wasn’t a bruise or a black eye,“ he said. „It was just a very slightly red mark. So it wasn’t anything brutal or like he got beaten up. You can see that he had suffered some kind of injury.“
Sacchini mentioned that Mangione didn’t tell him or his friend what prompted the attack or what he might have done for it to happen.
Luigi Mangione’s acquaintance was ‘extremely shocked’ seeing his picture
Mangione allegedly shot Thompson in December 2024, but Sacchini conveyed to Ashleigh Banfield that he hadn’t paid much attention to the case, having been busy living in Thailand.
That all changed when he saw Mangione’s picture for the first time.
„I couldn’t believe it,“ he said. „Extremely shocked.“
Sacchini added he was still coming to grips with Mangione being an alleged murderer. Why?
„The way we talked for hours and had some beers together … Luigi struck me as someone who’s just very laid back, chill. He seemed very intelligent,“ Sacchini said.
„It just would not make sense for him to do such a thing. I would have never guessed that it would have been him or he would be accused of this or he would be capable of something like this.“
Luigi Mangione facing murder charges
Mangione has developed a national following since his arrest, and his legal defense fund has received $1.2 million in donations.
He has been charged with stalking, a firearms offense and murder through the use of a firearm.
Mangione is also facing state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, weapons charges and a count of using a forged instrument.
The maximum sentence for the state charges would be life without parole.
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