Luigi Mangione became a household name after he was arrested and charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A new documentary from Investigation Discovery, Who Is Luigi Mangione?, gave viewers a closer look at Mangione’s life, the perceived state of his mental health and more.

‘Who Is Luigi Mangione?’ Reveals Effects From Mangione’s Lyme Disease Diagnosis

In order to give viewers a broad picture of Mangione’s health, the documentary touched on his diagnosis of Lyme Disease at the age of 14. The documentary stated that the Maryland native experienced what appeared to be mild cognitive decline starting at age 15, and by his early 20s, Mangione began to notice a “brain fog” that prevented him functioning and interacting with others in a normal manner.

In an effort to prioritize his health, Mangione moved from Maryland to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2022. He joined a co-living space, began taking yoga classes and made new friends. Mangione’s yoga teacher, Dorian Wright, described him as “a normal happy go lucky 26-year-old guy.”

However, in July 2023, he suffered a life-altering surfing accident that caused a severe back injury and chronic pain.

“Started when I aggravated my spondy (Spondylolisthesis) 1.5 years ago after surfing. My back and hips locked up after the accident and my whole lumbar/hips have been out of whack since. Bladder and genital pain for the last year on and off,” Mangione wrote in a Reddit post at the time. “It was completely devastating as a young athletic person. Seemingly all I could read on the internet is that I was destined to chronic pain and a desk job for the rest of my life.”

By 2024, Mangione had mostly withdrawn from almost everyone in his life.

Mangione’s increasing reclusiveness set off alarm bells, and the documentary focused on his isolation as a key factor in his story. In May 2024, Mangione was traveling in Japan, and his friend R.J. Martin revealed that he was texting with him during his travels, but he eventually stopped hearing from him.

Criminologist Casey Jordan shared that “six months” went by and “no one had heard from him,” while family friend Giovanna Blatterman said that Mangione “isolated himself and there was no one there to guide him.”

Shortly before Thompson’s death in December 2024, Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, reported him missing after he had completely cut off communication with her and other family members.

‘Who Is Luigi Mangione?’ Takes a Deep Dive Into His Alleged Manifesto

When Mangione was arrested on December 9, 2024, after being recognized at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, authorities found a manifesto allegedly written by Mangione. In the writings, Mangione expressed a deep distrust of societal structures, including the United States’ healthcare system. He believed the industry was driven by profit and corruption, which only seemed to fuel his anger towards the institution. The documents also highlighted an admiration for the manifesto written by Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, and it seemed to indicate an alignment with Kaczynski’s extremist ideologies.

However, the documentary painted a shocking picture of similarities between Mangione and Thompson. Both men were overachievers in their lives, and both were valedictorians of their graduating classes.

The Public’s Response to the CEO’s Murder Is a Controversial Aspect of Luigi Manione’s Case

It didn’t take long for Mangione to become an anti-hero for a large portion of people. Several believed his alleged murder of Thompson was a way for the underprivileged to stand up against the perceived corruption in the healthcare industry. However, the reaction of those who view Mangione as more of a modern day Robin Hood is one of the more controversial aspects of his case.

“Brian Thompson became completely forgotten as a person, he became the representative for the healthcare industry who deserved to die,” Dan Abrams, who served as the executive producer on the documentary, said. “Luigi Mangione got a stunning amount of support. Luigi Mangione was being treated as some sort of hero. I think it is shameful for someone to blame Brian Thompson for his own murder and that is what a lot of people are doing.”

Jordan also weighed in and described the support for Mangione as “off the charts.”

“People are donating to his defense fund. Young women are writing him letters and sending him kisses,” she added.

Mangione faces several charges, including one count of using a firearm to commit murder, one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and more. He pleaded not guilty to 11 of his charges, including first-degree murder. The severity of the charges put the death penalty on the table, but Who Is Luigi Mangione? revealed that his legal team may focus on attempting to find sympathetic jurors through juror selection.

The documentary also added that Mangione could potentially even pursue an insanity defense, but experts noted that he was unlikely to do so. An insanity defense would undermine his stance that his motives were justified and the documentary implied that Mangione wanted to take responsibility for his actions all while taking a stand against the healthcare industry.

Who Is Luigi Mangione? is now streaming on Max and discovery+