Pathtoremission

Who was Luigi Mangione?

Luigi Mangione, 26, is an Ivy League graduate with a master’s in computer science. He was valedictorian at the Gilman School in Baltimore and came from a wealthy, well-connected family. His peers described him as a “non-attention-seeking, non-violent, bright guy with a bright future,”.

In short, had he not been suffering from chronic pain, he would be primed for a life many would envy. A life of higher status, income, and opportunities. His privileged upbringing set high expectations for his future.

The sentiment that the news came out of the left field, is a sentiment echoed by his friend, who shared a co-living space with Mangione during the time his health dramatically took a turn for the worse. Mangione´s life-altering accident took place during a trip to Hawaii, where they shared accommodation. Besides the event taking place, the friend described him as somewhat of a well-liked leader figure, who spear-headed a book club for the co-living space´s inhabitants.

This might be a valuable insight, a suggestion that his GoodRead´s list, was not purely someone obsessed, but rather someone prone to explore subjects of interest. Controversial books such as Ted Kaczynski´s manifesto would not be as insightful to his mental state, had he not left a 4-star review and commented “violence is necessary” on the book´s review page.

Luigi Mangione has been described as sociable, well-liked, and thoughtful by everyone interviewed following the news, friends and classmates alike. Since the news came out, there has been no report of people who knew him, saying anything of the sort was expected of him.

According to an article by Yahoo, friends of Mangione have been known to refer to his back surgery as the turn for the worse.

“Jack Mac, of Barstool Sports, posted on X: “What keeps coming up is a back surgery that ‘changed everything’ for him and he went ‘absolutely crazy.”

Luigi Mangione’s back pain and lyme disease:

Mangione’s health challenges were significant. He experienced severe back pain, which escalated to the point of requiring spinal surgery at the age of 26. Something very uncommon for a physically fit man his age.

In an article by CNN, the news network claimed to have managed to find a Reddit account fitting Luigi Mangione´s profile. The Reddit account was reportedly linked to Mangione through matching details such as:

• Age
• Location
• University affiliation
• Major in computer science
• Similar medical history (surfing accident and back injury)

Posts from this account described chronic pain, numbness, and growing fears about the long-term impact of his health condition. The account also mentioned struggles with brain fog, which was attributed to lyme disease. According to the user’s posts, the bacterial infection allegedly “took hold” during “hell week” — a period of extreme stress and sleep deprivation during fraternity initiation events.

According to CNN, the user has suffered from pains related to spondylolisthesis since childhood. The account also posted about a surfing accident, which became the turning point for the severity of the user´s spondylolisthesis and overall health.

“My back and hips locked up after the accident,” the user wrote in July 2023, adding that “intermittent numbness has become constant” and “I’m terrified of the implications.”

In the sub-Reddit “Spondylolisthesis”, a comment containing the quote from CNN can be found. Or rather, it still shows in the meta-data on Google. The actual comments made by the user are no longer present on Reddit.com.

In other words, at the time of writing this, there is no way of verifying, the claims made by CNN, nor Yahoo, who reported the Reddit account in question also suffered a surfing injury. This injury propelled the user´s pain from manageable to debilitating.

Luigi Mangione´s alleged Reddit profile can be found in the comments here.

Luigi Mangione, lyme disease and murder:

The curious case of Luigi Mangione – a man both meticulous and careless – has fuelled speculation online. This duality has been a focal point for investigators attempting to understand Mangione’s actions.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Steve Moore articulated this paradox clearly, stating, “At first glance, the assassin seemed too meticulous to be an amateur and too careless to be a professional.” He elaborated further, noting, “What surprises me is how well planned the actual attack was, and at the same time how sloppy the killer was in his movements — in his showing his face, in leaving behind items.”

Retired FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner echoed this sentiment, commenting, “There’s kind of a dichotomy. It’s almost as if he read a book on how to do one of these attacks and didn’t read it carefully. He just made serious mistakes as he went along.”

Given Mangione’s background, which includes a master’s degree in computer science, valedictorian honours at an Ivy League university, and a reputation as a self-taught programmer, it’s clear that he possessed a sharp, analytical mind. The level of planning observed in the crime points to the traits of a logical thinker—someone skilled in connecting the dots, recognising patterns, and predicting outcomes.

This cognitive profile raises questions about his seemingly thoughtless decisions. Relating to the potential connection with lyme disease, many users in the online “lyme support group communities” have speculated that the neurological symptoms associated with the disease may have played a role.
Many lyme disease sufferers experience “brain fog,”.

Since this article primarily caters to those with lyme disease, it seems redundant to explain how incapacitating the impacts of lyme is on your cognitive skills, especially short-term memory, and quick decision-making.

A description of brain-fog – a quote from the author:

“From personal experience, brain fog can best be described as being reduced to somewhat of an infantile state. Cognitive processing goes out the window, simple tasks become unmanageable. Imagine being unable to remember how to drive home from work, while you are driving home from work. It´s an anecdote that numerous lyme patients have reported as their breaking point.

Forgetting how to do something, you have done enough times to do it with your eyes closed, and simultaneously not being able to comprehend the instructions for re-acquiring the skill.

At its worst, the car example is valid, but it can also be much less severe, like cognitive impairment comparable to a bout of influenza.”

If the Reddit account matching Mangione´s profile truly belonged to him, the cognitive impairments from lyme disease likely contributed to his mistakes.

Despite being aware of surveillance technology—a given for someone with a background in computer science—Mangione lowered his mask at the flirtatious request of a cashier. This lapse in judgment allowed cameras to capture a clear image of his face, providing investigators with a crucial lead. Considering how much AI and mass surveillance are hot topics in the tech-sphere of academia, this move seems out of character, especially since he was aware enough not to wear the mask in the first place.

This could support the theory that his short-term decision-making abilities may have been compromised. It could also have been a calculated decision, not to raise suspicion, by refusing the request. But then again, artificial intelligence and mass surveillance are VERY hot topics in the programming sphere. It seems unfathomable, that he opted for this decision with his background.

His carelessness did not end there. Investigators recovered a discarded backpack in Central Park, found DNA on a Starbucks water bottle, and collected a partial fingerprint from a burner phone. While items are sometimes left behind intentionally to mislead investigators—a tactic famously employed by the Ted Kaczynski/Unabomber—law enforcement experts have suggested that these were not part of a sophisticated deception strategy. Instead, they point to the possibility of impulsive, short-sighted decision-making.

This blend of calculated foresight and glaring missteps continues to be puzzling to investigators and the public alike. For anyone who has suffered the bouts of chronic/disseminated lyme disease, this dichotomy is not at all that surprising. It is usually the short-term cognition that suffers the most.

In patient groups online it is widely speculated that his potential lyme disease could have disseminated further as a result of the back surgery, which ultimately pushed him over the edge. Effectively echoing the sentiment reported by Jack Mac

Motivation for murder:

On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan. Monday December 9, police arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. During his arrest, authorities found a 3D-printed pistol, a silencer, forged IDs, and a handwritten manifesto in his possession.

The manifesto included the statements, “These parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said the document highlighted Mangione’s “frustration with the healthcare system in the United States” and “disdain for corporate America.” His references to “parasites” and “corporate America” suggest a targeted grievance, possibly connected to his own experiences with healthcare systems and medical costs.

Opinion:
Given the controversies of lyme disease; ranging from insufficient diagnostic tools, to how to treat the long-term disseminated infection, whether or not it was used as a bio-weapon. We might never know, if the manifesto contains any mention of the lyme disease, as a motivation for his actions.

One thing is certain, however. Even those in the chronic health space who condemn his actions, all that needed to be said was “lyme” to understand the”why”. It will be extremely interesting to see what is shared in the coming months, as the saga of “Lyme Luigi” continues.