Brian Thompson shooting suspect Luigi Mangione suffered a back injury so severe he was unable to have sex, a former roommate said.
RJ Martin resided in a Hawaii co-living space with the defendant, who is on trial for murder, for a period of six months. In an interview with The New York Times, Martin disclosed the hidden struggles of 26-year-old Mangione.
‘He knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible,’ Mr Martin told The Times.
‘I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks.’
Mangione’s back troubles stemmed from spondylolisthesis, a condition that was exacerbated by a surfing mishap, causing his spine to become misaligned, as described by Martin.
‘He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve.’
During 2022, while staying at SurfBreak, Martin observed Mangione, a talented engineer, grappling with intense and incapacitating pain, as indicated in his conversation with CNN.
He said a single surf lesson left Mangione ‘in bed for a week’ afterwards, adding: ‘It was really traumatic and difficult, you know, when you’re in your early twenties and you can’t, you know, do some basic things.’
Luigi Mangione, right, suffered a debilitating back injury which stopped him from being able to have sex, a former roommate said
Mangione was left in bed for a week after attempting a surfing lesson, RJ Martin said
RJ Martin lived with Mangione for six months in 2022 and was stunned at news of the murder he’s accused of carrying out
Martin said Mangione and other residents of the co-living space would talk about medical issues and capitalism.
But he insisted the suspected murderer never gave off the impression of being angry or radicalized.
He also said that Mangione did not complain about his back pain and did not appear to be taking any kind of painkillers.
Mangione’s health issues are also said to have caused professional problems for the University of Pennsylvania graduate, who worked as an engineer for online car sales company TrueCar after his graduation.
A Reddit poster believed to be Mangione spoke of how he had lived with a back condition called spondylolisthesis since childhood.
Spondylolisthesis sees a bone in the spine, known as a vertebra, slip out. The condition usually affects the lower back and can be extremely painful.
Also posted by the same Reddit user were complaints about Lyme disease and severe brain fog.
The user said he’d begun to suffer the issues during his fraternity ‘hell week’ and that his grades had subsequently slipped.
The Reddit user believed to be Mangione said a subsequent surfing accident had left him with a ‘locked up’ back and hips.
He added that ‘intermittent numbness has become constant’ and added: ‘I’m terrified of the implications.’
Mangione is believed to have had back surgery sometime in 2023 but is feared to have suffered continued complications afterwards
Mangione is pictured second from left with a group of friends during a stint in Hawaii
Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at point-blank range on December 5
Weeks after that, the user believed to be Mangione said he’d undergone spinal surgery which he said had improved his symptoms.
The procedure likely cost tens of thousands of dollars. It is unclear what, if any, health coverage
He didn’t mention anything related to United Healthcare, whose CEO Mangione is accused of assassinating on a Manhattan street on the early hours of December 4.
Mangione shared a photo of an X-ray on his X profile showing multiple screws inserted into his spine.
Martin, his former roommate from Hawaii, said Mangione sent him a similar-sounding photo that ‘looked heinous’ before they lost touch earlier this year.
Mangione is pictured in a police cell Monday night after his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested while eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, early Monday and arraigned at a local court late Monday night.
He will now be extradited back to New York City, where he has been charged with murder.
Mangione is said to have been found carrying a manifesto calling health insurance companies ‘parasites’ who ‘had it coming’.
Mangione is from a wealthy family, with his grandfather a self-made multimillionaire who owned a luxury holiday resort, nursing homes and a radio station.
He attended the $40,000 a year Gilman prep school in Baltimore and graduated valedictorian in 2016.
A clip widely-shared online after Mangione’s arrest shows him speaking confidently and eloquently on-stage, with former classmate Aaron Cranston describing him as exceptionally-intelligent.
His family have sent their condolences to Brian Thompson’s family and appealed for privacy.
