LUIGI Mangione was reportedly beaten up by a gang of seven ladyboys in Thailand just months before he allegedly gunned down a top CEO.
The 27-year-old is said to have sent texts to his friends after a backtriping trip to Asia detailing how he was scratched by the group and had his phone nicked in a taxi.
Mangione is currently holed up in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial for the murder of 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
He is accused of gunning down Thompson in cold blood on a busy street in December last year as he became the focus of a five-day manhunt.
Those close to the alleged assassin have now revealed that they believed he was having the time of his life in the months prior to Thompson’s death.
He had gone on a backpacking trip across Asia at the start of 2024 which involved several raucous night outs.
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Mangione proudly boasted about many of his experiences – especially when out in Thailand, say his friends at the time.
In a WhatsApp message, Mangione revealed he had been “beaten up by seven ladyboys”, according to the texts seen by the New York Times (NOW).
Ladyboys – also known in Thailand as Kathoei’s – are often seen on the streets of Southeast Asia.
They are typically men presenting themselves as females in order to attract tourists and locals but can also refer to transgender people in a derogatory way.
American soccer star Christian Sacchini recalls meeting Mangione in Thailand just eight months before he was the nation’s most wanted man.
The pair had met in a pub in Bangkok in March alongside a third male traveller.
This unnamed individual told the NYT tat Mangione even showed off pictures of his scratched-up arm after the encounter with the ladyboys.
Mangione said he had his phone stolen while getting in a taxi in the Thai capital as well in the multiple messages.
Sacchini also recalled the first time he met with the now-infamous Ivy League graduate.
Mangione openly talked about his love for video games and obsession with Pokemon at first.
But after some time he started to go on detailed rants about how “effed up” the US healthcare system is compared to Thailand, Sacchini said.
He even used the example of how cheap it was to get an MRI scan out in Thailand compared to back home.
Sacchini said: “He couldn’t believe it.”
Investigators in the murder of Thompson say Mangione’s motivation could have been his anger with US healthcare insurance companies.
When police arrested Mangione in a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania he was found with a note on him talking about his “ill will” towards corporate America.
He also called those who work in the health insurance industry “parasites”, according to police.
After exploring Thailand, Mangione is said to have continued his trip across Asia by disappearing off to Japan on his own.
The alleged killer escaped to the quiet Mount Omine mountains where those who knew him said he ended up isolating himself.
In a voice memo to Sacchini’s friend, Mangione said he was desperate to slow down his life and relax.
The recording said: “I think I want to stay here for like maybe a month and just like meditate, just hot spring and do some writing.”
Then in July, he came back to the US.
Family and friends said he went off the grid when he returned to San Francisco and stopped responding to messages and posting on social media.
In December, he allegedly pulled the trigger on dad-of-two CEO Thompson before going on the run.
Mangione is now facing New York state and federal charges over the murder.
Two terror-related charges in the New York case were dismissed in September by a judge after Mangione’s legal team argued that terrorism is an attack on multiple people not one person.
He still faces a second-degree murder charge which could get him life in prison.
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Mangione also has two other cases in Pennsylvania as well with federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
He is next scheduled to appear in court for litigation on December 1, according to his Legal Defense Information page.
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s murder
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Monday, December 2 – Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am – Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am – Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm – Thompson’s estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm – Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it’s unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am – Reports claim the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am– Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It’s believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am – A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He’s wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon – Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It’s also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm – Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 – Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.