CEO killer Luigi Mangione saw himself as Robin Hood-like hero, was proud when UnitedHealthcare stock dipped: former inmate

Luigi Mangione saw himself as a Robin Hood-like hero and flashed a “proud” grin when the UnitedHealthcare’s stock price plummeted after he gunned down CEO Brian Thompson, a former inmate claimed.Linus Fu, a former prisoner at Brooklyn’s infamous Metropolitan Detention Center, told Courthouse News he befriended the 28-year-old admitted killer and witnessed his ascension to celebrity status in the lockup.Fu — who was behind bars from January 2025 to July 2026 for a low-level role in a bank fraud scheme — formed a “really good relationship” with Mangione in the intake wing and saw him on a daily basis, he told the outlet.

Mangione matter-of-factly pleaded guilty last week to two federal stalking counts for fatally shooting Thompson on a Midtown Street on Dec.4, 2024.

Each count carries a potential life sentence.Fu, 32, who has since been sent back to his home country of China, said some inmates dismissed Mangione as aloof and arrogant — with his bunkmate even blasting the Ivy League graduate killer as someone who “just wants attention.”He said he thought Mangione saw himself as a Robin Hood figure, and was “proud” after UnitedHealthcare’s stock price dipped after gunning down the CEO.“He was smiling,” Fu recalled, noting it was the only time the pair discussed Mangione’s case.

When Fu asked whether Mangione wanted attention, the Maryland native denied the motive in the killing.“He said, ‘I didn’t do that for the fame,’” Fu said.“He basically admitted he did it.”Though Mangione was “really quiet,” the former inmate said he was a jokester who lobbed snowballs into Fu’s cell and autographed his wife’s and bunkmate’s wife’s birthday cards.

“He’s a funny guy.He always jokes,” Fu told the outlet.

“He’s young, he’s creative.”“Most people, they know Luigi,” he said.“Some people ask for autographs, some people want to talk to him.”Fu and Mangione, who was in MDC’s intake unit for his prot...