Luigi Mangione's cellmate reveals life locked up with notorious ‘hot CEO killer'
Inmate Michael Daddea, 29, spent two nights with the 'super nice' suspected shooter who he claimed is obsessed with scouring news reports for his name from behind bars.
Daddea was briefly jailed for allegedly 3D-printing more than 25 untraceable 'ghost guns' before being bailed from Mangione's Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center's 4G unit on March 7.
This is in contrast to Luigi Mangione, 27, who was arrested and charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
The arrest sparked a media and social media frenzy, with fans swooning over the 'hot' suspect.
However, his looks haven't granted the Ivy League-educated suspect any privileges, as he scrubs the floors of the jail's communal showers.
'He's the guy who cleans the washrooms,' Daddea said in a video post on X: 'Not what you'd expect from someone who allegedly assassinated a CEO, right?'
Other roles on offer for 'collies' – prison slang for inmates who are assigned jobs – include preparing meals and cleaning food trays, he said.
He also claimed Mangione often jogs around the unit and has been caught scouring the local New York Daily News and New York Post for mentions of his name.
'He'd have me help look through some to see if there are articles about him,' he wrote in a now-deleted comment.
Daddea spoke of his disbelief when a 'friendly and calm' Mangione greeted him in their secure prison unit.
Daddea first described his surprise when he bumped into the infamous inmate, saying 'I look out the cell, Luigi is standing there and he's like, 'Hey, how's it going?' Like, super nice.
'Introduced himself to me first thing. I've been in the unit for 10 minutes.'
He said the pair quickly palled up: 'I go to shake Luigi's hand, I'm like, ''Yo, it's an honour to meet you.'. . . He turns around and he goes to me, 'You two are the first kids that came in here who knew who I was or even cared about it'.'
The 29-year-old even said they shared meals together and, both Catholics, 'did Ash Wednesday,' with a priest putting charcoal crosses on their foreheads on March 5.
'So we sat together. Luigi would come sit with us every day. We would just eat,' he added.
The original video has now gone viral on TikTok, after first racking up 800,000 views on X.
Mangione's lawyers have painted the suspected killer as a 'model prisoner' during his 175-day detention before his trial.
At the beginning of June the accused CEO shooter wrote a letter listing things he was thankful for on his 27th birthday.
The 27-point list included 'Chicken Thursdays and Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce' and his cellmate J, who he said 'tolerates the clutter of all my papers, shares his unique wisdom, and doesn't hesitate to humble me when I need it'.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson was gunned down while walking to his company's investors' conference at the New York Hilton Midtown.
CCTV footage appears to show a man alleged to be Mangione shooting at the healthcare CEO.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty and is due to appear in court again on Thursday, June 26.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
James Patterson to write book about Luigi Mangione
Bestselling crime writer James Patterson and investigative journalist Vicky Ward are writing a book on the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while actor Dave Franco said this week that he would be 'open' to playing accused murderer Luigi Mangione in a biopic if one were to be made. Mangione is currently awaiting trial for the murder of Thompson, who was shot and killed in Manhattan on 4 December last year. 'This is a story about the American Dream Gone Wrong,' said Patterson in a statement on the book, which does not yet have a title or release date. 'It's also a story of one young man's descent from Ivy League graduate to notorious accused killer to so-called political martyr.' Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of murder, using a weapon with a silencer, and two counts of stalking. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said earlier this year that she had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty. 'Like millions around the world, Vicky and I were riveted by coverage of the five-day manhunt from Midtown Manhattan to Altoona, Pennsylvania,' Patterson said. Mangione was eventually arrested in a McDonald's. 'This story touches all of us,' said Ward. 'It goes to the heart of the social, cultural and political issues dividing the US right now. Nothing is more of a reviled black box than the health insurance industry, and it's time to open it up, through a crime that has caught the attention of the country.' The book will be published by Little, Brown in the US, which also published The Idaho Four, Patterson and Ward's recent book on the murder of four students. The news comes in the same week that Franco said he would be open to playing Mangione in a biopic when asked on the talkshow Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Tuesday. 'No one has approached me about it yet, I'll say that … More people in my life reached out about this exact thing than anything else that has ever happened. Let's just say I am open if it's the right people, and let's leave it at that.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion After the shooting, Mangione gained an avalanche of support on social media. The online fandom has sparked criticism for glorifying an alleged murderer. 'The suspect, who police now believe to be Mangione, was a fit young man and I think it'd be mistaken to overlook the degree that likely propelled the story,' Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told the Guardian in December. 'The other feature of Mangione is one that plays an outsized role in every single point of American life: his race,' wrote Ben Makuch in the Guardian at the time. 'If he were Black or Latino, this story would likely have played out very differently.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
James Patterson to write book about Luigi Mangione
Bestselling crime writer James Patterson and investigative journalist Vicky Ward are writing a book on the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while actor Dave Franco said this week that he would be 'open' to playing accused murderer Luigi Mangione in a biopic if one were to be made. Mangione is currently awaiting trial for the murder of Thompson, who was shot and killed in Manhattan on 4 December last year. 'This is a story about the American Dream Gone Wrong,' said Patterson in a statement on the book, which does not yet have a title or release date. 'It's also a story of one young man's descent from Ivy League graduate to notorious accused killer to so-called political martyr.' Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of murder, using a weapon with a silencer, and two counts of stalking. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said earlier this year that she had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty. 'Like millions around the world, Vicky and I were riveted by coverage of the five-day manhunt from Midtown Manhattan to Altoona, Pennsylvania,' Patterson said. Mangione was eventually arrested in a McDonald's. 'This story touches all of us,' said Ward. 'It goes to the heart of the social, cultural and political issues dividing the US right now. Nothing is more of a reviled black box than the health insurance industry, and it's time to open it up, through a crime that has caught the attention of the country.' The book will be published by Little, Brown in the US, which also published The Idaho Four, Patterson and Ward's recent book on the murder of four students. The news comes in the same week that Franco said he would be open to playing Mangione in a biopic when asked on the talkshow Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Tuesday. 'No one has approached me about it yet, I'll say that … More people in my life reached out about this exact thing than anything else that has ever happened. Let's just say I am open if it's the right people, and let's leave it at that.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion After the shooting, Mangione gained an avalanche of support on social media. The online fandom has sparked criticism for glorifying an alleged murderer. 'The suspect, who police now believe to be Mangione, was a fit young man and I think it'd be mistaken to overlook the degree that likely propelled the story,' Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told the Guardian in December. 'The other feature of Mangione is one that plays an outsized role in every single point of American life: his race,' wrote Ben Makuch in the Guardian at the time. 'If he were Black or Latino, this story would likely have played out very differently.'
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dave Franco breaks silence on Luigi Mangione biopic rumors after fans begged for star to play alleged assassin
Dave Franco has finally revealed whether he would play alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione onscreen - after fans went wild over their resemblance to one another. Mangione is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father-of-two, outside a Manhattan hotel while he was attending a work conference on December 4, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges in connection with the December murder. When the 'anti-capitalist' Ivy League student was first detained by police last year, fans began pointing out that he and Franco, 40, were 'practically twins' - and speculated prolific television writer Ryan Murphy would create a series based on him. Appearing on Watch What Happens Live! on Tuesday, Franco said of the possibility of portraying Mangione: 'Oh, how do I answer this?' 'No one has approached me about it yet, I'll say that. This is something that more people in my life reached out about this exact thing than anything else that has ever happened. Dave Franco has finally revealed whether he would play alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione (R) onscreen - after fans went wild over their resemblance to one another Thompson's murder was captured on a chilling video 'Let's just say I'm open if the right people… and let's just leave it at that.' Amid the manhunt for the shooter, fans had taken to X to quip that Franco should be in line to play him. One said: 'Dave Franco pick up the phone.' Another posted: 'Dave Franco has a role waiting for him once this inevitably becomes a movie.' A third wrote: 'Ryan Murphy is drafting an email to Dave Franco as we speak.' 'Dave Franco's agent has been on the phone all morning,' a fourth added. Mangione was recently granted a major perk behind bars as he awaits trial. He has been given access to a laptop to use in jail in preparation of the murder trial. The laptop will be 'prepared by the government' and handed over to Mangione seven days a week, for use between 8am and 4pm, the NY Post reported. When the 'anti-capitalist' Ivy League student was detained by police days later - fans began pointing out that he and Franco, 40, were 'practically twins' - Mangione pictured in February 2025 Appearing on Watch What Happens Live! on Tuesday, Franco said of the possibility of portraying Mangione: ' Oh, how do I answer this?' 'Let's just say I'm open if the right people… and let's just leave it at that' Mangione was taken into custody after a McDonald's employee in Altoona spotted him in December U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett signed an order on Monday demanding the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn begin preparations to secure the laptop. Mangione's attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan, told the judge the letter would allow Mangione to 'adequately prepare for trial and assist in his own defense.' But the laptop will be disabled from accessing the internet or any wireless networks, Mangione's attorneys revealed. It will be set up with case-related documents and videos provided to Mangione's defense by the government. A red diary found in Mangione's possession when he was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at the end of a five-day manhunt, have offered insight into his alleged motive. The diary documented Mangione's musings on what Unabomber Ted Kaczynski got wrong during his reign of terror between 1978 and 1995, according to court filings. In one entry from August 15, 2024, Mangione writes that he is 'confident' about his plan - four months before the shooting took place - and that he believes it to be 'right/justified.' 'I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together. And I don't feel any doubt about whether it's right/justified,' his scrawling writing reads. 'I'm glad-in a way-that I've procrastinated bc [sic] it allowed me to learn more about UHC [UnitedHealthcare].' 'The target is insurance. It checks every box.' The execution of Thompson in the street was captured on chilling surveillance footage In another diary entry dated two months later on October 10 2024, Mangione allegedly marks a countdown to the day of the attack: '1.5 months.' In the rambling diary entry, Mangione goes on to refer to those in the healthcare industry as 'parasites' and 'mafioso' and describes UnitedHealthcare's December conference as a 'true windfall' that 'embodies everything wrong with our health system.' If Mangione is convicted, federal prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
