Months before police say he gunned down a healthcare executive on a New York City street, Luigi Mangione set out on a solo trip to "zen out" in Japan and Thailand to meditate, soak in hot springs, and do some writing, The New York Times reported Thursday.
He cut off contact with friends and family, who set out to track him down, according to the report, before emerging to shoot and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson execution-style last week in Manhattan, police say.
"I want some time to zen out," Mangione said in an audio message sent to a friend April 27 while hiking in Japan's Nara region, the Times reported. "There's like these tiny little villages here, on the side of the cliffs. … I think I want to stay here for like a month, and just meditate and just hot spring, and do some writing."
That message would be one of his last, according to the Times. What Mangione did from that point on and where is a mystery police are still trying to solve as they piece together the timeline of his movements leading up to last week, according to the report.
Mangione's family reported him missing in California on Nov. 18. Police say Mangione arrived in NYC by bus Nov. 24 before allegedly killing Thompson on Dec. 4. Much like his trip through Asia, police are also working to piece together what he did in NYC in the days between arriving and Thompson's murder.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after a days-long manhunt.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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