Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, revealed that he has been listening to music by Taylor Swift and Charli XCX while awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
"Last week, I downloaded a bunch of Taylor Swift and Charli XCX [songs] onto my tablet," Mangione wrote in the handwritten note to a supporter, dated June 3, which was shared Tuesday by the owner of the X account The Mangione Trial.
"I've never really listened to either of them, but some phony list of my favorite music circulated on social media. Rather than be a buzzkill and set the record straight, I figured I'd see what all the hype was about."
Mangione recounted that he was listening to Swift's "Cardigan," from her 2020 album Folklore, while walking laps in his housing unit when another inmate, known as "King," asked what he was playing.
"He scolds me for a while, then replaces all my music," Mangione wrote. "Now I listen to Lil Durk!"
He added that he was especially "grateful" for Lil Durk's 2013 track "Dis Ain't What U Want," which includes the lines "F*** breaking news" and "They say I terrify my city."
Mangione's legal team said they could not confirm the authenticity of letters attributed to him, but a source told Us Weekly that the document was legitimate.
Inmates at the Brooklyn detention center can purchase internet-free tablets from the commissary, and a federal judge previously granted Mangione permission to use a laptop to review evidence and assist with his defense.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from Maryland, is charged with fatally shooting Thompson, 50, in New York City in December 2024.
He was indicted on 11 state charges and four federal counts, including one that carries a potential death sentence.
Two state charges were dismissed in September for insufficient evidence.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Attorney Arthur Aidala said Tuesday that Mangione has maintained good behavior while in custody.
"My understanding is that he is a rule follower, unlike a lot of folks in there," Aidala told People. "A lot of folks in there, you know, they figure out a way to get in contraband … but my understanding is that he's not like that, and he hasn't been written up for any violations of any sort."
Aidala added that Mangione has taken on a mentoring role among inmates, helping newcomers adjust to life inside the facility.
"When people get there and they don't know what the heck is going on, he is kind of the one who welcomes them and does his best to allay their fears ... and shows them the ropes of what life in the Metropolitan Detention Center is like," he said.
Supporters have raised more than $1.3 million toward Mangione's legal defense fund.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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