Exclusive | Luigi Mangione’s ghoulish fans utterly disgust me, says colleague of his victim Brian Thompson
Last Thursday marked the one‑year anniversary of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s brutal shooting on a Manhattan street. Terrie Martin, a former colleague and independent Medicare broker from Texas who met Thompson at a conference months before he was gunned down, has lamented how the name of the alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, has taken over the story, leaving Thompson’s own life almost forgotten.
“It was the Luigi show,” Martin said. She added that she was “disgusted” by how the incident was handled, how it was portrayed, and how people celebrated it without even acknowledging that Thompson was a father, a husband, or a boss. “That was just appalling,” she told The Post.
Thompson, 50, was shot dead outside the Hilton Hotel at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue on Dec. 4, 2024, in a video‑recorded, cold‑blooded slaying that captured the nation’s attention. Five days later, at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a 26‑year‑old Luigi Mangione was apprehended after fleeing New York and sparking a massive manhunt.
Federal prosecutors say a deep‑seated animosity toward the healthcare industry was a key motive in Mangione’s trial. Yet Martin insisted Thompson’s real character was far from the “caricature” of a money‑hungry CEO that some of Mangione’s supporters paint him as.
“That’s what really bothered me,” she said. “He was truly eager to learn how to make things better, to hear from people on the ground about what’s working and what’s missing. He was genuinely trying to make a difference. That’s why it hurt so much.”
Martin recalled how approachable Thompson was whenever they crossed paths. “Everyone called him BT. They didn’t use Brian or Mr. Thompson,” she recalled. When she misidentified him as a regional manager, he smiled and clarified, “I’m the CEO.” The moment stuck with her, giving her a “sense of endearment” for the slain executive.
If anyone had met Thompson in a grocery line or at a sporting event, they would never guess he was a CEO. He was simply a humble, everyday kind of guy.
Martin feels uneasy about Mangione’s cult of personality. “I think we can all agree that assassination in any form is wrong from the get‑go. I can’t comprehend that,” she said. She “can’t understand” the mindset behind the celebratory chants at his court appearances. “There was a celebratory tone in the country that absolutely shocked me. It was dehumanizing. If they can do that to Brian, they can do that to anybody.”
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