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The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson recently underwent spinal surgery and suffered from chronic back pain, numbness, and pain, according to what appears to be an archived version of a deleted Reddit account. He had posted online that he was suffering from sleeplessness.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was charged Monday in New York with one count of murder, three counts of possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a forged instrument. Thompson’s killing outside a New York City hotel last week garnered national attention and spurred debate about gun violence, corporate America and the health care industry.
The suspect’s attorney said he intends to plead not guilty to all charges.
Archived Reddit posts may shed light on Mangione’s interests and state of mind over the past eight years. He appears to have been active on the platform since 2016 under the username “Mister_Cactus,” and most often posts about spinal health, travel, and gaming.
The account was suspended, but NBC News looked through years of archives of deleted posts and comments. This activity appears to be consistent with known events in the suspect’s life. NBC News also spoke to several of his friends who said they could not confirm whether the Reddit account belonged to Mangione, but some of the posts were consistent with Mangione and events in his life. He said that
A Reddit spokesperson said the platform’s policy is to suspend accounts that may be associated with suspects in high-profile criminal investigations, and that tech companies are not allowed to do so to avoid impersonation or interference in such cases. He said it was a common practice.
WATCH: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect enters courtroom and shouts: “This is an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
Activity on the “Mister_Cactus” account included posts to a subreddit focused on spondylolisthesis. Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which the bones of the spine become misaligned, putting pressure on the lower vertebrae and nerves around the spine.
In a comment exchanged with another user on the subreddit in April, “Mister_Cactus” wrote that his condition “got worse the more I felt it every day.”
“Continued pain means something is wrong,” reads an October 2023 post sharing advice for other spondylolisthesis sufferers.
Yoni Ashar, a pain science expert and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said lower back pain can trap patients in a “vicious cycle” that impacts sleep, mental health and other health conditions. He said there is.
“Even if you can sleep, it can be a never-ending struggle from the moment you wake up until you manage to fall asleep,” Ashar says. “It’s nonstop, it’s always there, it’s always hurting.”
In another subreddit, the “Mister_Cactus” account asked for guidance on “restless sleep” in 2018, explaining that he frequently woke up during the night and felt “no matter how much sleep I get, I just don’t feel refreshed.”
A Reddit post from last year suggests that the user’s back problems returned after he went surfing. According to a post from July 2023, this exercise worsened the back pain he had been suffering from since childhood. After the surfing accident, the post continued: “I slipped on a piece of paper and my right buttock locked up, and I couldn’t move my right leg” for a week. ”
“Mister_Cactus” wrote at the time that he had been having problems with his right hip for the past year and a half. She said she felt pain when she sat, her leg muscles spasmed, and she sometimes felt numbness and tingling in her groin.
A post on Reddit suggests that the account owner underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2023 and was agonizing over the decision beforehand.
Spinal fusion involves inserting bone or bone-like material into the space between two vertebrae and connecting the graft and bone with metal plates, screws, or rods. The goal is to fuse the bones together to relieve pressure on the vertebrae and strengthen the shape and stability of the spine.
This type of back surgery can significantly reduce pain, but recovery can take up to a year as bone grafts fuse with the vertebrae. A 2022 study found that of about 100 patients who underwent surgery, about 85% to 90% reported satisfaction.
In a July 2023 post, “Mister_Cactus” told another Reddit user that his surgery was scheduled for two weeks.
In the same exchange about surgery, he said, “There’s no point in not living your life now because you’re afraid of more pain and healing in the future.”
A post the following month hinted at good results after the surgery, saying that after a week he was “literally taking no pain medication” and was able to sit, walk and stand. He wrote:
“When my spine deteriorated last year, it was completely devastating as a young athlete,” “Mr. Cactus” wrote in another August 2023 post, referring to spondylolisthesis. He included a list of athletes who have “success stories” after spinal fusion surgery.
“This is not to encourage surgery per se, but merely to provide reassurance that an athletic life is completely normal after fusion, should surgery be necessary,” he wrote.
The Reddit posts are consistent with activity from accounts believed to be associated with Mangione on other social media platforms. The “read” list of an account that appears to belong to him on the book review site Goodreads includes “Industrial Society and its Future,” the so-called “Unabomber Manifesto” written by domestic terrorist Ted, as well as books about chronic back pain and dieting. It’s listed. Kaczynski. This account gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The profile, which was made private Wednesday, uses a photo of Mangione that matches other available photos of Mangione and records activity dating back to at least 2017.
Meanwhile, on X, the header photo of an account in Mangione’s name shows an X-ray of a spine with what appear to be four rods or screws inserted into it. (Posts from the X account date back to 2016 and appear to be consistent with events in the suspect’s life, including references to a speech he gave during his senior year of high school.)
Two people who have been in contact with Mr. Mangione in recent years told NBC News that he had talked about back pain and concerns about the U.S. health care system.
Gurwinder Bhogal, a British freelance writer who publishes a Substack newsletter called “The Prism,” said he corresponded with Mangione from April to June.
“We briefly touched on the differences between the UK and US healthcare systems,” Bhogal said. “Luigi complained about how expensive health care was in the United States and expressed envy of Britain’s nationalized health care system.”
RJ Martin, the founder of Surf Break, a co-living space in Hawaii where the suspect lived for six months in 2022, told “NBC Nightly News” on Tuesday that the two were aware of the condition of Mangione’s spine at the time. He said he was talking about.
“We knew that was always going to weigh on him,” Martin said. “It prevented him from doing a lot of things.”
Martin described Mangione’s time at the surf break as “a bit of a roller coaster,” adding that Mangione stayed in Hawaii to “take care of himself,” but had “some ups and downs.” added.
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
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