HONOLULU (KHON2) — Luigi Mangione’s friends said the 26-year-old was having back issues and had surgery earlier this year.
Mangione lived in an apartment building on South Street in Honolulu for nearly two years.
The property manager of the 14th-floor unit said he lived there from Oct. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2024.
They said he didn’t give any explanation as to why he was leaving and they didn’t meet him in person because he did a roommate swap.
The property manager added Mangione was working remotely for a California-based company.
Before he moved to South Street, he lived at Surfbreak, a co-living and co-working penthouse for remote workers.
“He wanted to be healthier, enjoy the tropics, live a new life in Hawaii,” said Surfbreak founder, and former roommate of Mangione, R.J. Martin.
“He mentioned he had a back injury, maybe it was pre-existing? But he was doing everything he could to not be in pain,” Martin added.
He said he talked to Mangione earlier this year after his surgery. His last text messages with him were this summer, which is also around the time people at the gym he went to also last heard from him.
“He was always a kind person, great listener, someone you would enjoy having a cup of coffee with, I just can’t imagine this is the same person,” Martin said.
Others who knew him were surprised as well. Mangione seemed to regularly go to places near his apartment.
He was a member of the Hub co-working space. The owner wouldn’t say when he joined or left but said he was a nice guy and shocked to hear he might be connected to the murder.
There are no Honolulu Police records for Mangione, but he was cited by DLNR for hiking within a closed area of Nuuanu Pali lookout in November 2023.
The Attorney General’s office said he pled no contest to simple trespass on Dec. 12 and was fined $100.
“I’m shocked that he went about something like this, from the person I lived with. it seems unimaginable,” his former roommate added.
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He said he would walk people home at night and was a thoughtful person. He added that he never saw signs of aggression from him or him ever being upset.
A former classmate also said Mangione was very intelligent and had a lot of friends in school.