Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, displayed a range of body language and facial expressions during his recent perp walk and extradition hearing, according to a body language expert.
As Mangione was escorted into the Blair County Court on Tuesday, he was described as having a “wide-eyed” and “rigid” demeanor, indicating fear. However, the expert, Susan Constantine, also noted that Mangione showed “a sense of arrogance and pompousness” through a “slight raise of his chin” and the way he looked down his nose at his surroundings.
Constantine pointed out that Mangione’s chin is consistently pointed up in his mugshot photos, indicating pride and arrogance. In contrast, his expression during the perp walk was a stark contrast to the smiling photograph of him flirting with a hostel employee in New York before the Dec. 4 assassination.
Constantine described Mangione’s behavior as exhibiting a “cube” personality, where he has one personality during the commission of a crime and another in social settings. She noted that Mangione’s confident stance during the shooting, captured on surveillance footage, indicated planning and rehearsal, rather than spontaneity.
Constantine also analyzed Mangione’s body language during his perp walk and in a photograph snapped by police in a holding cell the day before, suggesting that he did not expect to be apprehended by police. She noted that Mangione’s structure was “very robotic” and exhibited behavioral signatures of people who are being deceptive.