Luigi Mangione's Christmas Behind Bars: A Meal of Cornish Hen and Sleeping on a 2-Inch Mattress (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Luigi Nicholas Mangione (center).Photo:CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty

Luigi Mangione,the 26-year-old accused of murderingUnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will be given a meal of Cornish hen on Christmas, where he is sleeping on a mattress about 1-2 inches thick, a prison consultant familiar with the facility housing the suspect tells PEOPLE.

Mangioneis being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility, onmurder and terrorism chargesin connection withThompson’s fatal shootingoutside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.

He was arrested in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9, and brought to New York on Friday, Dec. 19 after hewaived extradition in Pennsylvania.

Since hisarrival in New York, Mangione has been in the MDC along with other high-profile individuals likeSean “Diddy” Combs, who is facing a slew of sex crimes charges, as well asSam Bankman-Fried, who wasconvicted of financial fraudin November 2023.

Sam Mangel, a prison consultant currently working with other inmates at MDC, spoke to PEOPLE about what Mangione’s Christmas behind bars would look like. Mangel is not working with Mangione; he spoke based on his familiarity with the prison from his other clients, which have included Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro.

Mangel says that Mangione is sleeping on a mattress that’s “2-inches thick at best” with a “little bump in the end for a pillow.”

For Christmas, Mangione will be given a meal of Cornish hen as well as green beans.

Depending on which section he is being housed in, he could either be entirely alone on Christmas day or have some form of company, says Mangel. It wasn’t immediately clear if Mangione has been removed from protective custody, where inmates are initially taken for monitoring purposes upon arriving at the facility.

Luigi Mangione.Altoona Police Department via Getty

Altoona Police Department via Getty

If he is in protective custody, he will be alone in his cell on Christmas day. His food will be provided to him through a sliding window.

If he has been moved to the unit with high-profile inmates such as Combs and Bankman-Fried, he will be allowed about an hour-long visit from family members on Christmas Day.

“While you’re allowed to hug the person when they come in, you can’t be next to them, you have to face them [when seated],” Mangel says.

Inmates in this section are typically given a holiday bag from staff, he says, which could include an extra bag of hot chocolate, cinnamon buns and eggnog.

Mangione will also be allowed to be with other inmates in the common area, where they can watch sports and play board games.

Inmates often spend their time reminiscing with each other about past Christmases and holidays, per Mangel.

“That’s the only way they can live vicariously through the people still on the outside and through what they remember,” he says.

Brian Thompson.UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group

MDC has been in the spotlight because of itsconditionssince Combs was taken to the facility, which activists and inmates' lawyers had previously alleged is rife with violence, overcrowding, power outages and staff shortages, perCNN.

Combs’ lawyer previously said the prison was “not fit for pre-trial detention” and that the conditions were “horrific.”

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On Monday, Dec. 23, Mangionepleaded not guiltyto New York State murder charges in a Manhattan courtroom.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the weapons charges he faces in Pennsylvania, and he hasn’t entered a plea to the federal charges.

source: people.com