'People Were Worried' About 'Depressed' Luigi Mangione After He Left Co-Living Space in Hawaii, Says Friend

Mar. 15, 2025

Luigi Mangione.Photo:Jeff Swensen/Getty

Jeff Swensen/Getty

Luigi Mangionewas “depressed” while living in Hawaii and his friends became worried when he stopped communicating with them after moving away in 2022.

Before disconnecting from family and friends, Mangione resided in a Hawaii co-living space for a period before losing touch with friends he’d made there, according to Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for R.J. Martin, the founder of the co-living space and Mangione’s friend.

“[Mangione] had significant back pain, and I imagine it was tough for a young man to deal with, especially in a place like Hawaii, where physical activities such as swimming, diving, surfing, hiking, and climbing are so prevalent,” Ryan tells PEOPLE. “It seems this pain impeded but didn’t entirely prevent him from engaging in those activities.”

Ryan, who says he spoke to people who knew Mangione, says the pain significantly affected the now-26-year-old, even in relation to his ability to haveromantic relationships.

“The pain made him depressed, which in turn influenced those relationships,” Ryan says.

Mangione left Hawaii in 2022, according to Ryan.

“Afterward, he lost touch with RJ and other members of the [co-living] community,” says Ryan. “People were worried about him, but not in a way that suggested something like this might happen — they were just concerned about a friend who had stopped communicating.”

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Though Mangione has not been extradited and remains in custody in Pennsylvania, prosecutors in New York have charged him with murder in connection with the killing of Thompson.

source: people.com