Baking, books, and chess: 9 things we learned about Luigi Mangione from his jailhouse letters

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Since his arrest in December, Luigi Mangione has been inundated with letters from supporters eager to hear his thoughts from behind bars. While his legal team has made it clear he can't respond to everyone, a growing collection of his replies has surfaced online, offering a glimpse into his life, past and present.

In his letters, Mangione shares stories of baking pastries with his family, his distaste for fishing, and his admiration for nurses. He also opens up about how he spends his time in jail—reading, working out, and playing chess. Perhaps most notably, an emotional letter to a mother struggling with medical bills went viral, sparking even more interest in his correspondence.

9 things we have learned from Luigi Mangione's prison letters

1. He used to make pastries with his family for the holidays and give away the extras.

A letter from Feb. 10, 2025, to someone with a dog named Cannoli gave us a peek into Mangione's childhood.

"Your dog's name reminds me of the time my family and I would make those pastries together, especially around the holidays," he wrote. "We would always make extras for Catholic charities and deliver them to my grandparents' nursing facilities."

2. He doesn't like fishing because he gets seasick.

In the same letter, he also speaks on the trips he used to take with his loved ones out on the boat. Those memories weren't as happy as the baking ones, however.

"I hope you have a great time on your fishing trip to OBX. My family used to drag me along for boat rides. Fishing never really caught my interest, but it was still a good time. Managing seasickness every now and then was a pain though... I was banking on creating my funeral plans. That's how bad it was!"

3. He thinks we should be giving nurses more credit.

Writing to a nursing student on Feb. 26, he expressed his appreciation for her and others of her trade. We all know that Mangione isn't shy about expressing his opinions on U.S. healthcare.

"Nurses truly deserve more respect in our healthcare system," he said.

4. He reads, works out, plays chess, and eats lots of ramen in jail.

In the nursing student letter, Luigi Mangione also provided details about how he keeps himself occupied at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn—aside from reading all his fanmail.

"My usual routine includes reading, eating lots of ramen, exercising, and spending time with my fellow brothers here. We have chess nights on Wednesdays, and it's a fun way to pass the time here."

5. He liked the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.

The last detail to be gleaned from this letter is another book recommendation. While consoling the nursing student over a redacted issue, he says he read the 2011 title by psychologist Dr. Kristin Neff during his Freshman year of college.

"I understand the feeling of wanting to give up at times," he admitted. "Navigating your adulthood can be tough, but I believe we can all find our way through."

6. The Lorax was one of his favorite childhood stories and he wants to read it to his future kids.

A third letter, written on Feb. 20, was all about the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax. Mangione called this letter "one of my all-time favorites" due to its deep reading of something he loved so much as a child.

"The Lorax is one of those fables that's so simple, yet so powerful," he wrote. "While there's an abundance of lessons to unpack as an adult (as you have in your notes), even a child can intuit the fundamental message. I have thought many times that The Lorax is an almost foundational lesson, on par with many of Aesop's fables, that it will be so critical to read to my kids."

"I honestly believe these whimsical children's stories are so much more than simply cherished bedtime memories—they are literally the foundation of developing a kind, moral, and wise person."

7. He's not afraid to cry.

On March 4, Ashley Shelby published a photo of a letter from Luigi Mangione on her Substack. The note was to a mom named Karen who has been struggling to pay for her daughter's medical bills. When her doctors tried to file a claim for treatment of a rare and life-threatening illness, UnitedHealthcare denied it.

As Karen fought to appeal, her daughter fell into catatonia in Jan. 2024 and had to be hospitalized. After Mangione's arrest on accusations of murdering the insurance company's CEO, Brian Thompson, she decided to write to him. His response expressed powerful emotion and deep sympathy.

"Your letter is the first to make me tear up," he said. "I am so, so, sorry for what you and your daughter so senselessly had to endure."

"Your daughter is blessed to have a mother who loves her so much and fights for her so relentlessly."

8. You can send him color photos on Free Prints.

This heartfelt response also revealed that there's an easier way to send images to Mangione than writing to him. Karen had included a picture of the Christ in Majesty mosaic from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, but the jailbird explained that all images sent through mail only reach him as a blurry black-and-white photocopy.

However, he explains, "If you use 'Free Prints' (app) you are able to send one in color. It requires my address and registration # (52503-511)."

9. He wants to be kept in the loop.

The last of the Luigi Mangione letters we could find that appears quite likely to be authentic doesn't contain much, but enough to keep fans writing. In a brief letter to Aaron from Feb. 15, he encourages the practice.

"I appreciate you keeping me in the loop," he says. "Feel free to write as often as you'd like."

It's not easy to get information on the outside world in jail, and there's a lot going on out here, so it makes sense that Mangione would welcome letters that keep him informed.

The unverified letters

Two more letters that people claim to be from Luigi Mangione have circulated online. However, one has not been verified as real and the TikTok video showing it has been deleted. Another letter posted to TikTok contained enough grammatical errors that commenters actively called its authenticity into question. While the handwriting might appear to match, take these letters with a grain of salt.

The first of these says that Mangione previously traveled to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, calling the island "beautiful." At the end of the letter, he reveals some ability to write in Spanish, saying he speaks a little of the language.

He further allegedly reveals some of his pop culture taste, saying that he listens to EDM to work out, but his current favorite song is "Agni Kai" from Avatar: The Last Airbender. He's also wishing he could see Gladiator II.

"Gladiator I has my favorite scene in all of cinema — the battle of Carthage re-enactment where Maximus has his first fight in Rome," he writes.

The second Luigi letter TikTok video has also been wiped from its original account, but reports from late February captured his alleged words. In the letter to Holli Lambirth, he joked about his arrest for the crime of ordering a McDonald's hashbrown and spoke about being in solitary for a week.

Also, another pop culture bit: He likes Squid Game.

"I obviously can't watch Squid Game in here, but I did watch season one when it first came out," the letter reads. "Great series."

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