Blood is thicker than a viral surveillance image of a suspected murderer grinning at a flirtatious employee in the lobby of a New York hostel.

Luigi Mangione, the former Ivy League computer scientist now suspected of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back in New York City, has dozens of cousins ​​in his prominent Maryland family. But none of them appeared to have recognized him after his smiling face went viral in connection with a nationwide manhunt that ended Monday.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told “Your World” host Neil Cavuto that of the more than 200 tips police received in the case, none named Mangione.

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CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione screams as officers restrain him as he arrives for his extradition hearing in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (David Dee Delgado for Fox News Digital)

One of Mangione’s former high school classmates had a simple explanation: The suspected bomber is best recognized by his dark, curly hair, which was obscured in images released by the NYPD before his arrest.

“I think when something that big happens naturally, I automatically ignore it,” former classmate Freddie Leatherbury told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday. He supposed it could have been anyone – but not someone he knew.

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The suspected shooter in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, believed to be Luigi Mangione, is seen on surveillance footage flirting with a hostel worker before the Dec. 4 shooting. (NYPD)

“And what I remember about Luigi, if anything, is his really distinctive curls, and in all the security camera footage you only saw him with a hat or a hood,” he said. “It wasn’t a connection I made. And of course there are Italians in New York like a dime a dozen. Just the jaw structure, the face, that wasn’t a connection that I really wanted to make.” . To be honest, I just dismissed it when I saw it.

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United Healthcare CEO kills suspect Luigi Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, December 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police)

Still, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital Monday that it was Mangione’s distinctive eyebrows and medical mask that made him stand out among customers and locals at a McDonald’s in Altoona.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and Patrol Chief John Chell told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday that investigators were still reviewing additional leads and it was unclear whether relatives had come forward.

“Thank God for the customer who was at McDonald’s,” said Daughtry, who raced to Altoona, Pennsylvania, with a contingent of NYPD and Manhattan prosecutors on Monday after the arrest.

According to court documents, witnesses and police officers immediately recognized the suspect after seeing the widely circulated wanted poster.

Despite the nature of the crime – in which a masked gunman sneaked up behind Thompson as he headed to a business conference at a hotel and shot him in the back – a smiling surveillance image of the suspect spread widely and received praise on social media. Left-wing commentators made fun of the victim.

Surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a masked gunman sneaking up behind UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and shooting him in the back in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD)

The suspect gained such cult notoriety that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro declared at a press conference after Mangione’s arrest, “This murderer was no hero.”

“In some dark corners, this murderer is being hailed as a hero,” Shapiro told reporters on Monday. “Listen to me. He’s not a hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning. The real heroes in our society every day are the women and men who put on uniforms like this and go out in our communities to protect us. He shouldn’t be celebrated.

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Attempts to reach several of Mangione’s relatives for comment went unanswered Wednesday. In a joint statement, the family said members were “devastated” by the news.

Luigi Mangione in a Pennsylvania mugshot following his arrest in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained from Fox News Digital)

His cousin Nino Mangione, a Maryland state delegate, said a little more in a statement of his own.

“Unfortunately we cannot comment on news reports about Luigi Mangione,” he said. “We only know what we read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We pray for Brian Thompson’s family and ask people to pray for everyone involved.”

John Kelly, a criminal profiler and president of STALK Inc., said it was not unusual that none of Mangione’s acquaintances reported him.

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This undated UnitedHealth Group photo shows Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group)

“He was so insignificant in the minds of his friends, family and acquaintances because none of them believed he was capable of such violence,” he said.

Josiah Ryan, a member of the Surf Break Cooperative in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Mangione was living in 2022, said there were no warning signs that he or other friends were aware of.

“He was just a great guy, you know?” he told Fox News Digital. “I think it’s easy in a situation like this to look back and find weird things about people… point them out and say, ‘Hey, he was always a weirdo.’ And people don’t do that. There is simply nothing.

The Mangione family owns golf courses and clubs throughout Maryland, a radio station and other properties, Fox News Digital reported.

The family’s wealth enabled the alleged killer to attend Gilman School in Baltimore, a private K-12 school whose tuition costs about $40,000 a year. He graduated at the top of his class in 2016 and then went to the University of Pennsylvania. In 2020, he graduated from the Ivy League school with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science.

A photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows Luigi Mangione. (Obtained from Fox News Digital)

“He seemed like a smart kid, he always did the right thing, it seemed,” another former classmate told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Wasn’t crazy.”

Mangione had only a minor criminal record – a trespassing case in Honolulu in December 2023 for entering the Nuuanu Pali Lookout when it was closed. Authorities told Fox News Digital they do not believe a booking photo was taken in connection with the subpoena.

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Mangione specifically mentioned UnitedHealthcare and the shareholder conference that Thompson was chairing at the time of the shooting in his alleged manifesto, Kenny said. He had also allegedly written online about a back injury, and investigators were looking into whether health insurance had denied him a claim or refused any type of care.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.