TX - Dr. Mark Hausknecht, 65, Physician to GHW Bush killed in bicycle drive-by shooting, Houston

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Gardenista said:
Here is the full series of tweets from the Houston PD with sketch, larger photos the video etc...

Houston Police on Twitter
Click to expand...

This is VERY helpful!
Thank you Gardenista!
So the enhanced picture of the suspect was taken from the dashcam on the bus, and was very near the southwest corner of South Main @ Holcombe, just a minute or less before the shooting, depending on how long they had to wait in the traffic island for westbound traffic to stop. Unless the suspect is disguised, which I am now suspecting he was, SOMEone should/would be able to recognize SOMEthing about him.
 
Gooddeeds said:
I screenshot that from the video so I’m confused why they have it marked in red? It’s a car, and no biker or person is nearby. Is it just a reference point to where he was?

ETA: I can see him in the still shot you have here but am confused about the above stated.
TIA
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I think the red is marked to show approximately where they believe or know the suspect was at that time, so yes a reference point which is BEHIND the car in that still shot from the video. As the video progresses in the HPD tweet, you can see the suspect after the car passes and he travels further north on South Main. He had to cover a lot of ground to get even with the doctor seconds later based on how far behind him he seems from this shot.
 
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Gardenista said:
Here is the full series of tweets from the Houston PD with sketch, larger photos the video etc...
Houston Police on Twitter
Click to expand...
CocoChanel said:
He had to cover a lot of ground to get even with the doctor seconds later based on how far behind him he seems from this shot.
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Yes, the suspect was quite far away when the doctor reached that intersection. Suspect must have known the timing of that light, which leads me to believe he had perhaps done some practice cycling at that intersection in the days or weeks ahead of the murder.
CocoChanel - does that intersection have a Countdown Timer for pedestrians, whereby from a distance someone can read on that timer how many seconds before the light changes?
 
SeesSeas said:
Yes, the suspect was quite far away when the doctor reached that intersection. Suspect must have known the timing of that light, which leads me to believe he had perhaps done some practice cycling at that intersection in the days or weeks ahead of the murder.
CocoChanel - does that intersection have a Countdown Timer for pedestrians, whereby from a distance someone can read on that timer how many seconds before the light changes?
Click to expand...

SeesSeas - I do not know this for a fact, but my best guess is that YES that intersection probably does have the countdown timer for pedestrians because those devices are prevalent in highly populated areas of our city, for instance, Minute Maid Park, home of the World Series Champions Houston Astros. (Just had to unabashedly work that into my reply somehow lol!)

Also, I agree that this crime most likely took much planning and rehearsal to have taken place as it did.
 
CocoChanel said:
SeesSeas - I do not know this for a fact, but my best guess is that YES that intersection probably does have the countdown timer for pedestrians because those devices are prevalent in highly populated areas of our city, for instance, Minute Maid Park, home of the World Series Champions Houston Astros. (Just had to unabashedly work that into my reply somehow lol!)

Also, I agree that this crime most likely took much planning and rehearsal to have taken place as it did.
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Yes. Large intersections do have countdowns. I also think it was rehearsed and planned. He was most likely in the scaffold when he shot the doctor just outside of the scaffold and rode out the other side undetected. Not to mention it and construction probably helped muffle the sound of the gun.
 
Third Coast Gal said:
Professional grudge (as in a colleague) hadn’t occurred to me but it’s an interesting angle!
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I like that possibility, but maybe extend it to "semi colleague"- male nurse, technician, billing specialist / receptionist (though this profession seems to be mostly female), maintenance man.

The doctor's acclaim may broaden this group to several categories:

- The doctor's own practice as he has direct hire / fire authority over the staff there.

- Hospital where the doctor had admitting privileges. Though he would not have direct authority over staff there, he was an acclaimed doctor and a valued client of the hospital. A performance complaint by him could result in a termination.

- Contracting services (EKG monitoring, blood testers etc). Many doctors use them. Like the hospital, the doctor was in all probability a valued client. A performance complaint could have been responded to.
 
Third Coast Gal said:
Professional grudge (as in a colleague) hadn’t occurred to me but it’s an interesting angle!
Click to expand...

For sure the medical professions are not without their own versions of workplace drama. Not to stereotype, but it is a field that probably attracts not only those with high intelligence, but also a significant ego as well. The Omaha/Creighton murders are a good example of this I think. That tragic case troubled me for years, and in the end turned out to be exactly what was speculated early on: a killer who’s professional reputation had suffered and he blamed and took revenge on those in supervisory positions over him. It is so frustrating that it took the murders of a doctor’s child, his housekeeper, another physician and his wife, and years of investigation before the killer, a doctor himself, was identified and brought to justice.

Most of us know the Omaha/Creighton case well, but if you want a review, here’s the extensive forum thread:
Dr. Anthony Garcia

There is also this 48 Hours episode:
Resident Evil

Bad things happen to good doctors, at the hands of other doctors. So tragic. Please know I am not saying that is what happened to Dr. K, only that it is within the realm of possibility that it could have been related to work and could have involved another medical professional. Chilling.
 
This seems like a well planned, carefully orchestrated hit as many have said. It seems that despite all the cameras around, there are no cameras that captured the actual shooting and as some have mentioned it happened next to a construction site, which might have obscured the noise of the shots. Looking at the new pic with that very laden backpack raises more questions than it answers - I don't suspect the gun was there as it would be difficult to quickly access, fire, and ride off. The bike hasn't been located. If he had a van or something waiting for a quick getaway, why carry so much in the backpack? Unless it was full of supplies to aid an escape if the shooter encountered resistance/law enforcement. Very chilling. The olive green backpack style screams "military" to me but they're not at all uncommon to see around.

I really wonder if the shooter has left the country - there are two airports with international connections. I hope they've checked surveillance there, but I would suspect that backpack contained a change of clothes / necessities to aid an escape. Things that he couldn't risk leaving stashed in a getaway vehicle or elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the shooter changed clothes and took an Uber or Lyft to the airport with a stolen credit card. There might be a vehicle sitting somewhere near the airport with the bike inside.

I did think about the recent conviction of Leon Jacobs - he had some tenuous connections to hospitals in the medical center and was a failed surgery resident, including some heart transplant work. He just received a life sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot against his girlfriend's ex-husband and his ex-girlfriend. Still, he proved to be truly incompetent in those efforts and I would be hard pressed to imagine him pulling off something this well executed from prison.

This seems very unlikely to be random to me.
 
docbh said:
This seems like a well planned, carefully orchestrated hit as many have said. It seems that despite all the cameras around, there are no cameras that captured the actual shooting and as some have mentioned it happened next to a construction site, which might have obscured the noise of the shots. Looking at the new pic with that very laden backpack raises more questions than it answers - I don't suspect the gun was there as it would be difficult to quickly access, fire, and ride off. The bike hasn't been located. If he had a van or something waiting for a quick getaway, why carry so much in the backpack? Unless it was full of supplies to aid an escape if the shooter encountered resistance/law enforcement. Very chilling. The olive green backpack style screams "military" to me but they're not at all uncommon to see around.

I really wonder if the shooter has left the country - there are two airports with international connections. I hope they've checked surveillance there, but I would suspect that backpack contained a change of clothes / necessities to aid an escape. Things that he couldn't risk leaving stashed in a getaway vehicle or elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the shooter changed clothes and took an Uber or Lyft to the airport with a stolen credit card. There might be a vehicle sitting somewhere near the airport with the bike inside.

I did think about the recent conviction of Leon Jacobs - he had some tenuous connections to hospitals in the medical center and was a failed surgery resident, including some heart transplant work. He just received a life sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot against his girlfriend's ex-husband and his ex-girlfriend. Still, he proved to be truly incompetent in those efforts and I would be hard pressed to imagine him pulling off something this well executed from prison.

This seems very unlikely to be random to me.
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Yes, I agree it would be cumbersome to get a gun out of that full backpack, aim and fire, but I can’t picture where else it would be. Pocket? Waistband? Never having personally held a gun I am out of my element here. I guess it would shed a lot of light if we knew what kind of gun it was. Surely LE know by now the answer to this.

If indeed it was a hired hit, the suspect could very well be out of the country by now. That is disheartening. It IS possible that it was carried out by more than one person, the second being a getaway driver. In that case I would have more hope in solving this case as it is difficult for 2 to keep a secret.

I too thought about Leon Jacobs, another medical professional with a large ego and proclivity to crime, and local to the Houston Medical scene. He left many ruined lives in his wake, and I wonder if he had any link to Dr. H? It would certainly be in his MO to seek out revenge if he felt he had been harmed by Dr. H. Interestingly enough, LJ also has a 48 Hours episode describing his crimes. Ugh.
Operation Murder
 
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Here are my guesses.

After shooting the doctor, the seemingly professional killer changed from a dark top/white pants to light top/dark pants, rode on some back trail to a car/ mini van, and left the area.

That backpack was probably full of a change of clothes and enough ammo for a shootout.

If it was really well planned, he might have had more than one escape car parked in the area.

Was this a very expensive professional killer who was hired?
Or does he happen to be married to some nurse in the hospital?
Or is he ex-military working as a physicians assistant in the hospital?

I'll be surprised if they catch the guy.
 
I am hopeful he will be caught just because there appears to be a significant motive in the case, and it seems like motive is what usually gets people caught in the end - motive and mistakes. I am thinking he was not expecting to get a picture taken as close as the Metro bus dashcam was, and that someone recognizes him and/or the bike. I am also guessing he probably spent time biking the route earlier in the week or otherwise casing things.

It would be very helpful if they could locate the bike, or determine where he went after turning on Southgate. I have to think given the nature of the houses over in West University, there are private security cameras they can use to trace his movements after he left Main...
 
CocoChanel said:
Yes, I agree it would be cumbersome to get a gun out of that full backpack, aim and fire, but I can’t picture where else it would be. Pocket? Waistband? Never having personally held a gun I am out of my element here. I guess it would shed a lot of light if we knew what kind of gun it was. Surely LE know by now the answer to this.
Click to expand...

IMO Small of the back would be the easiet to conceal carry on a bike I would imagine. Being bent over would make waist carry difficult. And hip carry might be hard to pedal. Maybe that monster backpack is holding the gun in place in the small of his back. Keeping his shirt from riding up and holding it down into the waist band.
 
CocoChanel said:
Yes, I agree it would be cumbersome to get a gun out of that full backpack, aim and fire, but I can’t picture where else it would be. Pocket? Waistband? Never having personally held a gun I am out of my element here. I guess it would shed a lot of light if we knew what kind of gun it was. Surely LE know by now the answer to this.

If indeed it was a hired hit, the suspect could very well be out of the country by now. That is disheartening. It IS possible that it was carried out by more than one person, the second being a getaway driver. In that case I would have more hope in solving this case as it is difficult for 2 to keep a secret.

I too thought about Leon Jacobs, another medical professional with a large ego and proclivity to crime, and local to the Houston Medical scene. He left many ruined lives in his wake, and I wonder if he had any link to Dr. H? It would certainly be in his MO to seek out revenge if he felt he had been harmed by Dr. H. Interestingly enough, LJ also has a 48 Hours episode describing his crimes. Ugh.
Operation Murder
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I doubt Jacob could organize such a clean hit (and I do believe it was a hit) from his fabulous new accommodations at Polunsky, but he was affiliated with Houston Methodist at one point--and that's where Dr. Hausknecht worked.
 
Tbone144 said:
IMO Small of the back would be the easiet to conceal carry on a bike I would imagine. Being bent over would make waist carry difficult. And hip carry might be hard to pedal. Maybe that monster backpack is holding the gun in place in the small of his back. Keeping his shirt from riding up and holding it down into the waist band.
Click to expand...


I hate to quote my own post but I can’t edit it to add so:

I showed my husband the picture, he thinks it’s a military backpack and he thinks he might see a print of a gun at 3:30 carry. Just slightly behind the hip and with him being upright riding it would work.

Husband says depending upon construction noise a suppressor with subsonic round would be hard to hear. He also things a pro could easily hide and access a handgun with a suppressor in the backpack if the print is just a picture anomaly.

Going to check out some sites on concealed carry backpacks and see if I can find that one so something close.

Maybe something like this?
Voodoo Tactical REAPER Large MOLLE Military Patrol Pack
 
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Apologies to all.
I have been referring to the victim as Dr. K.
I am a ditz sometimes. He is Dr. H and I feel badly for disrespecting his name. From now on I will refer to him as MH. I believe his last name is pronounced “house-connect”. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
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