NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #3

[fridaybaker]

Fashionella, thanks for your insight here.

Question: You say that the killer "picked up" the battery at 5am. Was this intentional wording? We know that he "picked up" the battery vs. "had the battery"? TIA.

 

[Nikynoo]

Fashionella, thanks for your insight here.

Question: You say that the killer "picked up" the battery at 5am. Was this intentional wording? We know that he "picked up" the battery vs. "had the battery"? TIA.

I am wondering if this has been confirmed via LE and not a 'source' -

'The shooter was seen on video at 5 a.m. the morning of the shooting outside Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project on the Upper West Side, sources told ABC News.
When the suspect was spotted on video at Frederick Douglass Houses, he was seen carrying what appeared to be an e-bike battery.'

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, masked gunman at large

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot near a Midtown Manhattan hotel in a potentially targeted shooting early Wednesday, according to police.

abcnews.go.com

Has the actual video been released and has LE confirmed the above?

 

[nao]

Moo...flirting is fun. When you are in the service industry...it also gives you a good tell on personality. So reception at hostel... probably flirts alot...just gets people to drop their guard. So obviously he seemed harmless.
About the gun..he probably knows someone in the veterinary trade..or racing trade.. horses, greyhounds....would hunters use that type of gun?

 

[shetalksinstereo]

I would like to know about the woman who was a witness! She ran off but has to have some information.

 

[Charlot123]

It sounds like he, or an accomplice would have to be local or very familiar with the subway routes? Or I suppose ten days of planning could help, but with cameras I would guess such repetitive movements would be easy to pick up by now. Seems the movement and timing here is complicated.

One thing I’m not understanding. Why did an e-bike battery need to be picked up and dropped off at all, why isn’t it with the bike? Is the bike locked up somewhere and either dead or is just missing its battery?

I guess the thinking here is that perp hands off battery to accomplice. Perp goes in direction of Hilton. Accomplice goes in direction of e-bike location, prepares it for perp. Accomplice and perp handoff items somewhere in Central Park. Accomplice and perp go separate ways?

The accomplice is likely not another young man. The accomplice is someone who won’t get suspicion as a “couple”, a mom and a son, or a GF-BF. I think a “single newcomer in NY” vs «a couple from NY» looks very different. And may not attract attention, JMO.

 

[girlhasnoname]

It is relatively easy to get from ATL to the Atlanta Greyhound station on public transit. Cameras, but that was long enough ago that it's unknown how long they keep the film. ATL has direct flights from 240 airports, including all 50 states and 47 countries.

https://www.directflights.com/to/ATL

MARTA

marta

www.itsmarta.com

I can say from personal experience ATL is one of the busiest airports in the States. Getting around the airport can be a challenge depending on where you are arriving from or where you departing to. Killer might have picked that airport for just that reason.

MOO

 

[Justice101]

Just curious, what other information do you think will come out today?

Also, I must have missed it: How did they know which gun shop the gun was bought at? A tip from the Connecticut gun shop owner?

 

[clearskies1]

I am wondering if this has been confirmed via LE and not a 'source' -

'The shooter was seen on video at 5 a.m. the morning of the shooting outside Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project on the Upper West Side, sources told ABC News.
When the suspect was spotted on video at Frederick Douglass Houses, he was seen carrying what appeared to be an e-bike battery.'

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, masked gunman at large

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot near a Midtown Manhattan hotel in a potentially targeted shooting early Wednesday, according to police.

abcnews.go.com

Has the actual video been released and has LE confirmed the above?

I don't make too much of the alleged Frederick Douglass Houses spotting. Frederick Douglass is close to the Hi NYC hostel he stayed at -- a 6 minute walk. Not that unusual to be in the Frederick Douglass area given where he was staying.

 

[detective.moon]

Just curious, what other information do you think will come out today?

Also, I must have missed it: How did they know which gun shop the gun was bought at? A tip from the Connecticut gun shop owner?

they found that there had been a purchase of this model in that shop in connecticut, but iirc they were going to look into it. they weren’t sure yet that’s where the shooter got the gun

 

[Tealgrove]

a thought that popped into my head, what if the shooter is actually terminally ill (with an illness that’s not impacting him too much yet) and felt like he had nothing to lose?

i’m not expecting it to be true, but it would make a good background story, it would explain his motive too

So the suggestion being that he may be terminally ill and has been denied health coverage by UCH?

If that were to be the case, why would I take great care to hide my identity? If I’m dying why do I care if I get caught?

If it were me, I probably would have wanted to look BT in the eye. I’d want him to see me. I’d want him to hear me.

Additionally, I probably would have died at the scene or shortly thereafter.

Not saying it’s not possible but I’m just not convinced that the killer’s actions reflect this line of thought. Who knows though.

MOO

 

[Charlot123]

Defo someone lives in NYC… but didn’t want him at their home, or possibly doesn’t live IN Manhattan.

Or doesn’t know him in face, the member of the same group, etc.

 

[Deleted member 341776]

Your analysis is excellent !!! Like you, I am intimately familiar with the subways and how long it could take to get from point A to point B in Manhattan. I also was considering writing up a post talking about how the gunman was able to get from West 103rd street to the 57th street subway station on the F line in no longer than 60 minutes (the gunman wanted to be at the venue plenty early.)

As you, someone intimately familiar with the subway may know, the only way to go from West 103rd street to the 57th street station of the F line is by taking two subway trains: the first train is to take the B line from the West 103rd street subway station and then changing trains at the 50 street station for the F line train. What the gunman surely/probably did not know (I am assuming for the moment that the gunman is not a Manhattanite) is that at 5am, one could be stuck waiting a surprisingly longish amount of time waititing for the slow poke B and F trains to arrive. That being said, even with the extra waiting times, its entirely possible that the gunman could make that subway journey in the 60 minute time slot he alloted himself.

The B line does not run overnight. Regular hours for the subway start around 6am but sometimes are delayed to 6:30. I don't think he would have relied on the B. EDIT: The D could have worked though.

Late night subway diagram

new.mta.info

 

[getthefax]

I don't make too much of the alleged Frederick Douglass Houses spotting. Frederick Douglass is close to the Hi NYC hostel he stayed at -- a 6 minute walk. Not that unusual to be in the Frederick Douglass area given where he was staying.

Might even be shorter than that—and it’s on the way to the subway station.

 

[Tealgrove]

The choice of weapon is interesting.

Was it intentional or was it the only gun he could get his hands on?

 

[Torbs]

Agree this is a very interesting angle. Excellent post.

Thanks. The media doesn’t help because they will just use salacious framing like “he made $5M a year!” The reality of executive comp is if course he makes way more than the rest of us, but a much smaller percentage shows up as cash in his actual paycheck. The bulk is tied to future performance, sometimes many years out. If he gets fired for cause along the way - an insider trading scandal would do it - that can go away. My understanding is that she has a “normal” job so her lifestyle is largely tied to his continued success. She’s only 50 and the boys are young. Couldn’t the threat of losing that lifestyle be a motivator? Again, just a little speculation over coffee. As wild as this story is it’s still a murder and the odds are he knew the person who wanted him dead. Who knows him better than the mother of his kids?

 

[Nikynoo]

I don't make too much of the alleged Frederick Douglass Houses spotting. Frederick Douglass is close to the Hi NYC hostel he stayed at -- a 6 minute walk. Not that unusual to be in the Frederick Douglass area given where he was staying.

Ah! that makes sense! So (possibly) not picking up the battery (if it was indeed a battery), but could be just walking carrying an object passed that building en route to the final destination.

 

[Charlot123]

So the suggestion being that he may be terminally ill and has been denied health coverage by UCH?

If that were to be the case, why would I take great care to hide my identity? If I’m dying why do I care if I get caught?

If it were me, I probably would have wanted to look BT in the eye. I’d want him to see me. I’d want him to hear me.

Additionally, I probably would have died at the scene or shortly thereafter.

Not saying it’s not possible but I’m just not convinced that the killer’s actions reflect this line of thought. Who knows though.

MOO

People have remissions.
Why I think it is not him? He is clearly fast and strong but mostly, after chemo, for example, one loses hair.

Now what can happen is…we never saw his head hair, did we? He is in sort of a cap. What if he shaved the hair in support of someone and is wearing that hat or whatever it is?

His head makes him look very different. Either he is bald and growing hair out, or the hair is not dark. Anyhow, the fact that no one saw him before just indicates that he looks totally different when he pulls that hat off. Imagine he has a tattoo on his forehead, for example. Then he either has to wear bangs to close it, or pull his hat on the eyebrows. Something like it. We see a very attractive, “homeboy”, expensive clothes, charming, puts words from a book on bullets. He makes several tattoos on his face, or colors grownup hair and a beard a different color, or something like it, and no one ever looks at him.

He has good teeth, but I wonder if it, too is new and implants. JMO.

 

[Inthedetails]

Regarding the Hostel ID questions - I've traveled through dozens of hostels worldwide. If you're not from the country where you're checking in, you need to show your passport(sometimes they keep it until you check out). But, if you reside in that country you can just show your local ID. For instance, an Italian from Milan can show local ID at a hostel in Rome. In this case I read that the killer showed a (fake) New Jersey DL and paid cash. A New York hostel would not require an American to show a passport. So the woman that checked him in, and reportedly flirted asking him to remove the mask, thought the NJ DL was valid identification. She believed he was an American from NJ.

I'll respectfully point out that plenty of people who live in this part of the country are in fact citizens or residents with state ID but were born elsewhere. By that I mean, if he's a foreigner with an accent, he could still have American/local ID and it would not raise an eyebrow at all.

I would like to hear if anyone noticed an accent though. And, if he's actually from down south, that accent stands out too!

jmo

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Not always, but on average, Ebike batteries tend to be rather large, heavy (maybe 10 lbs or more) and cumbersome.

All we know about the bike so far, is that it was NOT one of the City bikes. Could this bike and battery be highly customized to deflect some of the obvious issues you are all mentioning????

 

[alsleuther]

Thanks. The media doesn’t help because they will just use salacious framing like “he made $5M a year!” The reality of executive comp is if course he makes way more than the rest of us, but a much smaller percentage shows up as cash in his actual paycheck. A lot of the rest is tied to future performance, sometimes many years out. If he gets fired for cause along the way - an insider trading scandal would do it - that can go away. My understanding is that she has a “normal” job so her lifestyle is largely tied to his continued success. She’s only 50 and the boys are young. Couldn’t the threat of losing that lifestyle be a motivator? Again, just a little speculation over coffee. As wild as this story is it’s still a murder and the odds are he knew the person who wanted him dead. Who knows him better than the mother of his kids?

Agree with everything you said. Also the part I cannot get past is that the shooter knew exactly when and where to stand to cross paths with BT in the wee hours of the morning, when he was staying a hotel other than the one the the conference was held at, 1.5 hours before the conference started. He was so confident of the timing and correct location that he even popped into Starbucks for a snack 30 min prior! If he didn't know what BT's exact agenda was that day he would have been camped out for much longer.

BT probably took the Corporate jet to NYC that week and when he landed he would have a driver to take him to his hotel. It would be impossible for a young kid on an Ebike to follow this movement. The private airports are secured. How did the shooter know he was staying at the Marriott? And that he would walk to the conference 1.5 hours before it started?

So, I think there are two options here:
1 - Shooter had electronic access to BT's phone and location - maybe through the previous cyber attack (IMO unlikely)
2 - Shooter was in communication with another person that was telling him exactly where BT was staying and what his schedule was for the day, and what his path to the conference would be.