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

[Sadi]

I hope the suspect is just in hiding and hasn't killed himself. I can't remember the case, but in the last couple years there was a huge manhunt for a suspect and when they finally found him, he had already killed himself.

Anyone familiar with investor meetings know the elite show up early to meet and greet, chit chat, hand shaking, coffee, breakfast snacks.

Have we confirmed a security team traveled with BT? If so, it is odd, unless the team was waiting to accompany the entire group. I don't think he felt threatened.

Moo....

No security was with BT on this trip.

 

[MassGuy]

Okay, this is not my area of interest, so: What database is it that utilizes DNA from crime scenes and then "builds a family tree around it" (my words) using the DNA data? Like with the Golden Gate killer? And would they do this in this scenario?

GED Match is the most common one. People download their results from sites like Ancestry and 23, and upload it to GED Match. If they opt in, law enforcement can then use that DNA to build a tree.

I think it’s much too early to consider something like that here, as they’re likely to catch this guy via other means prior to that.

It’s an option down the road though.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Even more dubious- How on earth would not have to collect every water bottles for 6 blocks and profile it. I suppose if they catch someone and he denies being in NY on that day, in that place, and his DNA happens to match then they got him.

 

[FlamingoLady]

Even more dubious- How on earth would not have to collect every water bottles for 6 blocks and profile it. I suppose if they catch someone and he denies being in NY on that day, in that place, and his DNA happens to match then they got him.

Exactly.....A defense attorney's dream piece of evidence.

 

[ElizaKate]

It's probably fruitless but given we know the suspect rode through Central Park I'm currently looking at the recent visitor photos on park attraction reviews. Never know, we might see someone in the back of a photo somewhere... (Yes I know even new reviews might be old visits but some might not. Yes clutching at straws.)

[ETA: and possibly stashed his backpack]

 

[Herat]

GED Match is the most common one. People download their results from sites like Ancestry and 23, and upload it to GED Match. If they opt in, law enforcement can then use that DNA to build a tree.

I think it’s much too early to consider something like that here, as they’re likely to catch this guy via other means prior to that.

It’s an option down the road though.

And this would be much more difficult if he was really foreign-borne from a country that did not have the affluence or the culture to participate in the Ancestry-type testing..

 

[Sadi]

Agree - the estranged wife is top of my list

Why do you think his estranged wife is involved? What would be the reason(s) she waited for this event to arrange for his death and not earlier?

 

[eddie_van]

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Good article. To people wondering how they got the water bottle:

Investigators pulled DNA from an Ethos water bottle that was found in the alleyway of the building that used to house the Ziegfeld Theater, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. It was the same spot where the shooter is believed to have pre-positioned an e-bike used for his getaway and where he dropped a Motorola burner phone, the person said. Police also tested DNA from a Starbucks cup the suspect dropped in a garbage can before he gunned Thompson down.

 

[IQuestion]

Given the fact they've made it a multi-state investigation, and shared images across 80 major police departments across the US I would say LE have evidence to lead them to believe the suspect has already left NYC.

Yes, they have done the same on many high level investigations, just to find the suspect right under their nose. In Abby & Libby (precious girls killed) the killer was right in their town the entire time, despite nationwide billboards, bolos, codis database, video and voice. I think assassin is still in New York....perhaps his "unwitting host" is part of the preplanned stay? Ie., just visiting Aunt Mabel for the holidays???

 

[Zinn]

I also work for a similar sized entity. It is very unusual for a person of his position to be alone anywhere. Not even as a security concern but there is a lot of prep and multitasking going on and there is always some sort of entourage. Our CEO doesn't even walk down the hall in our own office by himself for very far.

The problem I have with the timing is that Mr. Thompson would not have known exactly where he would be to high precision early that morning. Even if this were an inside job, catching him as he walked in would still have been nearly impossible to coordinate and having him be alone is just so weird I can't even convey to you how unusual that is.

To me this will prove to be some planning and considerable luck. The perp knew someone from UNH would be walking in and waited until he saw someone he either recognized, or that looked like a business guy.

BT was just in the wrong place at the wrong time to be the victim.

I’m not even sure BT was planning to enter the hotel via the side entrance. His body had not turned toward the entrance at that point, so it’s possible he might have planned to continue to the main hotel entrance around the corner. Regardless, I don’t think the shooter could’ve perceived him to be an executive associated with the conference without knowing who he was specifically. A guy in a suit walking down a sidewalk next to a hotel more than an hour before a conference was to commence at the hotel would not be a specific enough target, IMO.

 

[freewill_is_an_illusion]

I think the guy in the hostel normally has a beard and shaved it off very recently, as his skin is very pale where a beard would be and the rest of his face is more tan.

 

[K.jill]

So, probably not in a trash can and likely near the phone. We see him setting something on top of trash bags outside a deli before starbucks, iirc. This seems deliberate.

 

[ElizaKate]

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Another one saying "burner phone" specifically a Motorola...

 

[DS2021]

Is this new?

Police Find Backpack in Central Park, a Possible Link to Gunman Who Killed C.E.O.

Three days after an insurance executive was fatally shot on a Manhattan sidewalk, the authorities provided a detailed timeline of the suspect’s movements. It was not yet known what was in the backpack.

www.nytimes.com

Police said the gunman fled the shooting scene into Central Park on a bicycle. Video surveillance of the park showed that he exited it on the west side without his backpack, according to a law enforcement official. Officers searched the park on Thursday but were unable to find the pack, the official said

 

[eddie_van]

Yes, they have done the same on many high level investigations, just to find the suspect right under their nose. In Abby & Libby (precious girls killed) the killer was right in their town the entire time, despite nationwide billboards, bolos, codis database, video and voice. I think assassin is still in New York....perhaps his "unwitting host" is part of the preplanned stay? Ie., just visiting Aunt Mabel for the holidays???

I find it hard to believe he escaped NYC in so little time as well, but it's possible, especially if he had help.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Good article. To people wondering how they got the water bottle:

Investigators pulled DNA from an Ethos water bottle that was found in the alleyway of the building that used to house the Ziegfeld Theater, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. It was the same spot where the shooter is believed to have pre-positioned an e-bike used for his getaway and where he dropped a Motorola burner phone, the person said. Police also tested DNA from a Starbucks cup the suspect dropped in a garbage can before he gunned Thompson down.

This is really amazing police work right from the start. How many people visited that Starbucks in the 30 minutes or so? And they picked out his cup?

 

[armchairagatha]

Even more dubious- How on earth would not have to collect every water bottles for 6 blocks and profile it. I suppose if they catch someone and he denies being in NY on that day, in that place, and his DNA happens to match then they got him.

Unless they caught the suspect on camera dropping these items, how can they even confirm he dropped these? Seems like LE is clutching at straws really.

 

[FlamingoLady]

Is this new?

Police Find Backpack in Central Park, a Possible Link to Gunman Who Killed C.E.O.

Three days after an insurance executive was fatally shot on a Manhattan sidewalk, the authorities provided a detailed timeline of the suspect’s movements. It was not yet known what was in the backpack.

www.nytimes.com

Police said the gunman fled the shooting scene into Central Park on a bicycle. Video surveillance of the park showed that he exited it on the west side without his backpack, according to a law enforcement official. Officers searched the park on Thursday but were unable to find the pack, the official said

But they were able to find the water bottle and coffee cup........

 

[KaylynnCouture]

Do we know how long Brian had been in NYC before this happened?

 

[FlamingoLady]

Do we know how long Brian had been in NYC before this happened?

Arrived Monday for the Wednesday conference, if I recall.