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

[taylorss]

A disgruntled ex-employee is another good possibility. That could give him an inside track on where BT is going to be. He could still have friends at the company who shared info with him. Or for all we know he could be BT's recently fired exec assistant who made BT's reservations himself!
Moo

 

[Inthedetails]

Or...he could have worn several layers and discarded as he went along...top set in backpack, maybe next set in bathroom of Greyhound so he gets off there in a completely different outfit and can't be tracked. The clothes from the Greyhound could be stuffed in the black backpack he had, which could have been inside the tan one and then used when dumped tan one.

Also that shoe is not distinctive in my opinion. Those Nike and the knock offs (Skechers in particular) are all over the place...my children have had several iterations of them over last 6-8 years...they have been popular for a long while I believe.

Yeah, I don't mean the shoes are distinctive in terms of "unique" but distinctive in that you'd see that white line on a security video of him walking by for example, even if the video quality wasn't that great.

jmopinion

 

[getthefax]

This was an investor conference, not a meeting for all investors. Only their very large institutional investors (who CEO and IR team would know very well) are invited; the public watches online.

UHC's all-investor meeting (annual general meeting or AGM) is 100% virtual. Common practice post covid

I plan these at a different company and it is very intentional that the general public is not in the same room as the CEO. Not only for violence but environmental and political (i.e. war or middle east conflict related) protesters are VERY common and interrupt events frequently.

I hear you… but they had resources. I think it’s likely this group (because I do think it’s a group) invests. MOO

 

[Otterly]

Backpack found in Central Park believed to belong to suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, source says | CNN

Detectives investigating the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive have a “reason to believe” the person responsible for the shooting has left New York City, according to police commissioner Jessica Tisch.

amp.cnn.com

<snipped & BBM>
Key evidence, including the bike the suspect rode and the gun used in the killing, is still missing.

The backpack was found in a second sweep of the park Friday evening between some boulders just south of the park’s carousel, according to a source.

Something I saw in the CNN article that I hadn't seen before (to be fair the past few days have been busy for me so I haven't been able to pay attention to the case as much as the first few days after the shooting).

"Police initiated the search [for the backpack in Central Park] after detectives reviewed security footage of the suspect no longer wearing the backpack after leaving Central Park through the West 77th street exit."

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

wonder if someone could have called the Hilton about a delivery to be made to BT and was told "oh he's not here; he's staying across the street.

The assassin went to the Hilton on 11/24, the day that he arrived in town and milled about for 30 minutes before checking into the Hostel later that night. That tells me that he knew in advance that BT was going to be there for the meeting on 12/4. BT did not arrive into town until 12/2.

So, it seems, the assassin was in NYC for one reason: To murder BT. He spent the days leading up to the murder solidifying his plan.

JMO.

 

[MassGuy]

CNN Guests:

If he had done this in Minnesota, his message never would have gotten across. Doing it this way got his message out there, despite the heightened risk.

Law enforcement expert says that he believes this is very personal to the killer. He may blame this company for harming someone close to him. He's probably watching the coverage and enjoying the fact that he's accomplished what he set out to do (get that message across).

 

[GMG1999]

Ooh interesting, I hadn’t thought of that!

So they know when he arrived in NY 10 days before...how do they know this and where he came from?

 

[Big Ears]

There are not lockers at the GWB bus terminal.

I'm thinking he left all his stuff at the hostel or threw everything out the day before. I'm curious if LE found anything in the hostel room.

But you bring up a good point about changing clothes after the crime. The shoes especially would be something to change, I would guess, as the white line is distinctive.

jmo

Someone up stream did a time analysis from when he entered the park to his exit. I think it was a total of 11 minutes. The timeline took into account about 8 minutes of actual bike riding, leaving only 2-3 minutes to ditch the backpack and change clothes. Fascinating.

 

[getthefax]

Not one person in the gunman’s life has been able to positively ID him even after his face has been on national (and international) news for days. This is just as crazy to me as the escape plot etc! Who is this guy?? JMO

I believe he is from overseas… where they care less about this manhunt. MOO

 

[acutename]

...except for that odd gray, boxy backpack.

popular pack- people like it

 

[Mr.Dandy]

There is so much activity here so this may have already been said but I think the delay, deny, depose is a red herring. Seems like all anyone talks about is.

 

[eloquence]

CNN Guests:

If he had done this in Minnesota, his message never would have gotten across. Doing it this way got his message out there, despite the heightened risk.

I totally agree with this - and Minnesota has far fewer cameras so NY presented much higher chance of getting caught. Plus he somehow timed it perfectly during the very small window BT was walking around.

Midtown shooting is an intentionally high profile crime. At his house or at the office in Minnesota would probably glance the national news once, but not take off as a major story all week in the same way. He wanted it to be big and public.

 

[getthefax]

However, anyone who has worked in corporate life can guess you are expected no later than an hour before so 7am and he got there at 630. That's just obvious to me, having worked with corporate guys. Get up, maybe exercise, shower, dress, leave by 630 walk over to be in huddle room by 7. It's not rocket science once he had hotel and that started at 8am

Not rocket science at all. He’s speaking that morning at an easily learned time.

 

[kamare]

Not certain, but see the most recent (top) post regarding timeline. If you scroll down, it’s a very informative resource and presumably reliable (ie hipaajournal):

https://www.hipaajournal.com/change-healthcare-responding-to-cyberattack/

Thanks for this. Interesting that BT isn't mentioned in there at all. UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty provided testimony.

 

[eloquence]

So they know when he arrived in NY 10 days before...how do they know this and where he came from?

They have CCTV of him arriving off of a specific bus. The bus came from Atlanta but he could have gotten on at a number of stops along the way (DC, for example)

 

[Vegasgrl]

He is smart. Everyone is looking for someone on the run, right? Our thought (spouse & I) is that he has "hunkered down." Has a place to stay until things "cool down." Less officers/detectives/security guards and public on alert after a week or two. It would be easier to slip away when there are a lot of people attending downtown functions. Shows, tree lighting, holiday shoppers etc. Also, if he is not in CODIS, good luck with the smudged fingerprint.

I thought of this too. And maybe NOW he is wearing a full face mask in public and using another ID. He could have pre-booked an Airbnb months ago and stocked it up on the days before the murder. I think he is very intelligent and fairly well off financially. He could be walking around in the NYC area right now in disguise.

 

[Inthedetails]

CNN Guests:

If he had done this in Minnesota, his message never would have gotten across. Doing it this way got his message out there, despite the heightened risk.

Law enforcement expert says that he believes this is very personal to the killer. He may blame this company for harming someone close to him. He's probably watching the coverage and enjoying the fact that he's accomplished what he set out to do (get that message across).

I just can't picture someone so upset about a family member that they'd flirt with the hostel clerk on such a personal mission. I'd expect someone that upset to be perpetually upset, withdrawn, and serious during the 10-day lead-up to the assassination.

Maybe it's true that an upset family member is also charming and flirty, but it's easier for me to see him as more detached from the task, like it's a job....with the perk of a friendly hostel clerk to chat with.

jmo

 

[BackInNewMexico]

I believe he is from overseas… where they care less about this manhunt. MOO

I do too, but then I think why would someone from overseas want to kill the CEO of an American healthcare company? So strange.

 

[chinacat67]

100 different types of backpacks on a hundred different people on every street in Manhattan. Everyone was wearing backpacks of every kind and nature
..including me and mine was beige.

People walk around there with full on luggage to get down to train to airports. That backpack would not have caught many eyes at the moment either.

Imo

One of the best things about NYC to me is you can do you and nobody cares. People leave you be and are doing their own thing...with headphones on. You can disappear while walking in broad daylight in plain sight. As he proved.

This is why celebrities like to live here...they can just walk the streets because the city lets you be generally and everyone fits in because there is no set way to look like there.

What better place to do this than a city where you blend in by default.

Also, I don't think a lot of folks understand the mentality of walking in New York as a non tourist. Head down, mind your business and don't block the way. What stands out are tourists.. because they gawk.

Disclaimer..not a New Yorker but quite frequently there for work, so not a tourist.

 

[getthefax]

Or...he could have worn several layers and discarded as he went along...top set in backpack, maybe next set in bathroom of Greyhound so he gets off there in a completely different outfit and can't be tracked. The clothes from the Greyhound could be stuffed in the black backpack he had, which could have been inside the tan one and then used when dumped tan one.

Also that shoe is not distinctive in my opinion. Those Nike and the knock offs (Skechers in particular) are all over the place...my children have had several iterations of them over last 6-8 years...they have been popular for a long while I believe.

These are high end adidas trainers though… but very commonly seen in NYC.