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

[Namastoner]

Maybe he came into town with nothing connecting him to his real life and just started discarded things - all traces during his 10 days, like a burner phone, the back pack etc.

Agreed, the ditching of the phone wasn’t an accident, it was a purposeful. But people seem to be citing this detail as proof he was inept or making mistakes.

 

[justtrish]

I have the same hunch, given the fake NJ ID.

Unless this guy is some sort of criminal mastermind, it wouldn't even cross his mind to fake an ID from a state other than the one he lives in.

So he seems young and I wonder if he used a fake ID because he is underage and has a fake ID to use already? I wonder if you need to be 18 to use a hostel? It could be he used it because he already had it for personal use prior to this.

 

[TTF14]

Agreed, the ditching of the phone wasn’t an accident, it was a purposeful. But people seem to be citing this detail as proof he was inept or making mistakes.

Wouldn't be the first time a phone was intentionally left behind, in my opinion. (Delphi case)

As always, my opinion only.

 

[Deleted member 110281]

The phone specifically… Was the phone found at the scene of the shooting? Not a chance he would have had the phone in his hand at that time, so how could he have dropped it. Honestly, has anybody ever had a phone fall out of their pocket? I haven’t.

He was discarding things/evidence MOO

 

[kamare]

NYT
"Joseph Kenny, the chief detective, said that investigators are looking into the possibility that the gunman used what’s known as a veterinary gun, a larger firearm used on farms and ranches. “If an animal has to get put down, the animal can be shot without” the weapon causing a large noise, Kenny said."

His own gun? Family owned farm or vet practice?

 

[clearskies1]

He was discarding things/evidence MOO

Seems he is confident that they don't have his DNA in a database. His problem is the unmasked photo. JMO.

 

[getthefax]

Everything we've seen suggests genuine confidence. Call it flair or even panache. The apparently carefree attitude to the items left (phone, water), the decision to visit a Starbucks just minutes beforehand, the presence of witnesses (including someone standing close to Brian Thompson and the assassin during the shooting – the woman who flees), the casual departure on foot and bicycle, the choice of weapon (a gun that needed to be cleared after every single shot!), the choice of clothing, the smile in the stills. If the POI and the suspect are the same person, it's someone of unusual character.

BBM
It sure is, I think.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

Granted, LE could be keeping info close to the vest and being quiet/strategic (a la Bryan Kohberger’s delayed capture) — but I am not very impressed with the police work we’ve seen so far. Millions of security cameras in Midtown, witnesses, discarded evidence, and they’re just now finding the backpack? No name? Just mind blowing.

I actually disagree with you. I think the investigation is moving quickly and it seems like they might already know who he is. Given the millions of people in NYC and that he blends in perfectly, moves with ease and anonymity - I think it is pretty impressive that we, the public, know as much as we do, and LE knows mountains more.

 

[ldlager]

It’s clinical. Very assassination-like. No interest in seeing the victim’s face during the killing. I would have thought he could have gotten up even closer - as far as assassinations go - but then his victim was walking with a determined stride.

I wonder how he could be sure nobody would be close by, though. That seems a bit lucky.

There was a woman standing within 4 feet of BT when he was shot. Watch the video

 

[ChrisM]

I think the gun is probably in that bag. “heavy object” sounds more substantial than a gun to me. Don’t have a clue what it might be though.

a wesite (bt-usa.com) has the weight of this (or similar if not exact) gun at 2.1 lbs. i wouldn't describe two pounds in a back pack as "heavy object" but maybe others would...

 

[Arkay]

Granted, LE could be keeping info close to the vest and being quiet/strategic (a la Bryan Kohberger’s delayed capture) — but I am not very impressed with the police work we’ve seen so far. Millions of security cameras in Midtown, witnesses, discarded evidence, and they’re just now finding the backpack? No name? Just mind blowing.

Sorry but I disagree.

Millions of security cameras, which is true that we have here in the city, translates into the NYPD having to go through ALL that footage, frame by frame, to try to find the suspect as he travels through the city.

I think there is no better police force than our NYPD, but they are not endowed with superpowers. Their institutional knowledge and whatever high tech is at their disposal have already done an enormous job of tracing his actions.

Of course it won’t matter unless and until the suspect is apprehended.

But nine million of us live here, in addition to the countless tourists, and endless ways to travel in and around here.

IMO the police have done a Herculean job so far, tracing one nameless individual among the millions of us and gathering as much as they have to this point.

JMO

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Agreed, the ditching of the phone wasn’t an accident, it was a purposeful. But people seem to be citing this detail as proof he was inept or making mistakes.

I didn't think this up myself but just think about it.

He bought a bottle of water at Starbucks before the shooting. But in the pictures of the shooting, there is no water bottle to be seen.

So where was the water bottle?

The obvious answer was zipped into the backpack, but then if so, how did it get out of the backpack and onto the ground where it was found?

If it was mostly empty when found, maybe the killer accidentally knocked it out of the backpack when he was putting the gun back in the backpack (assuming that's where the gun is).

But if was even 1/3 full when found, the above scenario would be very much less likely.

 

[kamare]

NYT
"The bullet casings found at the crime scene each bore a word written in permanent marker: depose, deny and delay. Kenny said investigators believe the gunman is either a disgruntled ex-employee of Brian Thompson's insurance company or an angry client."

I hadn't thought that it could be a disgruntled ex-employee. Employees must get a lot of abuse over the delay and deny tactics.

 

[Deleted member 350315]

Well, @Stargazer90 is NOT flat out wrong.

Maybe NY still has mask wearers but for most of us, it is a bit unusual to see it these days.

Nobody wears Masks where I live or in the surrounding counties

Besides, I don't think it was so much a "mask" as it is more a balaclava

JMO

In @Stargazer's original post, which is what I was replying, to, he was referring to the suspect looking suspicious in New York City because he was wearing a mask. I pointed out, as a native New Yorker, that mask-wearing is still not uncommon here, even post-Pandemic.
I'm aware that in other parts of the country mask-wearing is now a rarity and would be looked upon as odd or suspicious, but those places are not where Brian Thompson's murder took place, and as such are irrelevant to discussions of how out-of-place -or not- the suspect would look here.
Also, a balaclava covers the entire head, like a ski mask. The suspect may have been wearing a pulled-up neck gaiter rather than a surgical mask, but even so the temperatures in NYC were so cold last week that that wouldn't have stood out either.

 

[getthefax]

It's weird.

The planning here was incredibly detailed, and I think this guy is going to turn out to be quite intelligent.

But the fact that he carried out this crime, in this place, in this way, is insane. Even if he was perfect, which he absolutely was not, he had no reasonable chance of getting away with this; not with all those cameras.

He did everything in his power to cover his tracks, but slipped up with the mask, that Starbucks stop, and dropping his phone.

I give him credit for how long this has gone on, which is a testament to that extensive planning. But it's only a matter of time before he is captured, and when that happens, they'll have him dead to rights.

He’s smart, spoiled, used to getting his way, and I think he has a cadre of egoists he’s working with… MOO.
They’ll have him, if they catch him… but I am still not so sure they’ll get him.

At least not for a long time.

 

[Bounceycat]

Seems he is confident that they don't have his DNA in a database. His problem is the unmasked photo. JMO.

Sounds like he's not heard of forensic genetic genealogy!

 

[Deleted member 110281]

Sorry but I disagree.

Millions of security cameras, which is true that we have here in the city, translates into the NYPD having to go through ALL that footage, frame by frame, to try to find the suspect as he travels through the city.

I think there is no better police force than our NYPD, but they are not endowed with superpowers. Their institutional knowledge and whatever high tech is at their disposal have already done an enormous job of tracing his actions.

Of course it won’t matter unless and until the suspect is apprehended.

But nine million of us live here, in addition to the countless tourists, and endless ways to travel in and around here.

IMO the police have done a Herculean job so far, tracing one nameless individual among the millions of us and gathering as much as they have to this point.

JMO

I absolutely agree. But there is technology out there that they aren't using that would give them
more leverage. Could have been solved by now, likely.

 

[Warwick7]

Granted, LE could be keeping info close to the vest and being quiet/strategic (a la Bryan Kohberger’s delayed capture) — but I am not very impressed with the police work we’ve seen so far. Millions of security cameras in Midtown, witnesses, discarded evidence, and they’re just now finding the backpack? No name? Just mind blowing.

What? LE is moving with lightening speed. Every few hours I log in here to see a major update. LE had over 200 pi tures of this killer and are tracking each of his moves. And now they have "a name." (Per @MassGuy )

Also:

The NYPD has 200 images of the UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect, expert says

As police zero in on who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, investigators are combing through more than 200 surveillance images.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[clearskies1]

I didn't think this up myself but just think about it.

He bought a bottle of water at Starbucks before the shooting. But in the pictures of the shooting, there is no water bottle to be seen.

So where was the water bottle?

The obvious answer was zipped into the backpack, but then if so, how did it get out of the backpack and onto the ground where it was found?

If it was mostly empty when found, maybe the killer accidentally knocked it out of the backpack when he was putting the gun back in the backpack (assuming that's where the gun is).

But if was even 1/3 full when found, the above scenario would be very much less likely.

Sorry, I missed this -- where was the water bottle found in relation to the crime scene?

 

[Deleted member 110281]

Sounds like he's not heard of forensic genetic genealogy!

And this will get him for sure. Not quick, but soon.