NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #4

[getthefax]

They might now, although I think it will be entirely unnecessary.

In the beginning, they wanted real, actionable tips. People who saw something. People who interacted with this guy.

A huge reward could really only have hurt them, as that’s when you get the crazy tips from all over the country. That’s a nightmare for law enforcement, who wants high quality ones and does not want to waste time chasing down nonsense.

Now that it’s moved out of New York though, maybe that would be suggested.

I have no doubt that UHC would do that, as it could only help their image. Any reward would be a completely insignificant amount if money for them, so it’s not as if they’re being cheap.

I think they were initially told not to post a reward.

Tips seems like a perfect use case for AI in investigations. How many departments would love to have custom AI engines that help weed out the lulus and highlight the really useful ones (at least for a first pass)?
Pretty sure Delphi PD wish they'd have had some free, unbiased help there... MOO.

 

[airportwoman]

I was responding to a post in the previous thread, when it closed.
Regarding suicide.

I don't think he would commit suicide. He comes across too cocky to me. And if he is caught and goes to trial, I think this guy would bask in the spectacle of being some sort of hero in a lot of the public's eye.

I agree about this.

 

[whitelilac]

Had an amazing debate about this tonight on a trading floor not far away, a few blocks. Envision a group of incisive people all sitting together unafraid to posit complex theories. Paring them down by belief system:

There is what I call the JFK group. This is the major league conspiracy theorists (“the CIA did it!”) - the ones who think this is political machination. Not my tribe.

There is the Jason Bourne group. They think this is all conspiracy, shooter was swapping out the Starbucks-purchased water for an identical bottle in his backpack that had the DNA of a dying patient on the mouth. The ones who believe events to date reveal significant training in evasion. Again, not my tribe, but I get how they got there.

There is the impassioned free-radical group. They theorize this is the kid or boyfriend of someone who died of a terrible disease surrounded by coverage denials, and they are avenging the pain, Joan of Arc style. That’s actually the theory I go with.

There’s also the disillusioned fired employee theory. I think we’d know the name by now if it were that. Discounting it for now.

Very open to hearing and learning from other theories!

^ The idealogical hero, the ghost who illuminated the corporation's sins which will result in bringing them down by public outcry. Whether he remains a ghost or is outed and arrested doesn't matter to him. He is still the hero. He has a savior complex and is a bit of a megalomaniac. He will do it again, or he will relish in the attention in court and the press.
^ He has money related grievance against this $15 million/year salaried CEO he is familiar with, while he as a brilliant techie is POd that he can't make 1/20 of that per year.

It's late, I've been following too closely, and am starting to see the edge of the deep rabbit hole.

 

[Arkay]

His biggest mistake was committing this in New York City; that guaranteed his capture

I dearly hope this turns out to be the case, yet I have this gut feeling that NYC was meant to be a character in this thriller movie.

Somewhat like New York City was always said to be the fifth main character in Sex and the City. Midtown murder live! Trans-city escape! The drama wouldn’t measure up if done in Minnesota.

Just my queasy opinion and I’d be delighted to be wrong.

 

[darkstar105]

dbm

not sure if he is just preppie, or decided that wearing decent clothing would subject him to less scrutiny overall

You've seen some of Villainelle's get-ups?

 

[snarast]

Tips seems like a perfect use case for AI in investigations. How many departments would love to have custom AI engines that help weed out the lulus and highlight the really useful ones (at least for a first pass)?
Pretty sure Delphi PD wish they'd have had some free, unbiased help there... MOO.

Except there’s always bias and improperly trained models.

One hypothesis about the motive for this murder is related to that. IMHO

 

[MassGuy]

I dearly hope this turns out to be the case, yet I have this gut feeling that NYC was meant to be a character in this thriller movie.

Somewhat like New York City was always said to be the fifth main character in Sex and the City. Midtown murder live! Trans-city escape! The drama wouldn’t measure up if done in Minnesota.

Just my queasy opinion and I’d be delighted to be wrong.

Oh don’t worry, you will wind up being delighted when he’s captured. Hopefully it’s around the same time you learn that the Yankees have lost out on the Soto sweepstakes.

Take a bit of that sting off.

This guy is going down, and I think it’s going to be very soon.

 

[Vaderman]

It’s a massive park, with dense brush in spots. They expanded the search area today, as they were sure it had to be there somewhere.

I've only been to Central Park twice: once with someone who lived in NYC and frequented it often, the other time with friends who similarly had little knowledge of its layout. Both times, I found myself disoriented and lost due to its size.

Makes me agree with you that it's not a conspiracy it took this long to locate the backpack and that this guy was familiar enough with the park to get in and out.

Just my opinion from my experiences there.

*edited for grammar*

 

[darkstar105]

He may have called BT himself (I'm guessing he had that contact info), or even no one (feigning a call).

I like it, especially since I am wondering about an Andrew Cunanan-type scenario.

 

[MesquiteO21]

The suicide discussion helped me get to the root of why this case is so interesting to me.

If you murder someone, especially in encroaching daylight in one of the most populous cities in the world, by definition it seems you have little to lose. You have to accept (and honestly expect) that you will be caught. As a result, many shooters under these circumstances would take their own lives or surrender on the scene. You have to imagine that he's let go of many of the ties that bind him to his daily life in order to commit this murder.

Yet his actions suggest someone with much to lose. He carefully concealed his face. He arrived in the city via one of the lease traceable methods in modern society. He seemed to carefully plan the shooting. He had the burner phone, the fake ID, he paid in cash.

So which is it? Did he honestly expect to get away with this crime (impossible, IMO). That thought seems so irrational, yet the execution was so methodical and rational-as much as a murder can be.

I find myself invested in knowing not just the why, but also the end game. If he thought he'd get away, how? And if he didn't care whether he got away, why go to such trouble to do so?

Yes the contradictions seem so bizarre don’t they. I just can’t get over how much he hid his identity but then so quickly and willingly pulled his mask down when asked by the hostel receptionist. I mean if hostels need to see your full face to check you in, if I was him I think i’d be a bit more reluctant about it. Like pull it down just under my mouth but hold it at my chin or put my hand up near my face to obscure it more. He had his hands down calmly and comfortably and was smiling like he just won the lottery!

I don’t know if he honestly thought a hostel wouldn’t have cameras or if they would be taped over by the time LE got to them. Or if he isn’t terribly concerned about getting caught because he was planning to either commit suicide and/or leave the country…this is certainly a strange and fascinating case at this point.

 

[clearskies1]

I would not be surprised if his family worked in law enforcement. He knows what he’s doing.

 

[airportwoman]

Is anyone else thinking of Eric Rudolph, who was the Atlanta Olympic Park bomber, and also blew up an abortion clinic and then hid out in a forest for FIVE YEARS? However, authorities knew almost from the beginning that he was the culprit. This reminds me of that.

 

[darkstar105]

(DBM) or he hit some megabus and took Route 80 out to Pennsylvania. (DBM)

If he's on a Megabus that's punishment enough.

 

[airportwoman]

I would not be surprised if his family worked in law enforcement. He knows what he’s doing.

Or if he has himself.

 

[vls12345]

Had an amazing debate about this tonight on a trading floor not far away, a few blocks. Envision a group of incisive people all sitting together unafraid to posit complex theories. Paring them down by belief system:

There is what I call the JFK group. This is the major league conspiracy theorists (“the CIA did it!”) - the ones who think this is political machination. Not my tribe.

There is the Jason Bourne group. They think this is all conspiracy, shooter was swapping out the Starbucks-purchased water for an identical bottle in his backpack that had the DNA of a dying patient on the mouth. The ones who believe events to date reveal significant training in evasion. Again, not my tribe, but I get how they got there.

There is the impassioned free-radical group. They theorize this is the kid or boyfriend of someone who died of a terrible disease surrounded by coverage denials, and they are avenging the pain, Joan of Arc style. That’s actually the theory I go with.

There’s also the disillusioned fired employee theory. I think we’d know the name by now if it were that. Discounting it for now.

Very open to hearing and learning from other theories!

^ The idealogical hero, the ghost who illuminated the corporation's sins which will result in bringing them down by public outcry. Whether he remains a ghost or is outed and arrested doesn't matter to him. He is still the hero. He has a savior complex and is a bit of a megalomaniac. He will do it again, or he will relish in the attention in court and the press.
^ He has money related grievance against this $15 million/year salaried CEO he is familiar with, while he as a brilliant techie is POd that he can't make 1/20 of that per year.

It's late, I've been following too closely, and am starting to see the edge of the deep rabbit hole.

Other theories that have been put forward in the threads:

Something related to the DOJ investigations. (This is the one I lean toward.)

Something related to family.

Suicide by another.

 

[crhedBngr]

I'm thinking he recently lost someone close to him who was terminally ill. This person had UHC and struggled throughout his/her illness to get their medical bills paid by UHC.

He may have felt this person cared for him as no other person had. Possibly financially contributed to his well-being.

If he witnessed this type of suffering, I can see him holding a grudge and coming after the CEO (or some other top exec) of UHC.

Now that the killing has been done, he may not care if he's caught or not.

Just my musings.

 

[vls12345]

Except there’s always bias and improperly trained models.

One hypothesis about the motive for this murder is related to that. IMHO

I was thinking the same things.

 

[clearskies1]

Someone probably said this but the whole country has been looking for the style of that backpack, and the cops did a search and found nothing and they go back two days later and there it is? Hmm

From reading news stories about searches…I think the people on the ground sometimes don’t really do the greatest job. It’s not a great job assignment. JMO.

 

[darkstar105]

Might take genetic genealogy a few days to identify a sociopathic twentysomething from vanilla America who had a close family member die (DBM)

Now that you mention it, that's one of the theories behind the Tylenol poisonings. Although I'm not convinced James Lewis did the poisonings, he had a daughter who died and had a possible grudge against Johnson and Johnson. Complex portrait of Tylenol suspect emerges - UPI Archives

 

[Sleuth2010]

Had an amazing debate about this tonight on a trading floor not far away, a few blocks. Envision a group of incisive people all sitting together unafraid to posit complex theories. Paring them down by belief system:

There is what I call the JFK group. This is the major league conspiracy theorists (“the CIA did it!”) - the ones who think this is political machination. Not my tribe.

There is the Jason Bourne group. They think this is all conspiracy, shooter was swapping out the Starbucks-purchased water for an identical bottle in his backpack that had the DNA of a dying patient on the mouth. The ones who believe events to date reveal significant training in evasion. Again, not my tribe, but I get how they got there.

There is the impassioned free-radical group. They theorize this is the kid or boyfriend of someone who died of a terrible disease surrounded by coverage denials, and they are avenging the pain, Joan of Arc style. That’s actually the theory I go with.

There’s also the disillusioned fired employee theory. I think we’d know the name by now if it were that. Discounting it for now.

Very open to hearing and learning from other theories!

Maybe military trained, even if just ROTC. He has a fatal disease and knows his time on earth is limited. Possibly even his battalion / platoon is sickened. The blatant verbiage of attacking on the bullets. It wasn't personal, as much as disgust and universal hate, that was misplaced on a victim. Blaming another for his troubles, killers seem to do that, in a misdirected manner. Awful crime.