NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #5

[SleuthJan]

The hostel clerk asked him to remove the mask to check in. Some reports mention flirting, others don’t. She needed to match the face to the ID. Perhaps I’m overestimating him but I think he expected that check and also expected the other surveillance footage to emerge. He expected the other items to be found.

He knew none of these things would be linked to him before he escaped. He was right – it took days.

So why did he only care about making a safe escape from New York? Why didn’t he care about later evidence emerging? I think that’s the key question. Because he certainly cared about not being caught while he was in New York. And he didn’t think twice about leaving items to be found later.

Cos he knew he would be out of the country - evidence after the crime being found did not matter to him cos he is not from the USA.

 

[Elley Mae]

I think the perp is male and I don't think he is wearing makeup though I can see why people think so. I think the photos show him as he is.

But, I do sense a well-planned script designed not only to commit the crime and escape, but to capture everyone's attention and to convince people the killer is the good guy.

To me, that manipulation of people's emotions is the primary motive, and the public is cooperating and cheering for a murderer.

It takes brains, a sense of purpose, and TIME to do that. The planning took longer than the 10 days he was in NYC, imo.

This is not a sloppy criminal.

jmo

I don’t think so either.

 

[gemini614]

View attachment 550062
photoshop take 2: not sure it will get much better than this, since the two camera angles are different but it's much less uncanny valley.

My immediate thoughts- she's a beautiful woman!
Is this a man, trying to disguise as a woman, a woman going great lengths to pass as a man?

JMO

JMO

 

[DizzyB]

How important is DNA in finding him? unless he has any prior criminal convictions/arrests no match will show up on the DNA database. The fact he was so casual with regards to DNA means he knows he can’t be traced by DNA as no past arrests

I don’t know how far of a net the opt-ins go, or how long that will take. I’m assuming his own DNA and fingerprint are not in a database.

CBS NY reported this morning that there is no known connection between the suspect and the victim. They also said they have a name that they are not releasing. I believe this is poor reporting. Their fact checkers have to know the Adams identity statement has been walked back, but they don’t care.

 

[99cats]

If you look closely at the middle photo it looks to me like those are fake eyebrows. And also the skin under those eyebrows seems to be rather pale. I am guessing he is wearing a darker down face makeup as well.

I'm leaning away from fake eyebrows - eyebrow wigs are very obvious, and generally very arched/defined because the market is aimed at women. It *could* be that he filled in his brows with a pencil or powder to make them appear fuller. The skin tone difference could be a trick of the lighting.

 

[Tortoise]

How did he get information about where BT was staying? Did he arrange to meet him for breakfast? Did he have his personal phone number?

 

[Elley Mae]

The inbound bus originated in Atlanta but it was not immediately clear where the suspected boarded. However, sources said he was spotted on board in Washington D.C., so he boarded there or somewhere between D.C. and Atlanta.

Jacket, Monopoly money found in backpack believed to belong to suspect in murder of CEO

A jacket and Monopoly money found in a backpack believed to belong to the suspect in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson is now being analyzed at a lab in Queens.

abc7ny.com

Police are working to determine if the suspect prepositioned the bike and took the subway to the shooting scene.

 

[Inthedetails]

dbm. nevermind

 

[Hiller]

So I think he's mid 20's, Middle eastern or Mediterranean heritage, lives somewhere on the east coast (Atlanta or points north).

Grudge with this specific company. Imagines himself as some sort of movie antihero assassin (silenced weapon, Monopoly money, rounds with words written on them). Into fashion. Meticulous with his appearance. Disciplined. Intelligent.

I don't think his beef was with this particular victim, rather, I think it's with what he symbolized. I say that because if he did have it out for this guy, he'd just hit him in his home state. It would be much easier, and much less risky.

This is an ego thing for him, which is why he chose committing this crime in that place, and in that way. He wanted it to be caught on camera. It's practical as well, as what better way to get his message across?

I think he's graduated college, perhaps currently in some postgrad program. He has access to money, as his clothing, backpack, and the trip itself were quite expensive.

None of this really gets us anywhere, but I just wanted to put this in writing for when these questions are answered.

I like MassGuy’s take on the shooter, other than that I do think he was after this particular victim. Also, doing this in Minnesota would have made escape, or at least a week-long hunt, much more difficult.

On the weapon, as far as I can tell based on the internet, not my personal firearms expertise, this is a modern version of a WW2-era assassination weapon designed for up-close use on the victim, where sound suppression was far more important than the ability to fire an additional round or two quickly. The first bullet in the hands of a professional was assumed to be able to do the job most of the time. This modern weapon has no current bona fide civilian use case, but may be interesting to some pistol enthusiasts because of its history. It’s an interesting, not- inexpensive firearm. In other words, no one today would buy a pistol that requires the shooter manually to twist and pull and shake and push before being ready to fire again. The purported veterinary use is ridiculous, as both the US and European Vet Societies strongly recommend drugs in the case of equine euthanasia. A quality, modern semi-automatic pistol with a suppressor is the logical weapon for this guy to have used.

Per MassGuy, this guy is far from an idiot. So in order to have some degree of confidence that he could fire, eject, reload and fire again under stress, he would have to have practiced with this pistol. If he practiced at a range, this is the kind of weapon that would have attracted attention from other shooters and range officers because it is so unusual. They would remember the guy who was shooting an “assassin’s” gun. Similarly, if this was purchased at a dealer, the salesperson might remember the guy who bought it and also have the usual pistol purchase paperwork. So why did he use this pistol and how long will it take for investigators to find and interview the people I just described? Per MassGuy, this guy's highest priority was not getting away with this crime permanently.

 

[Warwick7]

So I think he's mid 20's, Middle eastern or Mediterranean heritage, lives somewhere on the east coast (Atlanta or points north).

Grudge with this specific company. Imagines himself as some sort of movie antihero assassin (silenced weapon, Monopoly money, rounds with words written on them). Into fashion. Meticulous with his appearance. Disciplined. Intelligent.

I don't think his beef was with this particular victim, rather, I think it's with what he symbolized. I say that because if he did have it out for this guy, he'd just hit him in his home state. It would be much easier, and much less risky.

This is an ego thing for him, which is why he chose committing this crime in that place, and in that way. He wanted it to be caught on camera. It's practical as well, as what better way to get his message across?

I think he's graduated college, perhaps currently in some postgrad program. He has access to money, as his clothing, backpack, and the trip itself were quite expensive.

None of this really gets us anywhere, but I just wanted to put this in writing for when these questions are answered.

As I said earlier he has expensive taste.
And....a strange fearlessness about him.

 

[NuttMegg]

Cos he knew he would be out of the country - evidence after the crime being found did not matter to him cos he is not from the USA.

I think he has lived in a large USA city for a long time. I can't imagine someone hesitantly on a bike in that traffic. Has the confidence of living here. I've kind of changed my opinion. Everything he did, so far, was so successful and confidently pulled off, he probably left the country, imo, had everything waiting for exit. Otherwise his choice was suicide by cop, because why would he go to prison for life.

 

[Puzzles8]

Good Summary of what is known right now. Article dateline 7:39am Sunday 12/8
"
Here’s what authorities are still trying to find:

• The confirmed identity of the suspect
• The weapon used in the shooting
• The bicycle the suspect used to get away

And here are some of the key pieces of evidence they’ve gathered:

• Images of the suspect’s unmasked face
• Video evidence of the path he took to escape
• The backpack possibly worn by the suspect, with a jacket inside
• DNA from a discarded Starbucks water bottle
• A partial fingerprint from the water bottle
• A discarded “burner” cell phone
• 9 mm shell casings with the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them

But crucially, there was no gun in the backpack."

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/08/us/brian-thompson-unitedhealthcare-gunman-search-sunday/index.html

JMO

 

[Stargazer90]

dbm. nevermind

100%

 

[wibbleflea]

He is probably an American. UHC is an American company which operates only in the US, and has no impact outside the US. It is of little interest to people outside the US.

He may have ancestors from the Middle East, but right now nothing points to him coming from anywhere else.

Except that an American would be much more likely to have been identified by the public by now. I know it’s not a given. There will be lots of leads coming in. But perhaps.

This whole time, I’ve been wondering why he hasn’t been named clearly by the public. My assumptions were that he planned to end his own life after escaping or that he’s an another country. Part of an organisation that would protect him.

But there’s another possibility: he’s someone you would never suspect. You would never suspect a doctor.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

The NYC shooter strikes me as someone who is meticulous, methodical, patient, intelligent with a sense of humour, and whose life may have been ruined, or significantly changed, by something with insurance. I wonder whether it’s something like the family lost their farm because of insurance delay, deny and defend. The animal euthanizer gun makes me think farm.

Hes making a statement, but it seems more personal than stridently making a general statement.

And I find him totally detached from the actions he took. I find he is a master at his craft.... and his methodical patience is what drives him, not an emotional attachment to the insurance industry.

We shall see. We ARE all waiting!

 

[fashionella]

What I find very interesting is per CNN timeline, he arrives at PA in NY at 10Pm on a Sunday night. He must have been tired. Instead of going straight to the Hostel, he takes a cab to the crime scene, which is at most a 10 minute cab ride from PA, (it's actually easily walkable, also about 10-12 minute walk) and stays in the vicinity of the crime scene for a half hour. When he then hails another cab, and goes to the Hostel. Sunday nights are VERY quiet in that area of midtown. Was he meeting an accomplice? Collection his down payment? Scoping the crime scene in the dark to avoid cameras? Is he working with an accomplice that works in the Hilton? Did he have luggage or a backpack? That stop was for a reason. What was it?

 

[Warwick7]

Good Summary of what is known right now. Article dateline 7:39am Sunday 12/8
"
Here’s what authorities are still trying to find:

• The confirmed identity of the suspect
• The weapon used in the shooting
• The bicycle the suspect used to get away

And here are some of the key pieces of evidence they’ve gathered:

• Images of the suspect’s unmasked face
• Video evidence of the path he took to escape
• The backpack possibly worn by the suspect, with a jacket inside
• DNA from a discarded Starbucks water bottle
• A partial fingerprint from the water bottle
• A discarded “burner” cell phone
• 9 mm shell casings with the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them

But crucially, there was no gun in the backpack."

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/08/us/brian-thompson-unitedhealthcare-gunman-search-sunday/index.html

JMO

I think it's interesting that in every article in msm they discuss the water bottle and the smudged print. When in fact there are power bar wrappers, cell phone, backpack, mono money, a jacket....etc... all of which they can retrieve fingerprints off of. LE is holding alot close to the vest.

Telling the killer through the media the print is smudged relaxes him. M00

 

[helix527]

I can definitely see a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern look to his face.

My friend says his face profile looks similar to comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Ali G) who is Jewish Ashkenazi.

 

[wibbleflea]

American symbolism. If you order a nameless bag from Amazon, you’d get one made by a company based in China. He used a Peak Design backpack, designed and sold by a company based in San Francisco, though not made there. He wore a jacket from Tommy Hillfiger USA. He visited Starbucks and (I’ve read here) McDonalds. New York has plenty of alternatives. He stayed at a HI USA. He left Monopoly money.

It all seems determinedly American. The exception is the gun, if it really was a B&T. That would make it Swiss. But B&T => BT, as someone suggested upthread.

 

[Torbs]

How did he get information about where BT was staying? Did he arrange to meet him for breakfast? Did he have his personal phone number?

Hackers would have both the info about where he was staying and his schedule as well as his personal phone number. All it would take is access to company email. I’ve said it three times already, UHC still has not acknowledged that the cyber incident that began almost a year ago is over. It is reasonable to speculate they are still inside their systems regardless of any previous extortion payments.

Tinfoil hat time - maybe they lured him onto the street with a deepfake. These are all tools these sophisticated hactivist collectives have at their disposal.