NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #6

[KaylynnCouture]

Moo...shooter can say got an out of town work, I'm going on vacation, I'm visiting friends, etc. I am single I don't tell anyone what I'm doing or where I'm going...I am just not a sharing person...moo

Especially because of how preplanned we know this was. For all we know, he notified his school/work/family months ago that he was going to be away around that time. So no one thinks anything of it, because it was well planned that he would be out during those times.

 

[MesquiteO21]

I think it's a good sign they don't feel a need to BS.

I know they’re thinking Mayor Adams already said enough lol
Jmo

 

[Kori17]

That's a pretty standard play in investigations like this. They spoke initially, and they did a sit down with CNN a couple days ago, but they've been mostly quiet outside of that. All our information is coming from police sources, and not them directly.

I actually hope we don't see any more releases or press conferences; that would mean they don't need help.

I pray that you’re correct. I would be so hurt if this was my husband and his murder was turned into a game of whodunnit. Believe me, Brian Thompson didn’t act alone. I would be looking at his successor with a keen eye.

 

[KaylynnCouture]

At the risk of sounding stupid...Can someone explain what a HOSTEL is? I can't seem to wrap my brain around rooming with other people I don't know. But it sounds like something that is common.

Imagine a dorm room. It's like that. Here's a picture from the HI Hostel where he stayed, so you get the idea..

 

[Knox]

I watched a few interviews today, one with a professional security expert. He seemed incredulous that Brian simply walked across the street alone. Do we know if Brian ever had a security detail through UH? Is that even offered?

IMO, he seemed (from appearances anyway) to be a midwestern guy without a lot of frills. I'm in California, so I'm basing that thought on what I see here in upper-level business execs.

 

[MrsWatson]

Do we think it's a good or bad sign that the NYPD declined to comment today?

Good sign. The Mayor already made comments that were not correct, or should not have been released. I think LE is holding back a huge amount, only releasing the minimum. Social media has been ablaze since the news of the murder came out, and no way LE is going to address every single rumor out there nor release anything other than bare details strictly on a public-needs-to-know basis. Every single thing LE says is going to be picked apart in microscopic detail, so why give away anything that won't advance the case and will only further muddy the waters?

Somewhere in those tips, I am convinced, there will be people who know or at least have ideas about who the killer is. It just may take a while to get there. There also may be some serious denial involved. Someone who's family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, whatever, never would have guessed the guy was capable of this.

The vet gun, I think, is not coincidental and also symbolic. I'm leaning much more toward veterinary use vs WWII spy gun for what it represents to the killer.

I'm not at all convinced this is some Mysterious Foreigner. This is very much an All-American Crime.

John Grisham novel, some action movie, Jack Reacher, writ large, all over the 24/7 news cycle.

He's really making a splash. It's all a game to him. Why I'm convinced there is a manifesto somewhere. Like another poster said, this is the Unibomber in the days of TikTok.



All MOO and speculation

 

[Inthedetails]

It hasn't even been a week since the assassination and we're on thread #6!

 

[airportwoman]

At the risk of sounding stupid...Can someone explain what a HOSTEL is? I can't seem to wrap my brain around rooming with other people I don't know. But it sounds like something that is common.

They're fairly common in big cities, tourist areas, and I know there are lots of them in Europe. They are popular with young adults.

Even when I was That Age, I wouldn't have even wanted to stay in an all-female facility, but that's just me.

 

[Kissee13]

Got a question , isn’t it weird he got a water from the Starbucks , put it in the trash in an alleyway neatly ( on camera ) they said such trash was picked up 20 min later , then after shooting he is shown on bike with trash truck in behind him? Maybe he deposited $$ in the water bottle , they had bike inside garbage truck ? Just a thought

 

[UltraViolet4545]

MOO— they know who this guy is, just have to physically locate him now. There was a LOT of info being released, seriously a lot. Way more than usual. I think the NYPD was strategically doing that to spook him and whoever he worked with. Trying to get them to slip up and communicate.

They say he hopped a bus out of the city and again MOO, they know exactly where he went. They don’t want him to know though because they need to track him down now.

 

[Imvp2]

his DNA might be in that room but it's mixed in with God knows how much other DNA... it'll take a long time to disentangle that ball of wax.

I'm thinking the DNA they have, is a purposeful mixture and may not be the killer's at all, same with the burner phone. It was left there to throw the investigation off. Maybe I watch too many true crime shows, I don't know. MOO

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

My opinion is that he probably doesn’t fully understand how DNA works.

It is interesting how people given the same set of information come to an entirely different conclusion. My opinion is that he did not do anything accidentally or unintentionally, and that he has a sophisticated understanding of how to kill someone and get away.

I suspect that in the 10 days prior to the murder, he refined his plan by doing multiple dry runs and then made adjustments and improvements to the plan.

 

[99cats]

Agree.

Also, if he’s not American, then Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday.

If he’s an American but from an immigrant family, he may or may not celebrate Thanksgiving.

Of my neighbors and friends who immigrated here, it’s about 50/50. Some consider it irrelevant to them, and some are very eager to enjoy an American tradition.

JMO and experience.

Also, some American families stopped celebrating Thanksgiving for ideological reasons (due to the history of the Native American-European relations, primarily).

 

[Fromeaster]

Moo...shooter can say got an out of town work, I'm going on vacation, I'm visiting friends, etc. I am single I don't tell anyone what I'm doing or where I'm going...I am just not a sharing person...moo

There are people who don't have a family and don't communicate with anyone. For example, me

 

[Imvp2]

It is interesting how people given the same set of information come to an entirely different conclusion. My opinion is that he did not do anything accidentally or unintentionally, and that he has a sophisticated understanding of how to kill someone and get away.

I suspect that in the 10 days prior to the murder, he refined his plan by doing multiple dry runs and then made adjustments and improvements to the plan.

I don't even think it's his (the killer's) DNA they are finding all over or that the burner phone was his. MOO

 

[eddie_van]

I'm thinking the DNA they have, is a purposeful mixture and may not be the killer's at all, same with the burner phone. It was left there to throw the investigation off. Maybe I watch too many true crime shows, I don't know. MOO

given what we know so far, i wouldn't count this out

 

[Columbo Was The Best]

At the risk of sounding stupid...Can someone explain what a HOSTEL is? I can't seem to wrap my brain around rooming with other people I don't know. But it sounds like something that is common.

It is like an open plan room, often with bunk beds, all sleeping together in the same room. You have shower rooms that you share with other people in your room, there is a kitchen where you can prepare breakfast (or it is sometimes provided by the hostel) and fancy hostels these days have TV rooms, gym, and other facilities. Rooms can be single sex or mixed. I stayed once in a hostel in the Isle of Skye, back in Scotland with 14 people (from the USA, Russia, Japan, Spain, Germany, etc) and it was a fabulous experience. The first day is always awkward if you are travelling on your own; by the second, you have made friends to go on trips/sightseeing with, and you often stay up late in the room chatting with others, laughing, and sharing life/travel stories. The ''scary'' bit? if someone next to your bunk bed is a snorer lol, but other than that, it is safe; hostels these days are squeaky clean, and you save a lot of money. In the late 90s and 2000s these were mostly used by teens and twenty-somethings. Nowadays, most hotels do not have a maximum age. One of my fellow teachers in the school where I teach here in Wales is 62 years old and she has used hostels in about 20 countries.

 

[MassGuy]

MOO— they know who this guy is, just have to physically locate him now. There was a LOT of info being released, seriously a lot. Way more than usual. I think the NYPD was strategically doing that to spook him and whoever he worked with. Trying to get them to slip up and communicate.

They say he hopped a bus out of the city and again MOO, they know exactly where he went. They don’t want him to know though because they need to track him down now.

I could see that. It's entirely possible they have someone under surveillance, and are attempting to surreptitiously obtain DNA. Kohberger was staked out for days before law enforcement moved.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

The bus he took AFTER the shooting went to Atlanta? I only heard he went to the bus terminal and didn't come out.

this is true. we have no verification whatsoever that he boarded a bus.

 

[eddie_van]

MOO— they know who this guy is, just have to physically locate him now. There was a LOT of info being released, seriously a lot. Way more than usual. I think the NYPD was strategically doing that to spook him and whoever he worked with. Trying to get them to slip up and communicate.

They say he hopped a bus out of the city and again MOO, they know exactly where he went. They don’t want him to know though because they need to track him down now.

maybe, but I think people here underestimate just how hard it is to identify someone who isn't in a criminal database.