NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #9 *Arrest*

[AmandaSkis]

If he was let go from TrueCar in 2023, how was earning money to rent apartments and travel abroad during 2024? Some of us are guessing maybe a trust fund but we don’t know that. Somehow he was obtaining money.

And why are people reaching the conclusion that back pain might have spurred him to murder someone? Even his own manifesto that has been released does not indicate back pain as a motive.

 

[armchairagatha]

TrueCar where LM was working had a big layoff in June 2023. TrueCar lays off 102 employees, taps new CEO amid restructure | TechCrunch
Based on what the company said (that LM hasn’t worked there since 2023), it is reasonable to assume he was impacted in the layoff. Which means that when he had the accident in July 2023, he was probably not covered by employer health insurance. He probably had no health insurance unless he signed up in time for COBRA (which is expensive). In this case, I can see why UHC (if they were his insurance) would have turned him down. He also probably aged out of coverage through his parents though most likely he was only getting coverage through his employer and that ended once he lost his job. It was bad luck to lose his job and then have his major back injury the next month. He didn’t want to tell his parents he was laid off (his mom thought he was still working at TrueCar) since he felt like a failure. JMO.

 

[Zinn]

Yes. My wife was told the same thing. After his surgery LM was on Reddit advising others to not wait and get the surgery, ... (as posted here earlier). He may have gotten complacent and injured himself or damaged the repair.

He was sharing that opinion on reddit for at least 10 months following his surgery. He stopped posting about it at that point (May 2024).

 

[DizzyB]

If the injury occurred in Hawaii, and surgery was necessary, shouldn't he have had the surgery in Hawaii?

With elective surgery, is it more common to fly across the country for surgery to hand-picking doctors and treatment? If his surgery was elective, then does he really have a complaint?

Will he argue that the surgery should not have been elective? Was he seen by a back surgeon in Hawaii?

He may have gone to the mainland for a second opinion, or had seen doctors there that he had visited before and knew his circumstance. Plenty of young adults will still go “home” to have surgery and recuperate with parents providing a level of aftercare.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

You have a moral responsibility to do what's best for your policy holders. SMH.

And a fiduciary responsibility to do what's best for your shareholders.

These things can never be reconciled.

 

[Herat]

This is gold, you're going to want to watch this one.

Riker's isn't going to be like that.

 

[branmuffin]

I also saw T. Dickey claim they had "bonded" with one another and he was willing to continue representing him in New York. Not sure if he is licensed in New York but could represent him as pro hac vice.

His lawyer reminds me of Kevin Gough, the attorney who defended William 'Roddie' Bryan in the murder of Ahmaud Aubery - completely out of his depth.

 

[mrstfs]

TrueCar where LM was working had a big layoff in June 2023. TrueCar lays off 102 employees, taps new CEO amid restructure | TechCrunch
Based on what the company said (that LM hasn’t worked there since 2023), it is reasonable to assume he was impacted in the layoff. Which means that when he had the accident in July 2023, he was probably not covered by employer health insurance. He probably had no health insurance unless he signed up in time for COBRA (which is expensive). In this case, I can see why UHC (if they were his insurance) would have turned him down. He also probably aged out of coverage through his parents though most likely he was only getting coverage through his employer and that ended once he lost his job. It was bad luck to lose his job and then have his major back injury the next month. He didn’t want to tell his parents he was laid off (his mom thought he was still working at TrueCar) since he felt like a failure. JMO.

I thought his Reddit posts indicated that he did get the surgery? What did he get turned down for?

 

[MassGuy]

If he was let go from TrueCar in 2023, how was earning money to rent apartments and travel abroad during 2024? Some of us are guessing maybe a trust fund but we don’t know that. Somehow he was obtaining money.

And why are people reaching the conclusion that back pain might have spurred him to murder someone? Even his own manifesto that has been released does not indicate back pain as a motive.

There is the possibility of a rapid mental decline, specifically during that several month period where he dropped off the map. Friends were looking for him. Family was looking for him. He was a ghost.

The back pain offers a possibility of an explanation in that regard, which is why law enfacement sources have said they are looking at that as being somehow related.

Was he angry due to pain and/or the process (health insurance)?

Did the pain cause some sort of mental change?

Is there some other explanation for how a seemingly intelligent, well adjusted man with no criminal record, much less a history of violence, decided to blow away a father of two in broad daylight?

Fortunately, I think there are enough pieces there that law enforcement should be able to put together a picture. I'm very curious myself, as this is not a trajectory I've ever seen before in all the years I've followed murder cases.

 

[Sundog]

I think he was meeting up with someone there. I also wonder whether he had that cash while he was in NYC. I don't think he did. It would have been too risky to be carrying around all that cash. When LE said he had $10,000 in US dollars in actual fact he had 8K USD and 2K of another currency. EUR are the closest in parity to the US dollar.

I take it to mean that he had $8,000 USD and the equivalent of $2,000 USD in foreign currency.

When we travel internationally and go through security and customs, that's how we have to report the money (cash) we are carrying - both when we leave the U.S. (if asked) and when we return (usually asked).

 

[MassGuy]

Riker's isn't going to be like that.

Nope, they said as much in another segment I linked. Banfield was saying he'd be thrilled just to be in court in NY, because it would mean he was out of that hellhole for a while.

He's going to find out this wasn't worth it, if he doesn't know that already.

 

[mrstfs]

Nope, they said as much in another segment I linked. Banfield was saying he'd be thrilled just to be in court in NY, because it would mean he was out of that hellhole for a while.

He's going to find out this wasn't worth it, if he doesn't know that already.

Agreed. When I watched that segment you linked and had to Google what a “porcupine meatball” is I’m thinking “he’s going to miss cutting his steak with the wrong hand”. MOO

 

[Zinn]

TrueCar where LM was working had a big layoff in June 2023. TrueCar lays off 102 employees, taps new CEO amid restructure | TechCrunch
Based on what the company said (that LM hasn’t worked there since 2023), it is reasonable to assume he was impacted in the layoff. Which means that when he had the accident in July 2023, he was probably not covered by employer health insurance. He probably had no health insurance unless he signed up in time for COBRA (which is expensive). In this case, I can see why UHC (if they were his insurance) would have turned him down. He also probably aged out of coverage through his parents though most likely he was only getting coverage through his employer and that ended once he lost his job. It was bad luck to lose his job and then have his major back injury the next month. He didn’t want to tell his parents he was laid off (his mom thought he was still working at TrueCar) since he felt like a failure. JMO.

According to his reddit posts, the surfing injury that aggravated his spondylolisthesis and led to his back pain and sciatica occurred in Jan 2022. Other problematic nerve pain issues began in Mar 2022 and he experienced pain off and on until he underwent surgery in Jul 2023. It was the nerve pain that motivated him to have surgery, though he was hesitant and anxious about it. He described the surgery outcome in successful terms until he stopped posting about it in May 2024.

I agree that he was likely laid off in June, 2023. If so, he might have been on COBRA (extended coverage) or on one of his parents’ plans when he had surgery, though his parents are seniors so might be retired, I don’t know.

Perhaps he chose to have surgery in July because he was recently unemployed and could recover without dealing with working.

 

[fcavanaugh]

Well personally I don’t care what a person’s/victim’s socioeconomic status is, be they a top executive at a company, or a drug addicted homeless person or prostitute living on the fringes of society, no one has the right to assassinate/execute any person in cold blood, for any reason. Period.

I agree with some other members’ thoughts that LM’s back issues may have played a role early on but imo, once he started isolating himself he became radicalized and it became more about the big corporation, greed and I’m gonna start a revolution by taking things into my own hands and (paraphrased) wack those parasites because they deserve it/have it coming to them, all for my cause and for the American people. (I reiterate that LM does not speak or act on behalf of ALL of the American people).

IMO issues with healthcare and some health insurance companies has been going on for a very long time and some great, dedicated people have been and are advocating for changes by doing it the right way- civilized, going through the proper channels etc. to try and effect change. Yes it is frustrating that change hasn’t happened as fast as we may think it should (and maybe it never will change), but regardless, the point is that this is the way to go about making changes in a civilized society.
LM (nor anyone, mentally ill or not) has the right to be Judge, Jury, Executioner assassinating people in the streets or wherever, that they don’t like or agree with for whatever reason, whether it be because they don’t like the person, a company’s policies, their profits, their top executives salaries etc, etc.

It is against the law to take the law into one’s own hands and execute someone in cold blood. It is uncivilized, vigilantism and should neither be applauded nor accepted.
Ever.

IMHOO

ETA- clarity
ETA 2- I was quoting a post from the previous thread which I noticed didn’t pull over cuz issues posting from my mobile device ugh, apologies.

 

[armchairagatha]

I thought his Reddit posts indicated that he did get the surgery? What did he get turned down for?

He got the surgery almost a year after the surfing accident. Maybe he had to get private insurance for that. And then it came out when he filed the claim that the actual injury was pre-existing or happened when he was uncovered. Insurance companies do their due diligence for big surgeries. Maybe they turned him down (rightfully so) and he ended up paying for it out of pocket. Just a guess.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

As I've mentioned before, I had godawful back pain due to a spinal issue for 2 or 3 months before I received successful treatment. And due to the opioid crisis, no one would prescribe me any effective painkillers during that period.

Even in that relatively short time, reality started to bend.

Chronic pain really does mess up your mind.

I am not condoning LM murdering BT at all. I'm simply saying that chronic pain can screw you up mentally in ways that you can't imagine until you've experienced it.

JMO

 

[Sundog]

I think something like this also happened after the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting. Or maybe I’m thinking of how Ricky Schroder and the the My Pillow guy help pay his bond.

In the Daniel Penny case in New York City, approximately $3 million was raised for his legal expenses through donations over a year-long period. So it's not uncommon in high profile cases to have people step up and support defendants they want to help. Who knows what we will see in the LM case, doesn't sound like they are raising much but I suppose that could change over time.

 

[airportwoman]

I do wonder whether his decision to kill BT was at least partly over envy/bitterness

Both BT and LM had similar high achievements in elite schools and universities yet here was BT running a massive global enterprise and here was LM who’s last job was a relatively low level IT job in the car industry, he may have read an article on BT’s education and this made him even more angry/bitter out of how his life turned out compared with BT

There are dozens of healthcare CEO’s, he could have killed Andrew Witty who is even more senior than BT so sounds like a personal thing

I don't agree with that theory. You can accomplish a lot in 25 years.

 

[MassGuy]

In the Daniel Penny case in New York City, approximately $3 million was raised for his legal expenses through donations over a year-long period. So it's not uncommon in high profile cases to have people step up and support defendants they want to help. Who knows what we will see in the LM case, doesn't sound like they are raising much but I suppose that could change over time.

I think we’ll see an obscene amount of money raised, but fortunately, it won’t make the slightest bit of difference.

Cameras caught him. Fingerprints. DNA (eventually). That cell phone probably will. His own writings. Ballistics. The fact that he still had the gun and silencer on him. And of course, that infamous fake ID.

This is the very definition of a slam dunk cause, even if a disturbed bunch of creeps are cheering on the vigilante killer of a father of two.

 

[Kapua]

This is gold, you're going to want to watch this one.

That was entertaining, in a twisted kind of way.
I predict LM will not do well in prison, unless he's able to get into a federal prison. Can you imagine going from living in Hawaii to a cold, nasty, concrete jail cell in PA or NY in the dead of winter? He will need to be on suicide watch, IMHO.