NYC assassination news thread - Please no politics (1 Viewer)

[El Floppo]

I'm hoping this can be just about the actual active murder mystery and pursuit of the bad guy.

Joe and mods, please feel free to clip any funny business.


Latest news is they found a fake NJ ID they think the suspect used to check into the hostel.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Yea this is a wild story. Something kinda like out of Fargo.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

 

[El Floppo]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

I was thinking of how Law & Order would play it for TV and immediately thought of murder for hire by the widow, framing it to look like healthcare related.

I mean, at this point anything is possible.

 

[El Floppo]

Please, please stop.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

This one is off to a great start.

 

[El Floppo]

NYpost showed a book titled with the 3 words scratched into the casings... Anybody know more?

 

[Joe Schmo]

NYpost showed a book titled with the 3 words scratched into the casings... Anybody know more?

Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend - WTOP News

A message left at the scene of a health insurance executive’s fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose” — echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

wtop.com

Basically this is what was talked about in the previous thread regarding profit motives intruding on healthcare decisions made by insurance providers such as UnitedHealth.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

She's a facebook/twitter/reddit person and is typically way off the deep end. She says the widow's press conference was dispassionate, seemed staged and didn't seem like a real grieving spouse. Also, they were in a separation or divorce situation. Also, this was clearly a hired professional in her view, not a normal civilian, disgruntled customer person. The words on the casings are a false evidence trail meant to throw everyone off. I think there was more but I couldn't stick around to take it all in.

 

[BassNBrew]

Usually these never turn out as interesting as TV. Law and Order had some good writers.

 

[Osaurus]

 

[SteelCurtain]

NYPD said they are getting a lot of leads and investigating every single one. I'm guessing one of those leads will lead to the assailant. Evidently, they stopped a LIRR train earlier today (it didn't lead to a resolution, but it shows they are very actively pursuing these tips.)

In addition, NY mayor said investigation is proceeding at a steady pace -- which makes me confident in a final result of this investigation.

 

[El Floppo]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

 

[El Floppo]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

 

[Harry Manback]

Hoping for a positive outcome

 

[Sammy3469]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

 

[Sammy3469]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

She's a facebook/twitter/reddit person and is typically way off the deep end. She says the widow's press conference was dispassionate, seemed staged and didn't seem like a real grieving spouse. Also, they were in a separation or divorce situation. Also, this was clearly a hired professional in her view, not a normal civilian, disgruntled customer person. The words on the casings are a false evidence trail meant to throw everyone off. I think there was more but I couldn't stick around to take it all in.

ABC says they've been living in separate homes for years.

 

[mr. furley]

Usually these never turn out as interesting as TV. Law and Order had some good writers.

those are generally just copy/pastes of actual crimes with some embellishment

 

[Buckna]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

She's a facebook/twitter/reddit person and is typically way off the deep end. She says the widow's press conference was dispassionate, seemed staged and didn't seem like a real grieving spouse. Also, they were in a separation or divorce situation. Also, this was clearly a hired professional in her view, not a normal civilian, disgruntled customer person. The words on the casings are a false evidence trail meant to throw everyone off. I think there was more but I couldn't stick around to take it all in.

ABC says they've been living in separate homes for years.

Honest question but that doesn't seem too far-fetched or that uncommon among the super-rich I would think?

 

[El Floppo]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

It's an entrance/exit. I agree that 79th makes more sense, but you think he's going to care too much about riding the "right" direction, if at least for a little (assuming he entered on 6th and rise up the east side to the 79th St transverse)?

 

[El Floppo]

Usually these never turn out as interesting as TV. Law and Order had some good writers.

those are generally just copy/pastes of actual crimes with some embellishment

Exactly... Pretty sure they're ALL pulled from the headlines, so they pretty much write themselves.

 

[El Floppo]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

She's a facebook/twitter/reddit person and is typically way off the deep end. She says the widow's press conference was dispassionate, seemed staged and didn't seem like a real grieving spouse. Also, they were in a separation or divorce situation. Also, this was clearly a hired professional in her view, not a normal civilian, disgruntled customer person. The words on the casings are a false evidence trail meant to throw everyone off. I think there was more but I couldn't stick around to take it all in.

ABC says they've been living in separate homes for years.

Honest question but that doesn't seem too far-fetched or that uncommon among the super-rich I would think?

I design homes for people like them. While I've done all manner of 2nd through 12th homes, I don't recall ever doing a his and hers for people in their home town. Im currently working on a "hers" pied a terre here in NYC, but they live outside the city and under the same roof.

 

[El Floppo]

My co-worker - who is *way online* - now thinks the widow may be implicated.

how so?

United Healthcare was under DOJ investigation so maybe it was a hit to cover up his crimes?

She's a facebook/twitter/reddit person and is typically way off the deep end. She says the widow's press conference was dispassionate, seemed staged and didn't seem like a real grieving spouse. Also, they were in a separation or divorce situation. Also, this was clearly a hired professional in her view, not a normal civilian, disgruntled customer person. The words on the casings are a false evidence trail meant to throw everyone off. I think there was more but I couldn't stick around to take it all in.

ABC says they've been living in separate homes for years.

Any mention of a divorce or separation, or just the separate homes.

Man.. my wife would kill to have her own home.
Maybe the wrong choice of words.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Just wanted to say this went down around the corner from my lunch bar and I stay in that Hilton when I have late work events. Do not recommend.

From what I’ve read, I’d be shocked if they find him in the city.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Just wanted to say this went down around the corner from my lunch bar and I stay in that Hilton when I have late work events. Do not recommend.

From what I’ve read, I’d be shocked if they find him in the city.

And also planning a crime around Citibike access in that area is a recipe for failure.

 

[El Floppo]

Just wanted to say this went down around the corner from my lunch bar and I stay in that Hilton when I have late work events. Do not recommend.

From what I’ve read, I’d be shocked if they find him in the city.

And also planning a crime around Citibike access in that area is a recipe for failure.

Latest I've read is that it doesn't appear to be a citibike

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

It's an entrance/exit. I agree that 79th makes more sense, but you think he's going to care too much about riding the "right" direction, if at least for a little (assuming he entered on 6th and rise up the east side to the 79th St transverse)?

Did he have the bike with him when he exited or did he dump it in the park?

 

[El Floppo]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

It's an entrance/exit. I agree that 79th makes more sense, but you think he's going to care too much about riding the "right" direction, if at least for a little (assuming he entered on 6th and rise up the east side to the 79th St transverse)?

Did he have the bike with him when he exited or did he dump it in the park?

Article said there's cc footage of him exiting the park on the bike around 7am

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

It's an entrance/exit. I agree that 79th makes more sense, but you think he's going to care too much about riding the "right" direction, if at least for a little (assuming he entered on 6th and rise up the east side to the 79th St transverse)?

This seems like the main benefit of using a bike as your getaway vehicle - flee down a foot path, go the wrong way down a street, into a park, etc., so someone potentially trailing by car couldn't follow.

 

[nirad3]

Just wanted to say this went down around the corner from my lunch bar and I stay in that Hilton when I have late work events. Do not recommend.

One of my best friends is visiting his NYC office, which happens to be in the same building. Shooting apparently happened about an hour before he got to the office there.

 

[Sammy3469]

Just occurred to me, re the e-bike... If it was actually a Citibike (shared) then it would have needed to have been docked to charge before he took it... So stealing those is unlikely and goes back to someone needing to rent it with a credit card.

Article on ABC News site saying there's footage of him carrying an e bike battery near the hostel before the shooting, which implies it's not a Citibike. Fwiw. Also says footage of him exiting the park on the upper west side after the shooting.

85th Street which seems like a little bit of a weird place to come out given where he came in. You'd basically have to ride foot paths or the drive the wrong way on one of the roads. 72nd and 79th are much more natural places using Terrace to get west.

It's an entrance/exit. I agree that 79th makes more sense, but you think he's going to care too much about riding the "right" direction, if at least for a little (assuming he entered on 6th and rise up the east side to the 79th St transverse)?

The best is Center to East to Terrace to 72nd (the Lower Loop). Cutting across above Terrace is usually drawing some type of attention with the next decent real cut across on the 102 crossing (you generally can't get to the Traverses on a bike). It's also not that great of spot to dump out if you are trying to get to the Hudson River Greenway, but I guess he could be taking Broadway more likely Riverside.

It just sort of reinforces in my mind that the guy mostly knew what he was doing, but maybe isn't from NYC. In any case, I hope the pulling the GW pedestrian bridge video as that's the most likely path off the island if you are solely using an ebike. However, once your across, it becomes a big needle in the haystack.

 

[El Floppo]

New footage shows he took the subway downtown, so must've stashed the bike before hand.

 

[The General]

NYpost showed a book titled with the 3 words scratched into the casings... Anybody know more?

Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend - WTOP News

A message left at the scene of a health insurance executive’s fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose” — echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

wtop.com

Basically this is what was talked about in the previous thread regarding profit motives intruding on healthcare decisions made by insurance providers such as UnitedHealth.

Title of a book as well discussing insurance companies perceived tactics.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

This would be a great situation to use Ross McNutt's Eye in the Sky Surveillance system if not for that pesky 4th amendment.

Eye in the Sky

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter flash. But should he?

radiolab.org

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter flash. But should he?

In 2004, when casualties in Iraq were rising due to roadside bombs, Ross McNutt and his team came up with an idea. With a small plane and a 44 mega-pixel camera, they figured out how to watch an entire city all at once, all day long. Whenever a bomb detonated, they could zoom onto that spot and then, because this eye in the sky had been there all along, they could scroll back in time and see - literally see - who planted it. After the war, Ross McNutt retired from the Air Force and brought this technology back home with him.

 

[The General]

Yea this is a wild story. Something kinda like out of Fargo.

It really is. Killer was casually buying Starbucks and an energy bar just before gunning this dude down.

 

[the moops]

Seems like it is only time before they start working backwards on the timeline. His face has gotta be on a thousand cameras in the hours leading up to this

 

[El Floppo]

Link to current timeline with images...

UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect's movements: A timeline of before, during, after the shooting

The man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson remains at large one day after the shooting outside a Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

abcnews.go.com

 

[the moops]

Seems like it is only matter of time before they start working even further backwards on the timeline. His face has gotta be on a thousand cameras in the hours leading up to this

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

New footage shows he took the subway downtown

If they have footage of him coming up the steps (that's the footage I have seen) then they must have him on the platform and inside the train.

 

[El Floppo]

New footage shows he took the subway downtown

If they have footage of him coming up the steps (that's the footage I have seen) then they must have him on the platform and inside the train.

I don't doubt it, but I'm not sure how pervasive the cameras are, tbh. We're not London yet.

 

[Courtjester]

It is just weird how brazen this was. Eyewitnesses said they saw the perp waiting across the street for some time prior to shooting. In addition, the TikTok sleuths are theorizing that this was some kind of unique ammo used because the killer seemed to have to clear the spent round prior to firing again (and you can see that in the video).

i mean it just seems too obvious a motive in this case, which is bolstered by the leaving of spent shells with the inscriptions, but if you are going to go through all the motions to use a silencer, why would you have your face everywhere--especially at a Starbucks?

 

[The General]

It is just weird how brazen this was. Eyewitnesses said they saw the perp waiting across the street for some time prior to shooting. In addition, the TikTok sleuths are theorizing that this was some kind of unique ammo used because the killer seemed to have to clear the spent round prior to firing again (and you can see that in the video).

i mean it just seems too obvious a motive in this case, which is bolstered by the leaving of spent shells with the inscriptions, but if you are going to go through all the motions to use a silencer, why would you have your face everywhere--especially at a Starbucks?

I'll go with the shooter is a bit crazy.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Haven't they already seen his face or does the hoodie obscure it too much? I'm not sure what working backwards would do unless it leads you to his house/place of employment but if he's a hitman or something I don't know if they'd find that.

 

[tri-man 47]

It is just weird how brazen this was. Eyewitnesses said they saw the perp waiting across the street for some time prior to shooting. In addition, the TikTok sleuths are theorizing that this was some kind of unique ammo used because the killer seemed to have to clear the spent round prior to firing again (and you can see that in the video).

i mean it just seems too obvious a motive in this case, which is bolstered by the leaving of spent shells with the inscriptions, but if you are going to go through all the motions to use a silencer, why would you have your face everywhere--especially at a Starbucks?

Starbucks' current mission statement: "With every cup, with every conversation, with every community - we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection."

 

[Sammy3469]

It is just weird how brazen this was. Eyewitnesses said they saw the perp waiting across the street for some time prior to shooting. In addition, the TikTok sleuths are theorizing that this was some kind of unique ammo used because the killer seemed to have to clear the spent round prior to firing again (and you can see that in the video).

i mean it just seems too obvious a motive in this case, which is bolstered by the leaving of spent shells with the inscriptions, but if you are going to go through all the motions to use a silencer, why would you have your face everywhere--especially at a Starbucks?

It certainly seems like this was pretty well planned by someone that is familiar with Manhattan, but not from Manhattan. As more info comes out, he made a lot of relatively simple errors (the water bottle, seemingly ditching the backpack in Central Park, etc.), so the NYPD will figure out who he is.

He also seems to have planned well enough to think that locating him may be very time consuming. I won’t be surprised if the next photo we have is him crossing one of the bridges, but from there it’ll be much harder to trace. There’s lots of fairly anonymous areas around the Palisades in NJ right off the GW or the Bronx.

 

[SteelCurtain]

I just read on CNN that he took a bus from Atlanta to NYC and was in NYC for 10 days before the shooting.

If true, it sounds like NYPD likely knows who this person is and now they just need to find him.

 

[-fish-]

this kind of reminds me of the guy in LA a few years ago that spread out the big banner about how his insurance company screwed him. If I remember right he or his wife didn't get insured for some health care for a terminal condition, so he made a spectacle of it and killed himself on live TV. This seems like that, but taking out the CEO of the insurance company instead. There were also recent reports that this CEO was responsible for an AI algorithm that was essentially set up to automatically deny claims, even if the provider said they were supposed to be insured.

 

[-fish-]

It is just weird how brazen this was. Eyewitnesses said they saw the perp waiting across the street for some time prior to shooting. In addition, the TikTok sleuths are theorizing that this was some kind of unique ammo used because the killer seemed to have to clear the spent round prior to firing again (and you can see that in the video).

i mean it just seems too obvious a motive in this case, which is bolstered by the leaving of spent shells with the inscriptions, but if you are going to go through all the motions to use a silencer, why would you have your face everywhere--especially at a Starbucks?

because he didn't care. he wants to get caught and testify to make a statement about how evil the insurance company is

 

[krista4]

I just read on CNN that he took a bus from Atlanta to NYC and was in NYC for 10 days before the shooting.

If true, it sounds like NYPD likely knows who this person is and now they just need to find him.

I don't think they know he came from Atlanta, but that the bus did. He could have gotten on it at a different stop on the way to NYC.

He checked into the hostel on 11/24, checked out 11/29, and then back in on 11/30.