The backpack recovered by New York police that allegedly belonged to the suspect wished within the homicide of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had solely two gadgets inside: a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly cash, sources at ABC News instructed ABC News on Saturday. data of ongoing investigations.
The NYPD believes it’s making good progress towards figuring out the suspect however, as of Saturday night, no identification has been made, sources instructed ABC News.
Investigators continued to comb the town for proof and clues for a fourth day to attempt to catch the unidentified fugitive. This included the usage of police divers.
Officers searched a pond close to the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, not too removed from the place the suspect’s backpack was discovered Friday night time.
PHOTO: Members of the NYPD search the pond close to the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park for attainable proof associated to the capturing dying of United Healthcare chief Brian Thompson on Dec. 7, 2024. (Bill Hutchinson/ ABC News)
Police haven’t but recovered the gun used within the capturing. It’s unclear whether or not officers recovered any proof from the water.
PHOTO: Members of the NYPD search the pond close to the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park for attainable proof associated to the capturing dying of United Healthcare chief Brian Thompson on Dec. 7, 2024. (Bill Hutchinson/ ABC News)
New York detectives and the FBI proceed to trace the shooter’s actions after the Wednesday morning incident and mentioned he left the town that day.
New York detectives arrived in Atlanta on Saturday following suggestions concerning the shooter, in keeping with the sources. Atlanta police confirmed the arrival of the New York group however declined to offer extra particulars.
The suspect arrived in New York on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta. Police realized that the suspect took a cab to the Port Authority Bus Station on 178th Street and boarded a bus exterior New York City after the capturing, in keeping with police.
The bus the suspect boarded out of city is believed to have made six or seven stops, and investigators adopted leads in a number of states, the sources mentioned.
MORE: Latest shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO: Suspect left New York City by bus, police say
The killer entered New York by bus on Nov. 24, when a surveillance digital camera on the Port Authority Bus Terminal captured his arrival at 9 p.m., regulation enforcement sources instructed ABC News.
The arriving bus was from Atlanta, but it surely wasn’t instantly clear the place the suspect had boarded. Sources instructed ABC News that he was noticed on board in Washington, DC
The 10-day interval he was in New York earlier than the capturing is the main target of the investigative efforts.
PHOTO: Thompson, CEO of main insurance coverage group UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed at point-blank vary in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024. (ABC News)
The FBI is now helping in a nationwide manhunt for the suspect, in keeping with regulation enforcement sources, and the unidentified man stays at giant following Wednesday’s assault, which was described by police as “brazen, purposeful” and “premeditated.”
Police don’t but have the identify of the suspect, the sources mentioned.
Meanwhile, citing Thompson’s current killing, Centene, a significant well being insurer, mentioned it might transfer its deliberate in-person investor day in New York subsequent week to digital, in keeping with an organization assertion on Friday.
“All of us at Centene are deeply saddened by the passing of Brian Thompson and wish to categorical our help for all these affected. Health insurance coverage is an enormous business and a small group; many CenTeam members have crossed paths with Brian all through their careers, ” mentioned Sarah M. London, CEO of Centene. “He was an individual with a deep sense of empathy and a transparent ardour for enhancing entry to care. Our hearts exit to his household and colleagues throughout this troublesome time.”
MORE: Who Killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? What we know about the fleeing suspect
PHOTO: The New York City Police Department is asking for the general public’s assist in figuring out this particular person wished for questioning within the homicide of a CEO in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024. (NYPD)
The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank vary at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday exterior the Hilton Midtown in New York, the place Thompson was heading to his firm’s investor convention.
PHOTO: A backpack recovered by police in Central Park in the course of the investigation into the deadly capturing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Dec. 6, 2024. (Obtained from ABC News)
“The shooter then walks towards the sufferer and continues capturing,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny mentioned. “The gun seems to malfunction because it clears the jam and begins capturing once more.”
The phrases “deny”, “defend” and “depose” had been written on the shell casings, in keeping with police sources.
The phrases on the bullets echo the title of the 2010 e book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” Police are conscious of the similarity and are investigating whether or not one attainable motive is anger in the direction of the insurance coverage business, the sources mentioned.
PHOTO: NYPD officers search Central Park for proof within the CEO capturing, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York. (WABC)
Investigators consider they had been capable of receive DNA samples from a number of items of proof found at or close to the crime scene, regulation enforcement sources instructed ABC News. The samples are at the moment at New York’s workplace of the chief health worker being analyzed in databases for a attainable match — a course of that might take a number of days, the sources mentioned.
PHOTO: UnitedHealthcare CEO killed (Richard Drew/AP)
Police had been additionally capable of extract a fingerprint from a water bottle the suspect had bought at a Starbucks, however the print is smudged, so it is unclear how helpful it is going to be, the sources mentioned.
UnitedHealthcare CEO’s latest shot: Suspect’s backpack contained Monopoly money: sources initially appeared on abcnews.go.com
