NEW YORK, NY (Bee News Daily) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has disclosed that police have identified the suspect responsible for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. However, authorities are intentionally withholding the suspect’s name from the public.
This revelation comes five days after the high-profile healthcare executive was assassinated in broad daylight.
“We do not want to give him any advantage. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
Adams expressed strong confidence in the ongoing investigation, stating, “We revealed his face. We will reveal his identity, and we will bring him to justice.”
In a notable breakthrough, investigators found a distinctive grey backpack abandoned near a playground in Central Park, which is believed to belong to the suspect.
The backpack, sent to a laboratory in Queens for analysis, contained Monopoly board game money and a jacket.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny characterized the backpack as “very distinctive.”
Paul Dering, CEO of Peak Design, suggested the backpack might be one of his company’s products, though this has not been officially confirmed.
The assassin approached Brian Thompson from behind and fired multiple shots using a gun equipped with a silencer, striking him in the back and leg.
After the attack, the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle, weaving through city streets to escape.
Police reports indicate the suspect was last seen cycling towards Sixth Avenue before entering Central Park at 6:48 a.m.
The brazen nature of the daylight killing has sent shockwaves through the healthcare industry. Brian Thompson, one of the sector’s highest-paid executives, reportedly earned around £7.8 million annually. He had served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, having joined the company in 2004.
The investigation took an unexpected twist when shell casings found at the crime scene were discovered to have the words “deny, defend, and depose” carved into them.
These words appear to reference Jay Feinman’s 2010 book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, a critique of the insurance industry. The connection is particularly striking, given that UnitedHealth is America’s largest health insurer, providing healthcare benefits to tens of millions of Americans in a country known for its high healthcare costs.
Thompson’s murder comes amid growing scrutiny of the healthcare sector. A Gallup poll released on Friday revealed that Americans’ confidence in the quality of healthcare has dropped to its lowest level in 24 years.
The incident has spurred heightened security measures across the industry. Several major health insurers, including UnitedHealth, CVS Health, and Centene, have removed executive photographs from their corporate websites.
Additionally, Centene announced it would cancel its planned in-person investor day, opting instead for a virtual event via a streaming platform.
These precautionary steps highlight the growing concerns over executive safety in the healthcare sector following Thompson’s assassination.
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B. Wilder, Writer, Bee News Daily (c)2024
