The New York Police Department is waiting on DNA test results that could help in the hunt for the killer of insurance chief Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel early Wednesday morning.
Investigators pulled DNA from an Ethos water bottle that was found in the alleyway of the building that houses the former Ziegfeld Theater, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. It was the same spot where the shooter is believed to have pre-positioned an e-bike used for his getaway and where he dropped a Motorola burner phone, the person said. Police also tested DNA from a Starbucks cup the suspect dropped in a garbage can before he gunned Thompson down.
The items were sent for testing on Wednesday with results expected within three days, potentially bolstering an investigation that is centered on identifying a male suspect who checked into a hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Police and New York Mayor Eric Adams are appealing to the public for help in identifying the suspect, offering $10,000 for tips.
Michael King, who formerly headed the NYPD's crime-scene unit, cautioned that for DNA testing to identify the shooter, the suspect would have to be already in the criminal justice system or have himself or a family member in one of the commercial genetic databases like Ancestry.com. He said there's a greater chance of identifying the suspect within a few days, especially after police released photos of him without a mask on Thursday.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, also cited the photos as a key break in the probe.
"We used good old-fashioned police work to come up with the picture that you have, as well as the coordination with our partners in various law enforcement agencies across the city and across the country," he said Friday on NY1. "We are on the right track."
Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and leg around 6:45 a.m. outside of the hotel, where UnitedHealth Group Inc. was hosting its investor day. Thompson was CEO of the UnitedHealthcare insurance division, which is expected to bring in $280 billion in revenue this year and is the country's largest health insurer. The manhunt has involved drones, canines and extensive use of surveillance technology.
Video showed the attacker waiting for Thompson as he arrived at the hotel. The words "delay" and "depose" were written on a shell casing and a live round recovered in front of the hotel, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg this week. The inscriptions loosely echo the book title Delay, Deny, Defend, which describes tactics allegedly used by insurers to deny claims.
UnitedHealth was among a group of companies slammed in a Senate report earlier this year for using automated tools to increase claim denials.
