Timeline of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO and the search for his killer

The search for Brian Thompson’s killer since UnitedHealthcare CEO ambushed Wednesday outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan has spread beyond New York City.

As authorities attempt to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. This is in addition to a $10,000 reward offered by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

The attacker used a fake ID and paid in cash during the 10 days he was in the city, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. He also kept his face covered, except when checking into a hostel. He was captured by some of the thousands of surveillance cameras covering Manhattan, allowing police to build a timeline of his movements.

Here’s what we know so far about what the NYPD describes as a planned attack.

November 24

10:11 pm — The alleged attacker arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus to the Port Authority terminal. The bus left Atlanta and made six or seven stops on the way to New York. Police have not been able to determine where he boarded the bus.

The man then takes a taxi to the Hilton hotel area in midtown Manhattan and remains there for about half an hour.

Around 11:00 p.m. — The man takes a taxi to the HI New York City hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave., where he is staying until the morning of the shooting. He presents identification that the police believe is fake. Two of his roommates in a shared bunk room never saw his face, police said, because he kept his mask on.

Talking to an employee in the hostel lobby, he briefly lowered his mask and smiled — a moment captured on surveillance footage that has been widely released by police.

November 29

The man signs out of the hostel, where guests are automatically signed out if they don’t show up at the front desk by a certain time. Police do not believe he stayed elsewhere and returned to the same hostel the next day.

December 4

At approximately 5:30 a.m. — The suspect leaves the hostel well before dawn.

5:41 a.m. — Appears on video at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue walking back and forth in the area of ​​the Hilton hotel where United Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is holding its annual investors conference.

Police deduce that he arrived at the Hilton on a bicycle because it took him very little time to get there.

”Could he have stolen the bicycle? “These are things we are still investigating,” Kenny stressed.

At some point, he went to a nearby Starbucks and bought a bottle of water and at least one energy bar before returning to the hotel.

6:44 am — Shoots Thompson when the executive arrives alone, on foot, having walked from a hotel across the street. The man flees.

6:48 am — The man enters Central Park on a bicycle through the 60th Street and Center Drive entrance. It is in the park and away from security cameras that the police believe he got rid of a gray backpack.

6:56 am — Leaves the park at West 77th Street and Central Park West, still on the bike.

6:58 am — Passes another camera at 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, still on a bicycle.

7:00 am — He sees himself on 86th Street, now without the bicycle.

7:04 am — Get into a taxi heading north at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

7:30 am — It’s near the George Washington Bridge and the bus terminal. It offers shuttle service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.

After the attack, investigators find the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.

December 6

Kenny and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reveal that investigators believe the shooter left New York City by bus. Investigators say he entered the George Washington Bridge Bus Station but have not found video of him leaving or boarding a bus.

“It could possibly be a disgruntled employee, or a disgruntled customer,” Kenny said of a possible motive in a briefing.

Police find what they say is the man’s backpack. Its content is not revealed.

December 7

Police continue searching Central Park; Divers are seen peering into a pond. The NYPD releases additional photos showing the suspect next to a taxi and later in the back seat of the vehicle. In both images he is seen wearing a blue medical-style face mask.

Despite recovering a fingerprint from the Starbucks purchase and submitting items for DNA testing, police have yet to publicly identify the suspect.

December 8

Divers are seen again in a Central Park pond. Police decline to comment on the investigation.

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