United Healthcare CEO killer’s gun malfunction may have been ‘for show’ and linked to secret message on bullets

It’s possible that the suspect who killed the CEO of an insurance business staged a performance to make sure his message was understood.

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Leslie Dobson discussed the suspect’s behavior as detectives continue to go over the evidence from the December 4 murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Dobson explained why the killer seemed so composed in the terrifying surveillance film of the killing by saying, “Individuals who carry out these crimes are comfortable, usually because of training but also the high level of focus needed to complete the task.”

The suspect approached Thompson from behind outside the Hilton Hotel in the center of New York City at approximately 6:45 a.m. on December 4.

The CEO was hit in the back and leg by the suspect’s bullet, which he shot while holding the gun in both hands.

Before escaping on foot and on a bike, he went a few paces down the street.

After being taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead, Thompson was scheduled to appear at a sizable investor’s conference being hosted at the hotel.

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What we are aware of…

• The killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson remains at large as the manhunt enters its third day.
• Security camera images of a smiling man wearing a hooded jacket have been released, while a fake ID, cellphone, and DNA sample have reportedly been found.
• The killer pulled down his face mask while flirting with a hotel receptionist.
• Cops believe the assassin used a rare “World War Two spy gun” fitted with a silencer to kill Thompson.
• The killer fled into Central Park on a bike wearing a backpack, but was later spotted leaving without it.
• He arrived in New York last month after boarding a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta.
• Terrified CEOs are stepping up their security in the wake of the killing over fears of copycat assassination attempts.
• A $10,000 reward for any information about the killing is being offered by police.

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Since then, the suspect has reportedly left New York City, prompting a countrywide manhunt as authorities attempt to identify and locate the perpetrator.

Dobson spoke generically about those capable of committing such a horrible atrocity.

“A hit guy is probably psychotic and already lacks regret, guilt, and a wide variety of emotions. “It takes a very emotional event, like the death of a loved one, to change them,” Dobson said.

“The other view may be the individual is not a psychopath but is enraged and seeing a very precise conclusion.”

However, in her professional assessment of this specific crime, that “seems unlikely because of the level of planning involved in the assassination and his smiling affect prior to the assault.”

Surveillance footage taken at the HINew YorkCity Hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where the alleged shooter is thought to have stayed before to the killing, showed him grinning.

The unidentified male was reportedly flirting with a hostel staff, causing him to expose his entire face, even though in earlier CCTV photos he had a mask pulled up over the majority of his face.

‘FOR SHOW?’

After watching the video of the blatant murder, Dobson noticed several more important details.

She surmised that the suspect might be self-trained because he “appeared familiar with weapons, but not enough to be a military or FBI sniper,” according to her.

It seems that the suspect “didn’t anticipate the stickiness of the weapon after the third shot, and that may be related to the homemade suppressor,” according to Dobson’s observations of his movements.

“It appears to me that he paused with the idea of checking to see if he had killed the person, but he no longer trusted his weapon, so he thought about the action for a second, then decided to flee.”

The notion that “the problems with the weapon were for show” was also brought up by her.

It seemed “that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again” before he ran away, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

However, Dobsoon stated: “It seems more likely that he wanted to [ensure] eachbullet landed correctly because he had engraved them, so he racked the slide each time in order to prevent a misfire.”

She is alluding to the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend,” which are etched on the shell casings and unspent live rounds.

While analyzing the evidence at the crime site, investigators came to this conclusion.

The message is very similar to a book published in 2010 by Jay M. Feinman, a professor at Rutgers Law School and a specialist in insurance law.

An intensely critical exposé of the insurance industry may be found in Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claim and What You may Do About It.

When asked if there was any connection to Thompson’s murder, Feinman responded, “No comment, sorry.”

Nevertheless, Dobson stated that the inscribed words will be significant as the case progresses.

“The words on the casings will be very telling, especially if aligned with biblical or possible manifestos,” she stated.

‘TYPICAL HITMAN’

Regarding the suspect’s general traits, Dobson believes he might have been self-taught or unfamiliar with this kind of crime.

“This strikes me as a typical hitman that we would see in a gang, mob, or cartel, or low-level ex-military,” she said.

“However, the individual was idiosyncratic in his behavior and use of weapon,” she said.

Because of this, she thinks the suspect was “not well practiced, driven by emotion, or relatively new to this.”

This killing, Dobson continued, was “far less sophisticated than completed kills by long-standing hitmen.”

She continued: “But again, what we are seeing may have been an intentionally false representation.”

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