Authorities have disclosed the unusual items found in a bag suspected to belong to the assailant who fatally shot UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel in New York earlier this week.
Detectives from the New York Police Department discovered a grey backpack concealed among the bushes in Central Park on Friday, December 6. This bag may belong to the shooter, who remains at large.
The backpack, which resembles the one seen on the gunman in CCTV footage before the attack, contained Monopoly money and a jacket, according to sources from the New York Post.
Former Washington DC homicide detective Ted Williams speculated that the Monopoly money was deliberately placed in the bag to ‘toy with authorities’ in a ‘cat and mouse game.’
He explained: “This killer knew they would more likely than not find the backpack, and he is leaving breadcrumbs to let the authorities know that he is in control, not them.”
The bag has been sent for forensic analysis to attempt to retrieve any fingerprints or DNA that might help identify the suspect.
Retired FBI agent Scott Duffey told Fox News: “It’s a process for hair, fibers and DNA. If he holds his hand against the strap and tightens the buckle like most of us do, that is where DNA most likely can be found. And zippers.”
Authorities suspect the man may have already left the city following the ‘brazen, targeted attack’ that occurred on Wednesday morning (December 4).
The 50-year-old CEO was shot twice, in the back and the leg, in broad daylight after departing his hotel to attend an investor event he was scheduled to speak at. Bullets found near his body bore the words ‘delay,’ ‘depose,’ and ‘deny,’ thought to reference terms used by UnitedHealth when rejecting health insurance claims.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has emphasized their extensive efforts to apprehend the killer.
“This isn’t Blue Bloods. We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes,” he stated on Friday.
“We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across.”
Investigators are now analyzing CCTV footage from across the city, trying to pinpoint the suspect’s travel by bus or train.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, supplementing a reward of up to $10,000 from the NYPD. Authorities believe the suspect acted alone.
Meanwhile, an extensive team of detectives is reviewing video footage, social media, evaluating public tips, and interviewing potential informants, including Thompson’s family and colleagues, as well as the gunman’s roommates from the Manhattan hostel where he stayed.