The words scrawled on the bullets used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson closely resemble the title of a book criticizing insurance companies and the tactics they use to deny claims, it has been revealed.
Health insurance boss Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and calf early on Wednesday by a masked man who appeared to be waiting for him outside the Hilton hotel in Manhattan, before succumbing to his injuries in hospital.
Detectives investigating the shooting reportedly found shell casings with the words ‘depose’, ‘deny’ and ‘defend’ inscribed on them.
They are now working to determine what the words mean and if they could possibly hint at a motive for the slaying of the 50-year-old.
Curiously, the messages bear similarity to the title of a 2010 book on ‘why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it’, called ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’.
Critics allege the tactic is used by insurance companies to ‘ensure your claim is either never paid or paid at a rate far below what you deserve’.
The revelation came as Mr Thompson’s grieving widow, with whom he has two sons, claimed that her husband had received threats before he was shot.
‘There had been some threats,’ Paulette Thompson, 51, told NBC News as she broke her silence in her first comments since her husband was killed.
The title of a 2010 book by Jay M. Feinman criticizing insurance practices bears resemblance to messages on shell casings found at the scene of the crime
Officers are still searching for the unknown assailant who gunned down Thompson, seen here, outside of the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday morning
Ms Thompson said ‘there were some people that had been threatening’ her husband
‘I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him’ before his trip to New York, she added.
Ms Thompson said that she could not ‘really give a thoughtful response right now’ as she had ‘just found this out’ and was ‘trying to console [her] children’.
She said police had told her it is believed to have been a ‘targeted attack’.
Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the calf and back early on Wednesday by a masked man who appeared to be waiting for him outside the Hilton hotel.
Shocking footage showed the gunman approach Mr Thompson from several feet and shoot, causing him to fall.
The gunman fired multiple shots during the ambush and jammed his gun in the process, but managed to quickly clear the obstruction and continue firing.
After the assailant darted across the road and out of sight, Mr Thompson was rushed to Mt Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead.
No arrests have yet been made.
Police sources told ABC News that casings were found at the scene with the cryptic messages left on them.
Police said they found three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings, as well as a cellphone, at the scene.
Paulette Thompson, left, spoke to media after the attack on her husband, center back
Bullets lie on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Wednesday, December 4
Police sources told ABC News that casings were found at the scene with the cryptic messages left on them
Detectives are now working to determine the meaning as they try to assess what the motive for the shooting may have been.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, and the shooter is still on the loose at the time of writing.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information.
There is nothing to suggest Delay Deny Defend author Jay M. Feinman had any connection to the attack.
Online commentators were quick to point that the words found on the casings resembled insurance terminology and tactics.
One noted difference is that the book has 'delay' in its title, whereas one casing reportedly had 'depose' on it.
United is the biggest health insurer by market share in America. They have been the subject of protests by activists for allegedly systematically denying care for patients.
One such protest earlier this year led to the arrests of 11 people outside the United Healthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Surveillance from a nearby Starbucks show the shooter inside the establishment prior to the incident
Police sources told ABC News that casings were found at the scene with the cryptic messages left on them
As Thompson stumbled down the street, a witness in the hotel's entryway sprinted away
Police had said in their initial preliminary brief that the killer escaped into Central Park on the electric bike and released an image of the suspect on a bike after the shooting, seen here
The company made headlines in February after it was subjected to a cyber-attack which cost $872 million.
Thompson was also being investigated by the Department of Justice for antitrust violations and was accused of insider trading.
The department launched a probe into whether the private company was unfairly restricting competitors and running a monopoly.
Police sources close to the investigation told CNN that they believe the shooter was an experienced marksman based on his reactions.
Firearms experts who studied the surveillance footage told the outlet that he reacted in the way someone with training from law enforcement or military would be trained to react to such an issue.
Thompson is understood to have been in New York for a conference when he was shot.
His schedule was widely known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
Authorities say the attacker fled the scene on foot before then making a getaway on an electric bike into nearby Central Park.
Detectives and members of the New York City police department's Crime Scene Unit at the scene where UnitedHealthcare's CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed, on Wednesday
Law enforcement officers work near evidence markers placed where shell casings were found
A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit takes a picture of a shell casing found at the scene
Witnesses said the gunman was seen waiting for some time outside the hotel before the shooting, and knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
Surveillance footage of the shooting shows Thompson walking alone outside of the entrance to the midtown hotel when the gunman steps into frame and opens fire.
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The terrifying video shows the masked killer draw out a large gun fitted with a silencer and shoots Thompson in the back, sending the CEO stumbling down the street as he continues to fire.
Several bystanders were seen in the footage witnessing the horror shooting, with one woman standing mere feet away from the gunman when he opened fire.
Newly appointed police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooter appeared to be 'lying in wait for several minutes' before approaching Thompson.
Tisch added: 'Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target', and said that it did not 'appear to be a random act of violence'.
'From watching the video, it does seem that he's proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,' NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Surveillance from a nearby Starbucks also show the shooter inside the establishment prior to the incident.
Brian Thompson was fatally shot in the chest and was pronounced dead within 30 minutes
Police sources close to the investigation told CNN that they believe the shooter was an experienced marksman based on his reactions
Sources told CNN that the man bought two powers bars and a bottle of water from the coffee chain.
Authorities found a phone and a water bottle near the scene that they believe is the one he bought from Starbucks, and could offer them DNA.
The phone could also provide fingerprints and, if technicians can unlock it, could give them an insight into his identity.
Officials have yet to establish a motive in the killing but sources told ABC 7 they are investigating a possible grudge against the insurance company.
Officers also searched Thompson's hotel room, are interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues and reviewing his social media.
He was also caught on surveillance footage loitering outside and appeared to be on the phone ten minutes before he opened fire, according to The New York Times.
Thompson had been slated to speak at an investor meeting at the hotel on Wednesday morning
The Hilton sign hangs on the facade of a hotel near the scene where the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson was reportedly shot and killed
Thompson had been slated to speak at an investor meeting at the hotel on Wednesday morning, in which he would announce United Healthcare's hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook - including expected revenues of more than $450 billion.
Thompson was named UnitedHealthcare CEO in 2021 and earned a reported $10 million a year, and for several years prior he ran the Medicare business within UnitedHealthcare.
Wednesday's investor conference reportedly began without interruption at 8am on the second floor of the Hilton until news of the shooting began to circulate.
Without knowing it was Thompson who was hit, one attendee told the group that 'someone got shot outside.'
CEO of parent company United Healthgroup Andrew Witty is said to have halted the meeting at the hotel just after 8am upon hearing of the tragedy.
He told attendees: 'We're dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members. As a result, I'm afraid, we're going to have to bring to a close the event.'
A Hilton worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com in the aftermath that staff have been left shaken by the public assassination on their doorstep.
Mr Thompson is survived by his wife and their two children who live in the family's $1.5 million home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
'We are shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian,' she told ABC 7 following her husband's untimely death.
'Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,' she said.
'Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed.
'We appreciate your well wishes and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time.'