The brazen assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson stunned New York and the world this week.
The insurance boss, 50, was gunned down in cold blood as he made his way to an investor conference in the early hours of Wednesday.
But almost equally surprising is how the killer has managed to evade capture in one of the busiest and most heavily surveilled cities in the world.
As the hunt for the shooter enters its fourth day, DailyMail.com has reconstructed his baffling disappearing act with everything we know so far.
November 24
Investigators said the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia.
However, exactly where he boarded the bus has not been disclosed. Both the bus company and local police said they are helping out with the search.
Police are struggling to identify the killer, despite the execution taking place in one of the busiest and most heavily surveilled cities in the world
November 30
The killer checked into the HI New York hostel in the city’s Upper West Side and is believed to have stayed there in the days before Thompson’s murder.
Surveillance footage captured the first glimpse of the killer’s face when he momentarily pulled down his face mask to flirt with the hostel receptionist.
The woman told detectives she asked to ‘see his pretty smile’ while checking him in, resulting in the now-infamous images of the grinning assassin.
Police quickly ascertained that the killer had used a fake New Jersey ID to check in, extinguishing hopes that hostel records might help lead to his capture.
December 4 – Before the shooting
The killer was spotted near the Frederick Douglas public housing project at around 5am around an hour before he is believed to have boarded a subway train.
At 6.15am, he was seen exiting the 57th subway station, a few blocks north of the crime scene.
Minutes later he was captured on surveillance footage again at a nearby Starbucks where he paid for his order in cash in a bid to limit his paper trail.
The killer visited a nearby Starbucks prior to carrying out his attack
Thompson, 50, was gunned down in cold blood as he made his way to an investor conference in the early hours of Wednesday
Around thirty minutes later, the suspect pounced and fatally shot Thompson in the back and leg outside the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan at approximately 6.44am.
The chilling act was caught on surveillance footage which showed the killer calmly approaching Thompson from behind, before unleashing a hail of bullets.
December 4 – After the shooting
The video shows the suspect fleeing on foot and police said he made his escape through an alleyway next to the Ziegfield ballroom. The area was taped off for much of Wednesday.
Once on West 55th, he hopped onto an e-bike and was seen pedaling north up 6th Avenue towards Central Park.
After he arrived, he ditched a grey backpack which police said they believed they had managed to recover on Friday.
The suspect was seen leaving the park on the bike at 77th Street and Central Park West.
At 6.59am he was spotted once again on West 85th Street before getting into a taxi at 86th and Columbus Avenue.
The killer was spotted at various locations in Manhattan up to and after the slaying
From there he headed to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station where investigators believe he boarded a bus headed out of state.
The investigation
Despite leaving a trail of clues, detectives have yet to publicly identify a suspect.
They have been following up on hundreds of tips which have poured in from across the country.
On Wednesday, police released the first set of images of the suspect, taken at the Starbucks.
The pictures showed him sporting a backpack, black hoodie and a black balaclava.
They have also recovered a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can near the scene of the ambush thought to have belonged to the killer.
The items yielded a partial fingerprint and are with officials for testing.
bullet casings found at the scene were scrawled with the words ‘depose’, ‘deny’ and ‘defend’
A $10,000 reward has been offered by the NYPD to anyone with information about the murder
Police also searched a Long Island Rail Road train Wednesday night after a commuter claimed to have spotted the shooter, but they found no sign of the gunman.
The suspect has so far been careful to keep his transactions to cash-only, making it harder for cops to trace his movements.
However a burner phone has since been recovered which could also provide additional clues.
Detectives have yet to state the motive for the killing However, bullet casings found at the scene were scrawled with the words ‘depose’, ‘deny’ and ‘defend.’
The message is eerily similar to Feinman’s 2010 book ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’, which details ‘why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.’
Investigators are yet to recover the murder weapon. Police sources told the New York Post they believe it could be a Brugger & Thomet VP9, an updated version of a World War Two pistol known for its whisper-quiet shooting capabilities.
A food cart vendor on the street at the time of the murder told DailyMail.com he did not hear anything as it took place.
Guests at the Hilton also said they slept soundly through the incident, supporting the idea that some form of silencer or in-built suppressor was used.