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The brutal murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson stunned New York and the world this week.
The insurance boss, 50, was shot in cold blood as he headed to an investor conference in the early hours of Wednesday.
But almost as surprising is how the killer managed to evade capture in one of the busiest and most heavily guarded cities in the world.
As the hunt for the gunman enters its fourth day, DailyMail.com has pieced together his stunning act of disappearance 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, it has not been revealed exactly where he boarded the bus. Both the bus company and local police say they are assisting in the search.
Police struggle to identify killer despite execution taking place in one of the busiest and most heavily guarded cities in the world
November 30
The killer checked into the HI New York hostel on 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 as he briefly pulled down his face mask to flirt with the hostel receptionist.
The woman told detectives she asked to “see his beautiful smile” as she checked him in, resulting in the now infamous images of the grinning killer.
Police quickly determined that the killer had used a fake New Jersey ID to check in, extinguishing hopes that the hostel’s records could lead to his arrest.
December 4 – Before the shooting
The killer was spotted near the Frederick Douglas public housing project around 5 a.m., about an hour before he was believed to have boarded a subway train.
At 6:15 a.m., he was seen leaving the 57th subway station, a few blocks north of the crime scene.
Minutes later, he was captured again on surveillance footage at a nearby Starbucks, paying for his order in cash in an effort to limit his paper trail.
The killer visited a nearby Starbucks before carrying out his attack
Thompson, 50, was shot in cold blood in the early hours of Wednesday as he headed to an investor conference.
About thirty minutes later, the suspect pounced and fatally shot Thompson in the back and leg outside the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan at about 6:44 a.m.
The chilling act was captured 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 escaped through an alley next to the Ziegfield ballroom. The area was cordoned off for much of Wednesday.
Once at West 55th, he hopped on an e-bike and was seen cycling north along 6th Avenue toward Central Park.
After he arrived, he threw away a gray backpack that police believed they had been able to recover on Friday.
The suspect was seen leaving the park on his bicycle at 77th Street and Central Park West.
At 6:59 a.m., he was spotted 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 until and after the murder
From there he went to the George Washington Bridge bus station, where investigators believe he boarded a bus leaving the state.
The research
Despite leaving a trail of clues, investigators have not yet been able to publicly identify a suspect.
They have followed up on hundreds of tips coming in from across the country.
On Wednesday, police released the first set of images of the suspect, taken inside the Starbucks.
The photos showed him wearing a backpack, a black hoodie and a black balaclava.
They also recovered a water bottle and a package of protein bars from a garbage bin near the ambush site that is believed 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’
The NYPD has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone with information about the killing
Police also searched a Long Island Rail Road train Wednesday evening after a commuter claimed to have spotted the gunman, but they found no sign of the shooter.
The suspect has so far ensured that his transactions were made in cash only, making it more difficult for police to trace his movements.
However, a burner phone has since been recovered that could also provide additional clues.
Detectives have yet to reveal the motive for the killing. However, the bullet casings found at the scene had the words ‘depose’, ‘deny’ and ‘defend’ scrawled on them.
The message is eerily similar to Feinman’s 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend,” which describes “why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.”
Investigators have not yet recovered 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 II pistol known for its whisper-quiet shooting capabilities.
A food cart vendor who was on the street at the time of the murder told DailyMail.com that he had not heard anything when the murder occurred.
Guests at the Hilton also said they slept well during the incident, supporting the idea that some form of silencer or built-in suppressor had been used.