United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside of a Manhattan Hilton on Wednesday morning. The fatal shooting is being investigated as a targeted killing, as in the shooter was waiting specifically for Thompson. The NYPD is, as of this writing, still on a manhunt for the shooter and they’re offering $10K for any information. Because the media can’t do a deep dive into the still-unknown shooter, they’re doing a deep dive on Brian Thompson. As it turns out, the guy has marriage problems, drinking problems and insider trader problems. See, this actually muddies the shooter’s motive.

The slain UnitedHealthcare CEO had a criminal record for drunk driving and was secretly separated from his wife for years before he was shot dead in Manhattan on Wednesday, according to public records. Minnesota court filings show that in 2017 Brian Thompson was arrested and convicted on charges of fourth-degree driving while impaired, for which he received probation.

In addition to legal troubles, the executive, who was gunned down in what NYPD has labeled a “premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack,” also seems to have faced recent marital issues. Based on property records, voter registration forms, and reports from neighbors, Brian and Paulette Thompson had lived in different homes less than a mile apart in Maple Grove, Minnesota, for the past several years, The Wall Street Journal reported. In 2018, Thompson bought a five-bedroom second house for around $1 million, while his wife’s residence remained in another house nearby, also worth about $1 million, based on Zillow listings and public records.

Paulette Thompson told MSNBC her husband had received threats related to his company’s “lack of coverage” and said in a statement to a local Fox affiliate in Minnesota that his killing had left her and their two sons “shattered.” About 12 hours after his killing, someone made a bomb threat at his Minnesota home, but authorities did not find any evidence of explosives, TMZ reported. UnitedHealthcare and the Hennepin County District Court did not immediately respond to a Daily Beast inquiry about Thompson’s DUI.

[From The Daily Beast]

2017… seven years ago, he was arrested and convicted of a DUI in Minnesota. Three years after that (2020-ish), he and his wife separated. Definitely seems like there are multiple avenues of investigation, that’s all I’ll say. As for the insider trading, Thompson and two other UHC executives were facing a class-action lawsuit for dumping millions of dollars in stock (in 2023) while UHC was facing a DoJ investigation for antitrust violations. Instead of informing UHC shareholders of the antitrust investigation, Thompson and the other executives dumped $120 million worth of their UnitedHealth shares. Damn, another potential motive.

Photos courtesy of UnitedHealthcare.