NYPD finds backpack with Monopoly money linked to UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer

NYPD finds Monopoly money and a jacket in a backpack believed to belong to Brian Thompson’s killer in Central Park.

Police found Monopoly money in a backpack believed to belong to the masked gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown, according to law enforcement sources cited by The Post.

The brightly colored play money was discovered by NYPD detectives inside a gray backpack, which was hidden in the brush in Central Park on Friday. Authorities suspect this could be the same bag the shooter discarded after the killing, sources said.

The backpack, resembling the one seen on the suspect during the recorded shooting, was found near Heckscher Playground, south of the carousel.

Along with the Monopoly money, a jacket was also recovered from inside the bag, sources added.

A photo obtained by The Post shows the bag appeared to be in good condition after officers retrieved it from the wooded area.

The backpack was immediately sent to a lab for forensic analysis, according to police sources.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny described the bag as “very distinctive.”

Paul Dering, founder and CEO of Peak Design, said he suspects the bag may be one of his company’s designs.

Thompson, aged 50, was shot and killed near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown early Wednesday morning as he walked unaccompanied to an investor event.

The gunman fled quickly after the shooting, biking through Central Park before eventually leaving the city on a Greyhound bus headed for Atlanta, authorities said.

The NYPD deployed over 100 officers and used drones in Central Park on Friday to search for evidence, as investigators retraced the suspect’s escape route.

Before the murder, the unidentified shooter stayed at a hostel on the Upper West Side, where his roommates reported that he always kept his mask on, even inside his room. 

“[The roommates] said he didn’t speak. He kept his mask on even when he was eating. He would pull the mask down to take a bite,” Kenny said.

The suspect briefly lowered his mask while flirting with a woman at the front desk. The NYPD has widely distributed a photo from that moment.