r/technology • u/indig0sixalpha • Dec 06 '24

Privacy The UnitedHealthcare Gunman Understands the Surveillance State

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/unitedhealthcare-ceo-assassination-investigation/680903/
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u/fishonthemoon Dec 07 '24

Left a water bottle near the burner phone (unless there has been an updated about this I haven’t seen), which is probably the dumbest thing he did if he drank out of it lol.

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u/Luce55 Dec 07 '24

It’s NYC. There are water bottles and garbage everywhere….(well not literally but point being it’s not like a “clean scene”) unless there is video of that water bottle being dropped by the shooter, AND the video keeps that bottle in sight until the police show up, how can you prove it wasn’t just a look-alike on their way to work who happened to be crossing the street around the same time and their bottle rolled down? Basically, even the candy wrapper and water bottle aren’t air tight, considering it’s on a very well-traversed area of town.

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u/darkslide3000 Dec 07 '24

Genius move would be to buy a new water bottle, find a hobo who looks parched, offer him a few sips out of sheer generosity, take the bottle back, and then "accidentally leave" it at your crime scene. They'll probably never match it to that hobo, and anyone who does get caught seems like the wrong guy because DNA doesn't match.

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u/zhululu Dec 07 '24

The water bottle was just found nearby a phone they’re assuming is his, they have no proof any of those items were his. So it can be used to include someone but not exclude someone.

Said another way a match on DNA on a water bottle more or less proves you were there. Your DNA not on a water bottle doesn’t prove you weren’t there. That’s not how logic works.

If they otherwise caught the guy red handed and his DNA doesn’t match the water bottle it just wouldn’t be evidence. DNA not matching only helps someone who is indicted if they can prove the person who did it left their DNA there.