The suspect wanted for the brutal slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson used a fake ID to check into a New York City hostel before the brazen execution-style killing, police sources tell Fox News.

Sources say the suspect used the fake ID and paid in cash.

Fox News Digital cameras captured officers leaving the AYH Hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday. It’s unclear if the hostel is directly connected to the search for Thompson’s killer.

General view of the AYH Hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, NY on Thursday, December 5, 2024. The suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is believed to have stayed here. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

The New York Police Department has been hunting for the killer since early Wednesday morning. Police sources told Fox News the suspect dropped a burner phone in an alley after the shooting. Police are looking into data that was on the phone, as well as fingerprints that were left on the device, sources say.

Police are also looking into a water bottle that was left at a Starbucks near the scene of the murder. Police sources say that DNA from the bottle is being used to build a suspect profile. The suspect is said to have paid in cash at the Starbucks.

Thompson was savagely gunned down in cold blood on an NYC sidewalk just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Police have been hunting for him ever since.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for more details.