LAS VEGAS, Nev., Oct. 4, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock, says she knew nothing of his deadly plan.
Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo, speaking at a Wednesday night news conference, said he remains unconvinced.
“I think any person put in her situation would probably answer in same way,” Lombardo told reporters.
In a statement read Wednesday by attorney Mike Lombard, Danley said that when 64-year-old Paddock bought her a ticket to visit family members in the Philippines, then wired $100,000 with instructions to buy her family a house, she assumed her millionaire boyfriend’s intention was to break off their relationship.
“I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man,” Danley’s statement said. “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this would happen.”
Danley returned from overseas Tuesday at the request of investigators.
At the evening news conference, FBI Las Vegas special agent in charge Aaron Rouse said several hours of interviews had been conducted with Danley, and that she was cooperating with investigators, and had not been taken into custody.
The news conference also revealed multiple new details regarding the Sunday night shooting:
● Prior to renting rooms as a sniper’s nest in the Mandalay Bay hotel, Paddock had rented a space in The Ogden, a complex near the site of the Life Is Beautiful Festival, which ran Sept. 22 to 24 and featured acts including Lorde and Chance the Rapper.
● Lombardo said officials have spent the 72 hours since the mass shooting “combing over the life of Stephen Paddock” and finding him to be “disturbing and dangerous.” They are still hoping friends will come forward to fill in some blanks, because Paddock did not share life details on social media, and as a retiree, he had no coworkers to confide in.
● There was evidence in the hotel room that Paddock had intended to escape his rooms at the Mandalay Bay after shooting victims at the country music concert rather than die there. Lombardo and Rouse would not specify the nature of that evidence.
● Between the time officers identified Paddock’s room and when SWAT teams entered, 75 minutes passed. Lombardo said after Paddock shot a security guard, he stopped shooting, so officers used the time for planning.
It is unknown when, within that time period, Paddock shot himself.
● Paddock had three cameras set up to monitor the arrival of officers outside his room. None were set to record.
● In searching Paddock’s car, officials found 10 one-pound containers of Tannerite, an explosive product used for target practice, and two 20-pound containers. They also found 1,600 more rounds of ammunition.
● The number of people injured has been revised from 527 to 489. Sheriff Lombardo said some of the hospitals responsible for the counts realized they counted a few patients twice, or counted as concert shooting victims patients who came in with unrelated injuries. Of the 489 injury victims, 317 have been released.
● The number of dead remains at 58 plus the shooter. At one point, the number was released as 59 plus the shooter.
● More than 100 investigators are working the case.
● There is still no evidence to indicate any terrorist group was involved in the attack, Rouse said, adding that he prefers not to speculate, but to rely on facts.
“Facts will always lead you to your conclusion,” he said.
● Lombardo said he has theories about the case, but will not share most of them. One is that there is no way Paddock could have done what he did without the help of someone else.
