Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock, has arrived back in the US after flying from the Philippines, police have confirmed.
Danley landed at Los Angeles Airport yesterday evening and is expected to be questioned by police, around 48 hours after Paddock killed 59 people when he opened fire on a crowd of concert-goers in Las Vegas.
Police hope that Danley will be able to shed light on Paddock's motive, which is currently unknown, writes CNN, after the FBI had originally marked her as a “person of interest” in the case.
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Speaking at a press conference, Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said yesterday that law enforcement authorities anticipate “some information here from her shortly”, while CNN adds that Lombardo added more “intrigue to the case” by confirming Paddock had recently wired $100,000 to the Philippines, though the date of the transfer has not yet been confirmed.
Born and raised in the Philippines, ABC reports that Danley moved to Queensland later in life, where she married a local man, becoming an Australian citizen and living on the Gold Coast for around a decade until the late 1980s. She reportedly moved to the US around 20 years ago.
Danley is understood to have been in the Philippines for 10 days before the shooting, writes the Daily Mail, though The Independent reports that Paddock may have forcibly sent her abroad so she couldn't “interfere with his deadly rampage”.
Speaking to the ABC, Danley's sister said of her: “She is a good person and a gentle soul. A mother, grandmother, a sister, a friend. I knew she would have nothing to do with [the massacre].”
Danley and Paddock reportedly lived together in the desert community of Mesquite, Nevada, where Paddock had a “nasty habit of berating Danley in public” according to baristas at the pair's local Starbucks. According to friends and neighbours, she was an “outgoing person” and a “great neighbour” before becoming embroiled in the investigation of Paddock.
The LA Times adds that Danley was a keen karaoke singer, and Paddock's brother Eric claims that she routinely sends cookies to his mother, calling Danley a “nice lady”.
