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Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62, is "a person of interest" in the criminal investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Key points:
- Danley again a person of interest after reports emerge Paddock sent $100,000 to the Philippines
- She has been located in the Philippines
- FBI bringing Danley back to US for questioning
More than 50 people were killed and a further 500 injured when Nevada man Stephen Paddock, 64, fired on people at the Route 91 country music festival from his 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay hotel.
Paddock's motive remains unclear but authorities hope Ms Danley could have some answers.
Here is what has been revealed about Ms Danley so far:
She was out of the country at the time
Hours after the incident began, Las Vegas Metropolitan police (LVMPD) tweeted a photo of Ms Danley saying she was being "sought for questioning".
She was later identified as an Australian, who had formerly lived on the Gold Coast, and a companion of Paddock.
In a press conference several hours after the massacre unfolded, Sherriff Joseph Lombardo said Ms Danley had been contacted and was outside the US — he said she was in Tokyo.
"She was not with him [Paddock] when he checked in," Sherriff Lombardo said. "We have discovered he was utilising some of her identification.
"We have had a conversation with her and we believe her at this time not to be involved. Obviously that investigation will continue."
Police later said Ms Danley had been travelling in the Philippines at the time of the massacre and was no longer a person of interest.
That was all before NBC News reported a wire transfer of $US100,000 to the Philippines, citing "multiple senior law enforcement officials".
$100k transfer renews interest in Marilou
Sherriff Lombardo declined to confirm reports of the transfer but said he expected a "substantial amount" of information on Paddock's motive would emerge in the next 48 hours.
He said detectives were in contact with Ms Danley and the FBI was bringing her back to the United States as "a person of interest".
Photo:
Marilou Danley married an Australian man and lived on the Gold Coast in the 1980s. (Facebook)
It was unclear if the $100,000 sum was intended for Ms Danley's use but the shooter's brother, Eric Paddock, said he would not be surprised if the money was meant for her.
"The people he loved, he took care of and as he was descending into hell, he wanted to try and take care of her," he said.
Speaking just moments after learning police were searching for Ms Danley, Mr Paddock said he couldn't believe Ms Danley was involved in any way.
"She's a nice lady, I've met her three or four times," he told local TV station WKMG from his home in Orlando, Florida.
"She's got a Facebook page. She sends cookies to my mum."
She is a former Qld resident
Born in the Philippines, Ms Danley moved to Queensland where she married a local man and became an Australian citizen, living on the Gold Coast for about 10 years until the late 1980s.
She has one sister still living in Australia and a nephew who lives south of Brisbane.
Reports said she moved to the US 20 years ago, marrying Geary Danley from Arkansas.
She and Mr Danley reportedly divorced in 2015 and she was living with Paddock in Mesquite, Nevada, 130km from Las Vegas.
Ms Danley's nephew, Jordan Knights from Beenleigh, told Channel Nine he knows his aunt would not have been involved in the massacre.
"It didn't seem like he [Paddock] was the type of guy to do that. I didn't even know he knew about guns," Mr Knights said.
"I knew she [Marilou] wouldn't have nothing to do with it though."
wires/ABC
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, united-states, australia
First posted