After returning to the United States, the Las Vegas mass murderer’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, released a statement on Wednesday regarding the attack on Sunday night that killed 59 and injured around 500 more.
Danley’s attorney Matthew Lombard read the statement aloud on Wednesday afternoon. CNN producer David Shortell also posted the statement online:
I am devastated by the deaths and injuries that have occurred and my prayers go out to the victims and their families and all those that have been hurt by these awful events. I have faith in God and I will continue to pray for everyone who has been harmed or hurt. I am a mother and a grandmother and my heart breaks for all who have lost loved ones.
I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind caring quiet man. I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him. 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 was going to happen. A little more than two weeks ago, Stephen told me he’d found a cheap ticket for me to the Philippines and that he wanted me to take a trip home to see my family. Like all Filipinos abroad I was excited to go home and see family and friends.
While there he wired me money which he said was for me to buy a house for me and my family. I was grateful but honestly I was worried that first, the unexpected trip home and then the money was a way of breaking up with me. It never occurred to me in any way that he was planning violence against anyone. I have not made a statmeent until now because I have been cooperating with authorities and I voluntarily flew back to America because I know the FBI and the Las Vegas Police Department wanted to talk to me and I want to talk to them. I will cooperate fully with there investigation. Anything I can do to help ease suffering and help in any way I will do. Please respect my privacy and my family’s privacy.
Danley is reported to have spent around six hours with law enforcement for questioning on Wednesday after she returned Tuesday night from a trip overseas on which, she says, Paddock sent her.
Danley, 62, was born in the Philippines but later moved to Australia, became a citizen, married, and was widowed, according to the New York Times. That report also states that she met Mr. Danley, moved to the United States, and the two were married for 25 years.
One of Danley’s sisters, who spoke to Australia’s Seven News after the attack, said Danley hadn’t known anything about the attack and that “She was sent away so that she will not be there to interfere with what he’s planning.”
Danley’s brother Reynaldo Bustos told ABC News in the Philippines on Wednesday that he contacted his sister immediately after hearing news that the shooting was perpetrated by her boyfriend. He told the outlet that his sister responded to him, saying in Tagalog, “Relax, we shouldn’t worry about it. I’ll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience.” He said that she told him, “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana.
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