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'No one can put the puzzles together. No one except Marilou': Family of Las Vegas gunman's girlfriend break silence
By Melissa Cunningham and Rachel Olding
The brother of the Las Vegas gunman's Australian girlfriend, Marilou Danley, said his sister reassured him when news of the shooting unfolded that "I have a clean conscience".
However, her two sisters say she holds the key to shedding light on the motive behind the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 500 injured when Nevada man Stephen Paddock, 64, fired on people at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from his 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay hotel on Sunday night local time.
Ms Danley, 62, arrived back in the US overnight on a flight from the Philippines and was taken in for questioning. She was with FBI agents in a Los Angeles field office for more than 12 hours.
Marilou Danley, an Australian woman initially sought in relation to the Las Vegas shooting. She was overseas at the time and is not believed to be involved.Credit: Facebook
Her two sisters, who spoke to Channel Seven on Wednesday evening on the condition of anonymity, said Paddock bought her a ticket to the Philippines two weeks ago and told her to go on a holiday in what they believe was an attempt to spare her from his plans.
"She didn't know she was going to the Philippines until Steve said 'Marilou I found you a cheap ticket to the Philippines'," one of her sisters said. "He sent her away so that he can plan what he is planning without interruptions."
The two sisters, who live on the Gold Coast, insist their sister had no idea of the horror Paddock was plotting.
"No one can put the puzzles together. No one except Marilou," one of her sisters said. "Because Steve is not here to talk anymore. Only Marilou can maybe help out."
Marilou Danley, girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman, arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.Credit: NBC News
Her Manila-based brother, Reynaldo Bustos, told the American Broadcasting Corporation that he immediately contacted his younger sister when he saw her boyfriend on the news and she told him she had "a clear conscience".
"I called her up immediately and she said, 'Relax, we shouldn't worry about it. I'll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience,'" Bustos said in his native Tagalog language.
Stephen Paddock.Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Mr Paddock wired $US100,000 ($127,000) to the Philippines after his girlfriend had left, a law enforcement official said. The family said it was to help Marilou's family build a home.
The two sisters, who repeatedly broke down during the interview, said their hearts were broken for the 58 victims of the massacre .
They say their sister was "madly in love" with Paddock and will be forever haunted by what her partner has done.
"She probably was even more shocked than us, because she is closer to him than us," her sister said.
"To be able to find out the person you love and live with can do such a thing and you thought you knew the person yourself.
"She is a good person and gentle soul. She is a mother, a grandmother, a sister and a friend.
"He [Paddock] has done this solely himself."
In the immediate aftermath, Ms Danley's image was broadcast around the world, sparking a global manhunt after it was revealed she had lived for years alongside the man who had committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
It's understood her casino playing card was located in Paddock's hotel room.
The Filipina , 62, is considered a "person of interest" in the investigation of the attack, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday.
Ms Danley who an Australian citizen, lived on the Gold Coast for more than a decade.
Police believe Paddock accumulated almost 50 guns in the last year, all of them legally.