Who Is Marilou Danley, Stephen Paddock’s Apparent Girlfriend?

Marilou Danley, the apparent girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, was detained after the killer slaughtered at least 50 and injured more than 400 people Sunday. Danley was released after the Las Vegas Police Department determined she was not involved in the shooting, which was the deadliest act of mass violence to occur on U.S. soil. She was originally labeled a “person of interest.”

Danley, 62, was described by police as Paddock’s “companion” and “roommate,” according to the New York Times. Authorities found Danley in the home she shared with the shooter in Mesquite, Nevada.

Danley is originally from the Philippines and used to live in Australia. Her sister, Liza Werner, who still lives in Australia, did not want to speak about the tragedy. “I can’t comment at the moment. I can’t say anything. I’m sorry, sorry,” Werner told the Herald Sun.

Danley used to work in casinos and lived in Nerang, Queensland. She was married to an Australian man before she moved to the U.S.

One of Danley’s former neighbors was shocked. “I can’t believe it… She is bubbly, petite and full of life,” the unidentified neighbor told the Gold Coast Bulletin. “I would never have thought she would be tied up in anything like this.”

The neighbor hadn’t seen Danley in five to six years. They used to live next door to each other for about nine years. But that was thirty years ago.

“She still looks the same,” the neighbor said. “She has a daughter and a granddaughter.”

When she first got wind of the shooter, her first concern was for Danley’s safety. “We stayed with them in Memphis in 2000,” she said. “Her daughter took us to Graceland.”

Further information about Danley was not immediately known.

The tragedy occurred while country singer Jason Aldean performed during the Route 91 Harvest music festival near Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

The singer rushed off the stage when he heard the gunshots. He took to Instagram Monday morning to share his grief.

“Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still don’t know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that me and my crew are safe. My Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night. #heartbroken#stopthehate,” he wrote.

About 22,000 people were in the crowd when Paddock fired his rifle from his room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

“We heard what sounded like firecrackers going off. Then all of a sudden we heard what sounded like a machine gun. People started screaming that they were hit,” witness Meghan Kearney told MSNBC. “When we started running out, there were probably a couple hundred [people] on the ground.”

A motive for the shooting was not immediately known. Paddock was found dead in his Las Vegas hotel room on the 32nd floor. At least 10 rifles were discovered in the room.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella