Records trace Las Vegas gunman’s steps in downtown
Stephen Paddock promised to leave his downtown Las Vegas condo rental so clean “it will be as if no one was there,” according to newly released police records detailing the gunman’s movements in the days leading up to the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting.
In a text exchange with the owner of one of three condos Paddock rented at The Ogden, he said he wanted a unit facing the Life is Beautiful music festival because his wife “likes to take pictures.”
He went on to say that the condo would be left spotless, but he wanted assurances that he and his wife would not be bothered by anyone during their stay.
Paddock was not married at the time, and his girlfriend, Marilou Danley, was visiting her family in the Philippines.
Investigators confirmed that Paddock used Airbnb to rent three condos at The Ogden overlooking the Life is Beautiful stages between Sept. 17 and 28, though it’s unclear how much time he spent there.
Condo owner Kerry Fezza showed investigators the messages she exchanged with Paddock through the Airbnb app, but she said she never met him in person or spoke with him on the phone.
Fezza told police that when she went to check the unit after Paddock rented it, she found that it had been meticulously cleaned by someone who did a better job of it than she usually does.
The final batch of Las Vegas police records, released last week, also offers new details on the gunman’s other downtown activities before he checked into a suite at Mandalay Bay.
Investigators describe surveillance footage of Paddock eating and gambling by himself at the nearby El Cortez and D Las Vegas casinos over several days in late September 2017.
“He seems to be wearing the same clothes each day and is seen wandering around playing gaming machines,” the investigation report states. “There is never a time where the video shows he was with anyone or speaking with anyone.”
According to the police records, two members of the security staff at The Ogden told investigators they saw Paddock with two different women, a Filipina and a blonde who stayed with him one night.
That information could not be confirmed using surveillance video or other methods, the investigation report states.
Paddock killed 58 people at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip before fatally shooting himself in his Mandalay Bay suite on Oct. 1, 2017.
Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.
