A woman who worked as a property manager for Stephen Paddock, the man believed to have killed 58 people in a shooting massacre in Las Vegas on Sunday, has offered an alternative view of the mysterious figure whose shady past has made it difficult for investigators to determine the gunman’s motive.
Lisa Crawford, who said she worked as a property manager in Texas for the suspected gunman for six years beginning in 2006, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about her relationship with the man believed to be responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
“From the night he came to the door when he bought the property, to the very end, our personalities just clicked,” Crawford told the newspaper.
“He was above the normal in a good way, in a beautiful way, for lack of a better term. You wanted to be around him because he was cool, he was cool to hang out with, he made you laugh.”
The former employee also praised Paddock’s intelligence and his business acumen.
“He didn’t have to think about it, he was just smart,” Crawford told the newspaper. “It was natural, like a gift.”
Crawford said she cannot fathom what might have happened to the friend she said she once knew “better than a wife would” to make him commit such a horrifically violent act.
“I just pray that they can solve the problem—that he had an alternate personality, or had a brain tumor,” Crawford said.
“He was the most stable, even-keeled personality … He never even got frustrated.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, authorities have noted that Paddock in many ways does not fit the profile of someone who has committed mass violence in the United States. According to all available information, investigators so far have not uncovered anything left behind by Paddock that indicate what his motive may have been, even as they examine his mobile devices and internet search history.
Clark County’s District Attorney Steven B. Wolfson told the New York Times that in “99 percent of cases,” a mass killer will leave behind some indication of motive.
“Most of the time, you don’t defend it, you don’t accept it, but you hear the why,” Wolfson said.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and I can’t remember another homicide — and then you multiply what I’m about to say by 58 — where you don’t know why.”
[Feature image: U.S. Government]
