A laptop computer recovered from the Las Vegas hotel room where Stephen Paddock launched the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was missing its hard drive, depriving investigators of a potential key source of information on why he killed and maimed so many people, ABC News has learned.
Paddock is believed to have removed the hard drive before fatally shooting himself, and the missing device has not yet been recovered, sources told ABC News.
Investigators digging into Paddock’s background also learned he purchased software designed to erase files from a hard drive, but without the hard drive to examine it is impossible to know if he ever used the software, one source said.
The absence of substantial digital clues has left investigators struggling to piece together what triggered Paddock to kill 58 innocent concertgoers and injure more than 500 others on October 1.
Authorities are examining every aspect of Paddock’s life — from his family, friends and associates to his travel patterns, health and finances. So far, a motive has been elusive to investigators.
The frequent gambler, described as a loner, spent months amassing his arsenal, staying under the radar with no one suspecting he would turn to extreme violence.
His finances did not appear to be a problem and Paddock had settled any debts he had with casinos shortly before the attack, a source said
Meanwhile, Bruce Paddock, a brother of Stephen Paddock, was arrested in California Wednesday morning on suspicion of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
A felony complaint alleges that between January 2014 and August 2014, Bruce Paddock possessed over 600 images of child or youth pornography.
When the investigation started Bruce Paddock was a transient and couldn’t be located, the police said, but he was recently found in North Hollywood, where he was arrested.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office filed one count of possession of over 600 images of child pornography and 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, police said.
Bruce Paddock is being held at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Detention Center; his bail was set at $60,000, the police said.
It’s unclear whether Bruce Paddock has obtained a lawyer.
Source-ABC
