LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New court documents are revealing how 1 October shooter Stephen Paddock's estate is being divided up, what fees were charged in the process, and the timeline for when some of his weapons were destroyed.
According to court documents, on Aug. 31, 2018, Paddock's estate was valued at $1,389,928.23.
That happened after the special administrator for the estate was authorized to sell multiple properties that belonged to Paddock.
Court records show a property in Mesquite was sold on July 5, 2018 for $425,000. On the same day, a property was sold in Reno for $305,000.
On June 13, 2019, court documents show the estate sold the their right, title, and interest for the Paradise Ranch Investment Property. The property was sold for $96,646,50, attorneys documented.
Since Larry Bertsch was appointed special administrator to Paddock's estate, he is entitled to compensation for managing and selling real estate, litigation, and payments of extensive or complicated estate taxes, as well as other special services, the court record stipulates. The court approved a $6,353 payment, which went to Bertsch.
Bertsch passed away before the estate was settled and the Denton Cho firm and attorney Alice S. Denton became the administrators of the estate.
According to court documents, the attorney's fees were nearly $1.5 million. During the administration of the estate, court records also show Denton paid $13,543.91 out of her own pocket and she should be reimbursed for that. Other than the out-of-pocket payment, Denton said she and her law firm had chosen to waive the rest of their attorney fees and provide their services for free in honor of the deceased victims and their families.
Denton also said creditors had dropped their claims against the estate.
Court records show that on March 1, 2018, Paddock's mother also agreed to not claim any money from her son's estate so more money could go to the victims.
The court documents also break down the timeline for when Paddock's weapons were destroyed:
- In January 2019, an anonymous person offered to donate $62,500 with the condition that the firearms be destroyed or taken out of circulation, according to the court.
- On April 11, 2019, a motion was filed to stop them from being destroyed by a 1 October victim's family who claimed the weapons could be used as evidence in future court cases.
- By March 2022, those who opposed the destruction of the guns and firearms had withdrawn their objections.
- In September 2022, the court authorized Bertsch to give the weapons to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.
- On Feb. 28, 2023, the FBI certified that 36 firearms were destroyed, while 13 are being maintained by the FBI for "lawful law enforcement purposes and will not be sold to the public," according to court documents.
After receiving proof the weapons had been destroyed, court records show $62,500 was transferred to the estate to be distributed to victims' families.
Paddock opened fire on concertgoers from a Mandalay Bay suite on Oct. 1, 2017. Fifty-eight people died that night and in the days immediately following the shooting.
To date, it is considered the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Sixty-one families will receive payments from the estate, Denton confirmed to Channel 13.
Paddock, who killed himself at Mandalay Bay, is not included in that total.
The cumulative death toll now includes a previously unreported victim who died from their injuries in the years since the shooting, Denton said. She tells Channel 13 she will honor the wishes of that person's family in not publicly naming them or revealing information about their death.
