Overview
- Hotel security found Addilyn Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, unresponsive at the Rio on Feb. 15 after officers earlier knocked for 15–20 minutes during a welfare check and left when there was no answer.
- Police say preliminary evidence indicates McGeehan shot her daughter and then herself the night before they were discovered, and no motive has been announced.
- The Clark County coroner ruled McGeehan’s death a suicide; the cause and manner of Addi’s death remain pending, and investigators confirmed a note was recovered but did not release its contents.
- Court records detail a protracted custody case, including a 2020 finding that McGeehan committed domestic abuse in the child’s presence and a 2024 order returning the parents to joint legal and physical custody with tightly controlled exchange rules.
- Utah court filings reviewed this week show McGeehan faced several charges between 2017 and 2020 tied to custodial interference and electronic harassment, as the cheer community mourns and a family fundraiser surpassed $34,000.