The mom was in a custody battle with her ex-husband over their daughter. The mother was selfish and decided to kill herself and her daughter. Read more about this wild story here
Tawnia McGeehan, 38, killed her daughter Addi Smith, 11, on February 15, 2026 at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during a cheer leading tournament.
Tawnia was in a custody dispute with her ex-husband over visitation rights to their little girl Addi. The dispute had been going on for years.
Tawnia and Addi lived in Utah but traveled to Las Vegas for Addi’s cheer leading competition. Addi was a competitive cheer leader and dancer.
Addi and Tawnia were staying in a room at the Rio Hotel & Casino. After Tawnia and Addi did not show up for a cheer function, friends and teammates called the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and hotel staff.
Police went to the room for a knock and talk wellness check, but no one came to the door, so police left. Friends continued to call police and hotel staff additional times, so cops came back 4 hours later with hotel staff that had a master key.
Hotel staff used the master key to open the door and found Tawnia and Addi in the hotel room dead. It was determined that Tawnia killed Addi and then killed herself via gunshots, all because she did not want Addi to spend time with her own father.
