A Utah mother shot and killed her 11-year-old daughter before taking her own life in a Las Vegas hotel room after the two failed to appear for a cheerleading competition, authorities confirmed on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
The bodies of 38-year-old Tawnia McGeehan and her daughter, Addi Smith, were found Sunday afternoon at the Rio Hotel & Casino along with a suicide note, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Investigators believe the shooting occurred late Saturday evening.
McGeehan and her daughter had traveled from West Jordan, Utah, to Las Vegas for a Utah Xtreme Cheer event. When they did not show up for the competition on Sunday morning, the cheer program contacted police and reported them missing.
Utah Xtreme Cheer posted an urgent alert on social media early Sunday, announcing that an athlete and her mother had disappeared and never arrived at the scheduled event.
Officers and hotel security initially responded to the hotel room around 10:45 a.m. Sunday after a welfare check was requested. They knocked repeatedly and called the occupants’ names but got no answer. After waiting 15 to 20 minutes, officers left.
Hotel security returned at about 2:30 p.m. following multiple requests from family members for another check. When no one responded, staff entered the room and discovered the bodies.
Detectives found a note at the scene but declined to discuss its details. Lt. Robert Price said no guests had reported hearing gunshots or any unusual noises. “It is a sad and tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family,” Price stated.
Once the deaths were confirmed, Utah Xtreme Cheer shared a heartfelt message about Addi. “We are completely heartbroken. No words do the situation justice,” the team said.
The tragedy follows years of combative custody disputes between McGeehan and Addi’s father, Bradley Smith. Court records show the pair divorced in 2015 and spent nine years locked in contentious legal fights over their daughter.
Their severe conflict led judges to enforce strict rules for custody exchanges. A May 2024 ruling required the parents to park five spaces apart, with Addi walking between the vehicles alone.
When school was out, exchanges were ordered to take place at 9 a.m. each Monday outside the Herriman Police Department in Utah. Both parents were prohibited from filming exchanges or approaching one another at school functions.
Court documents indicate there were 350 filings related to the divorce and custody issues, most of them sealed. The judge instructed both parents not to disparage each other in Addi’s presence and required them to use the Family Wizard app for communication.
The court also established FaceTime calls every Tuesday and Friday at 6 p.m., giving each parent a 15-minute period to initiate the call before losing the opportunity. They were only allowed to text in an emergency involving Addi.
Smith received sole custody in December 2020 after an initial shared-custody arrangement. Records show he owed $9,600 in back child support as of February 2024 and was ordered to pay McGeehan $288 per month.
Smith married his second wife, McKennly, in 2020, and she referred to Addi as “my daughter” on social media.
Previous court findings stated that McGeehan engaged in “behavior that is on the spectrum of parental alienation” and ruled she “has committed domestic abuse in the presence of the minor child.”
In August 2016, Smith listed his old wedding ring for sale on Facebook, writing in the post: “I only wore the ring for a year.”
The mother and daughter were last seen alive around 8 p.m. on Feb. 14 at their hotel. Authorities first reported that the pair were staying at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, but their bodies were ultimately located at the Rio on the 3700 block of West Flamingo Road near South Valley View Boulevard.
Police confirmed the pair had traveled to Las Vegas specifically for the cheer competition. Detectives continue investigating, though authorities have not identified a clear motive for the murder-suicide.
