Before taking her own life, a mother shot her 11-year-old cheerleader daughter dead, whom she had temporarily lost custody of.
Tawnia McGeehan, 34, and Addilyn Smith, 11, were found inside their hotel room at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, covered in gunshot wounds.
The two were in the city for the younger’s cheerleading competition, which Addilyn missed on Sunday morning, prompting welfare check requests from Addilyn’s team.
Clark County Coroner's Office confirmed that McGeehan died by suicide, while investigations are ongoing into the daughter’s death, who also sustained a gunshot wound.
Court documents show that Addilyn’s parents separated in 2017, with her father being granted temporary sole custody three years later, in 2020.
Reports cited a judge referencing McGeehan's parental alienation as one factor in the custody decision, along with domestic abuse incidents in front of the child.
In May 2024, a judge awarded both parents joint legal and physical custody, though no further developments were reported regarding the arrangement.