Heading to a cheer competition with your family and teammates should be nothing but a super exciting time, especially when you’re a tween and it means traveling somewhere new with your friends and trying to win as many competitions as you can. Tragically, that was not the case for an 11-year-old girl who traveled to Las Vegas with her Utah cheer troupe, only to have her own mother kill her in their hotel room before turning the gun on herself. The bodies of the mother and daughter were found inside a room at the Rio Hotel & Casino.
According to KSNV, Las Vegas police are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide after they received a call around 10:45 a.m. February 15, 2026, to do a welfare check for the mother and daughter in Las Vegas.
When officers arrived, they met with hotel security and made their way to the room. They knocked several times and received no answer, per KSNV. Police left after making no contact with the mother and daughter, only to have security enter the room about 2:30 p.m. after receiving several concerned calls from family and friends. The security team then called authorities to report two dead females in the room.
Fox 13 has confirmed that the pair was Tawnia McGeehan and her daughter, Addi Smith. Authorities began a homicide investigation and discovered it was likely that McGeehan had killed her daughter and shot herself sometime in the evening of February 14.
Investigators have said a note was left in the hotel room, but they did not share what it said, per Fox 13.
McGeehan and her ex-husband, Brad Smith, went through “an ugly custody dispute” when they divorced in 2015, which went on for nine years, the New York Post reported. In the end, it appeared that the mother “[retained] much of the control over her daughter” in 2024, per the newspaper.
The Utah Xtreme Cheer troupe, which Addi Smith was on, shared a touching tribute on its Facebook page that stated, “We are completely heartbroken. No words do the situation justice. She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family.”
Our thoughts are with the family’s loved ones as they navigate through this incredibly difficult time.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available24/7 by phone or online chat.
