Newly released Clark County coroner records are shedding light on the final hours before Tawnia McGeehan, 34, and her 11-year-old daughter Addi Smith were found dead in a room at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 15. The two had traveled from Utah two days earlier so Addi could compete with her cheer team, Utah Xtreme Cheer. When Addi missed the competition and family members couldn’t reach McGeehan, a welfare check at the hotel went unanswered. A hotel security team eventually entered the room and found a chair blocking the door with a handwritten note that read, “Call 911 before walking in. Two dead bodies and one is an 11-year-old.”
McGeehan’s death was ruled a suicide by gunshot wound to the head. Investigators recovered prescription bottles, sleep aids, THC gummies, empty gabapentin capsules and a semi-automatic handgun from the room. Notes left behind indicated that Addi’s phone had been left open for photos and videos, and that the 11-year-old had been “very medicated” beforehand. Family members told investigators McGeehan suffered from severe depression and was in significant distress over a prolonged custody battle with her ex-husband, a fight court records show had been ongoing since Addi was a toddler.
The case raises difficult questions that resonate far beyond Nevada, including how family courts, mental health providers and the people closest to a struggling parent can recognize a crisis before it reaches this point. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24 hours a day.
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