Addilyn Smith, 11, was killed by her mother last weekend before the woman died by suicide
Samira Asma-Sadeque is a legal writer at PEOPLE’s crime desk. Her work also appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian US and HBO Max, among other platforms.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(742x506:744x508):format(webp)/Addilyn-Smith-021826-tout-a7f7eb845bbd441db239bd77f5c4836f.jpg)
Tawnia McGeehan with Addilyn Smith (left); and Addilyn Smith.Credit :Β Tawnia McGeehan/Facebook (2)
NEED TO KNOW
Tawnia McGeehan, 34, killed her daughter while the two were in Las Vegas for a cheerleading tournament
Hotel security guards responding to requests for a welfare check on Sunday, Feb. 15, found McGeehan and her daughter, Addilyn Smith, fatally shot
Court records show a judge once removed Addilyn from McGeehan’s custody, citing parental alienation
The woman who fatally shot her 11-year-old daughter in a Nevada hotel room before turning the gun on herself once temporarily lost custody of the child, according to reports.
Addilyn Smith, a beloved cheerleader from Utah, wasΒ killed by her motherΒ Tawnia McGeehan, 34, inside a Las Vegas, Nev., hotel room before McGeehan died by suicide, according to theΒ Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Officers with LVMPD found their bodies on Sunday, Feb. 15.
According toΒ FOX 5, the mother-daughter duo were in town for a cheerleading tournament.
Court documents obtained byΒ KUTVΒ are now shedding light on McGeehan’s history with her child.
Addilyn’s parents divorced in 2017, according to court records pertaining to the custody arrangements cited by KUTV.
In December 2020, a Utah County court granted Addilyn’s father sole custody on a temporary basis, the documents stated.
In his decision, a judge cited McGeehan’s parental alienation as one of the reasons for the deicison. The judge further said that McGeehan had committed domestic abuse in front of Addilyn.
Per the judge’s order, McGeehan was required to have a third party present for her parent time with Addilyn, KUTV reported.
The decree was modified in May 2024, when a judge awarded both parents joint legal and physical custody. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to this modification.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(503x627:505x629):format(webp)/Addilyn-Smith-021826-0af1c327f5d5429e8cdefe3bb756e146.jpg)
Addilyn Smith.Tawnia McGeehan/Facebook
Addilyn is being deeply mourned following the killing, which has shaken her cheer community.
“She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family,” Utah Xtreme Cheer said in aΒ postΒ on Facebook on Sunday.
βShe took a lot of pride in what she was doing,β Emily Morgan, who once coached Addilyn, toldΒ KUTV. “As a coach, thatβs the dream. And because of that attitude, I always knew she was going to go far in this experience.β
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forΒ PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterΒ for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Addilyn and her mother’s bodies were found following welfare check requests from Addilyn’s cheer team after she missed the competition on Sunday morning,Β FOX 5Β reported.
Police initially responded to the hotel for a welfare check and got no response, but found no reason for concerns, LVMPD said in their statement.
However, hotel security personnel decided to get into the room after repeated calls for checks later into the day, per LVMPD.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led up to the killing, and police have not publicly commented on a motive.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go toΒ www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
News
A MUDDY BANK, A BROKEN TRAIL, AND ONE DARK THEORY: The search dogs lost the scent near the water β but that may be where the real movement of Ernst and Dina beganβ¦ ππ
The dogs followed the scent until the river took it away. That is the chilling claim now circulating around the murder of Ernst and Dina Marais, the retired Mossel Bay couple found dead near Crooks Corner in Kruger National Park. According to one reported account from the search effort, sniffer dogs tracking the coupleβs route […]
THE COURTROOM FELL SILENT β THEN THE FAMILY REACTED: As Karmelo Anthony recounted events involving Austin Metcalf, one section of his testimony reportedly left loved ones devastatedβ¦
The murder trial of Karmelo Anthony has not yet reached the testimony that will decide the case. But online, the verdict is already being fought. A new claim circulating on social media says Anthony delivered shocking testimony in court βthis morning,β allegedly detailing final threats against Austin Metcalf and leaving the victimβs family outraged. So […]
MARTIN HENDERSON JUST SPOKE ABOUT VIRGIN RIVERβS FUTURE β AND FANS ARE READING BETWEEN EVERY LINE ππ
Virgin RiverΒ has long been Netflixβs emotional sanctuary for millions of viewers worldwide. Known for its small-town charm, slow-burn romance, and heartfelt storytelling, the series has created a devoted fanbase who feel more like part of the community than mere observers. But recently, a few comments from Martin Henderson, who plays the showβs emotional core, Jack […]
THE VIDEO THE JURY WAS NEVER EXPECTED TO SEE: Hidden footage played during the trial of Karmelo Anthony reportedly captured the victimβs final moments
The courtroom was already tense before the footage became the center of online speculation. Karmelo Anthony, the Texas teenager accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, is now facing trial in a case that has drawn national attention, racial tension, competing narratives, and more than $600,000 in […]
βSHE LOOKED BACK AT ME TWICEβ: The Picnic-Site Worker Who Remembers Dinaβs Final Expression A local worker near Pafuri says Dina Marais appeared uneasy before leaving the area with Ernst.
By Africa Crime Desk At the time, it looked like nothing. A tourist couple preparing to leave.A quiet moment near Pafuri.An elderly woman glancing back before getting into the vehicle with her husband. But after Ernst and Dina Marais were found murdered near Crooks Corner, one local worker reportedly could not stop thinking about Dinaβs […]
A BLUE FORD, A SERVICE VEHICLE, AND ONE TERRIFYING QUESTION: Did a touristβs dashcam accidentally capture the moment someone began following Ernst and Dina Marais?
The visitor did not know what he had recorded. At the time, it may have looked like nothing more than another slow-moving vehicle on a remote Kruger road near Pafuri: a Ford Ranger travelling behind a service vehicle as the evening light began to fade. But after Ernst and Dina Marais were found murdered near […]
End of content
No more pages to load
