A mother suspected of killing her 11-year-old cheerleader daughter before turning her gun on herself had previously been locked in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband, according to court documents.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead in the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, after travelling to the city for a cheerleading competition.
“At some time last night, the mother shot her daughter and then shot herself,” Lieutenant Robert Price told reporters on Sunday evening. “This is a sad and tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family.”
But court papers seen byThe New York Post state that McGeehan had spent years fighting for custody of Addi, amid her divorce from Brad Smith, her former husband.
Eventually, she was granted a split-custody agreement, although the terms were strict.
Both parents were ordered to remain in their vehicles while handing over Addi at her school. Each car was required to be at least five spaces apart, with the youngster having to walk between them herself.
When school was not in session, the handover of Addi between her two parents would take place at the Herriman Police Department in Utah at 9 am every Monday.
Disagreements between the pair were to be resolved by email, with the court stating that emergency mediation sessions would be required for larger-scale decisions.
Documents seen by Fox 5 also alleged that McGeehan temporarily lost custody of Addi in 2020, after a court ruled that she had acted in a way that could alienate her daughter from her father.
In 2021, McGeehan filed a temporary restraining order against Addi’s stepmother, claiming that she had been filming custody exchanges. She suggested this violated the terms agreed upon by the couple in court.
Eventually, McGeehan and Smith reached an agreement in 2024 for joint custody on a one-week-on, one-week-off basis.
Addi was reported missing on the morning of February 15, 2026, by her cheer squad, Utah Xtreme Cheer, after both she and her mother had failed to appear at a team meeting.
When the squad requested a welfare check, cops raced to the Rio Hotel & Casino to find the pair.
However, when neither Addi nor her mother answered the door, officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department determined they lacked sufficient evidence to enter the room.
Eventually, security staff at the hotel entered the room at 2.30 pm that same Sunday. Inside, they found both Addi’s and McGeehan’s bodies alongside a note.
Cops have yet to disclose the note’s contents.
The investigation is currently working on the belief that the mother shot her daughter dead on Saturday night before turning the gun on herself.
“Anytime that you are dealing with any type of child death, it’s sad,” Lieutenant Robert Price told reporters. “It’s a tragedy; our hearts go out to the family.”
Police say that the victim’s family and her cheer squad have been informed, as tributes to Addi flood in online.
“With the heaviest hearts, we share the devastating news that our sweet athlete Addi has passed away,” Utah Xtreme Cheer wrote late on Sunday evening. “We are completely heartbroken.
“No words do the situation justice,” the tribute continued. “She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family.”
Emily Morgan, Addi’s former cheer coach and the owner of Utah Fusion All-Stars in South Jordan, told KUTV that the youngster had loved cheerleading and that her absence had left a “void.”
“She would learn her part, and she took a lot of pride in what she was doing,” Morgan added. “As a coach, that’s the dream.
“And because of that attitude, I always knew she was going to go far in this experience.”
On Monday evening, Addi’s neighbors in Utah began tying blue ribbons around street lights in a show of support for the late pre-teen.
“We want them all to know that we’re thinking about them and care for them,” Alison Johnson, one of Addi’s neighbors, told KSL.com. “It was just absolute shock and disbelief.”
Another neighbor, Rob Hoch, told KSL.com that it was “going to be hard not to see her around.”
The Independent has contacted Utah Xtreme Cheer and the LVMPD for further comment.
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