LAS VEGAS, NV — A bitter, nearly decade-long custody dispute has come to a devastating conclusion in a Las Vegas hotel room, where 11-year-old Addi Smith was found dead alongside her mother, Tawnia McGeehan.

The tragedy marks the grim end of a conflict that began with a divorce in 2015 and spiraled into nine years of relentless legal warfare—a battle where the strict choreography of court orders could not prevent the ultimate loss.

A Life Micromanaged by Conflict Court documents paint a picture of a childhood defined by the volatility between parents. For nearly her entire life, Addi was at the center of a high-conflict custody arrangement designed to keep her parents, McGeehan and her ex-husband, apart at all costs.

The hostility was so intense that the court had to mandate precise rules for every interaction:

• Strict Exchanges: Custody handovers were orchestrated down to the parking space. Parents were ordered to park exactly five spaces apart, allowing Addi to walk between the vehicles alone to avoid any parental interaction.

• Police Station Meetups: When school was not in session, exchanges took place in the neutral, monitored safety of police station parking lots.

• No Contact: At school events, the parents were forbidden from speaking to one another.

• Digital buffer: All communication was restricted to a court-approved app (“OurFamilyWizard”), with a rigid hierarchy of dispute resolution: emails first, followed by mediation, and finally court intervention if no agreement could be reached.

The Ultimate Price Despite the layers of legal intervention and the micromanagement of every decision, the system failed to protect the child at the center of the storm.

Authorities in Las Vegas are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, but the discovery has sent shockwaves through the Utah community where the family lived. What began as a legal dissolution of a marriage transformed into a war of attrition that seemingly consumed everyone involved.

“Winning” vs. Welfare The heartbreaking death of Addi Smith has ignited a difficult conversation about the nature of high-conflict family law cases. Legal experts and child advocates are pointing to this case as a grim reminder of how “winning” a custody battle can overshadow the actual well-being of the child.

As one community member noted in the wake of the news: “A child is gone because adult conflict spiraled out of control. At what point do we stop and ask if these battles are about the child, or about the parents winning?”

For Addi Smith, the 9-year war is over, but the questions it leaves behind will haunt those who knew her for years to come