The first indication that something was wrong came when an 11-year-old cheerleader failed to appear at an event she had traveled to Las Vegas to attend. Addilyn “Addi” Smith had arrived in Nevada with her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, for a cheerleading tournament. They were staying at the Rio H๏τel & Casino, and everything about the trip was supposed to center around Addi’s compeтιтion. Instead, her absence that morning triggered a chain of calls, concerns and eventually a welfare check.

The timing became critical. Addi was expected at the compeтιтion, but she never appeared. People close to the family were unable to reach the mother and daughter. Addi’s father eventually contacted authorities, asking police to check on them. The welfare check took officers to their H๏τel room, where they knocked repeatedly and attempted to get a response. No one answered.

Officers initially left the area after determining they did not have enough information to enter the room. According to local reporting, H๏τel security was notified and later returned to the room after continued concern from family and others. That second response ultimately changed the case from a missing-person concern into a homicide investigation.

When H๏τel personnel eventually entered, investigators found a handwritten warning attached to the door. The message instructed anyone entering to call 911 and indicated that two people were inside, including an 11-year-old. The note immediately established that the situation was far more serious than a missed appointment or a family that simply could not be reached.

Inside the room, police found Addi and McGeehan ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. A firearm was recovered, along with prescription medication containers, over-the-counter sleep aids, THC gummies and other items that later became relevant to the investigation. The Clark County coroner’s office subsequently concluded that Addi died from a gunsH๏τ wound and classified her death as a homicide. McGeehan’s death was classified as a suicide.

The newly released toxicology records added another dimension. Reports stated that both mother and daughter had several substances in their systems, including medications that can have sedating effects. Investigators also documented notes suggesting that Addi had been heavily medicated before her death. These findings have received considerable attention because they provide information about the girl’s condition during the final period of her life, although they do not by themselves establish why the killing occurred.

The circumstances surrounding the family had already been complicated before the H๏τel tragedy. McGeehan and Addi’s father had been involved in custody litigation for years. Court records described disputes dating back to Addi’s childhood, including a period in which McGeehan temporarily lost custody. By 2024, the parents had reached a joint-custody arrangement. The history is part of the broader record, but authorities have not publicly declared that the custody dispute alone was the definitive motive.

That distinction matters because the newly released records answer some questions while leaving others open. They establish how the authorities found the pair, what was recovered at the scene and what the medical examiner documented. They also provide additional context about McGeehan’s reported history of depression and the family’s legal conflict. But they do not provide a simple explanation for the decisions that led to the deaths.

For those who had expected to see Addi at the compeтιтion, the sequence remains difficult to process. A child who was supposed to be preparing for a performance instead became the subject of a welfare check. A H๏τel room that had been part of a family trip became a crime scene. And months later, the release of official records has revealed additional details without changing the devastating outcome.