Utah girl, mother die in apparent murder-suicide at Las Vegas hotel, police say

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A Utah girl and her mother died in a Las Vegas hotel Sunday.
• Police say they suspect a murder-suicide, with the mother shooting her daughter then herself.
• Community members expressed shock and support, tying blue ribbons for the family.

LAS VEGAS — A preteen Utah girl and her mother were found dead Sunday inside a hotel room in Las Vegas in what authorities are investigating as an apparent murder-suicide, police and community officials said Monday.

Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded Sunday to a hotel near West Flamingo Road and South Valley View Boulevard for a welfare check after Tawnia McGeehan and her daughter, Addi Smith, failed to arrive at a scheduled cheer competition and could not be contacted, according to police.

When officers made entry into the room, they located McGeehan and Smith deceased. Preliminary information from investigators indicates McGeehan shot Smith before turning the gun on herself. A note was recovered from the room, police said. Authorities have not released details about its contents.

On Monday evening, neighbors gathered to tie blue ribbons around trees throughout the neighborhood — a symbol of support for the grieving family. Many said they are still in shock and never imagined something like this could happen so close to home.

"We want them all to know that we're thinking about them and care for them," a neighbor, Alison Johnson, said.

Utah Xtreme Cheer, a competitive cheer organization based in Utah, confirmed Sunday night that one of its athletes had died.

"With the heaviest hearts, we share the devastating news that our sweet athlete Addi has passed away," the organization wrote in a Facebook post. "We are completely heartbroken. No words do the situation justice. She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family."

Earlier Sunday, the organization had posted that the athlete and her mother were missing after they did not arrive at competition and could not be reached, stating that police had been contacted.

Utah Fusion All-Stars also identified the athlete who died as Addi, writing on social media that she "was absolutely loved in our gym" and "will always be remembered for her sweet smile and light that she brought to her teams."

The Utah Cinderella Pageant expressed condolences to the family, saying Addi's "bright smile and kindness will never be forgotten."

"It was just absolute shock and disbelief," Johnson added.

"We just mourn with their families. We're just really sad. We watched the kids walk past our house every day for school," another neighbor, Melissa Hoch, said.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing. No additional details have been released.

"We just miss (Addi) a lot. It's going to be hard not to see her around," a neighbor, Rob Hoch, said.

Suicide prevention resources

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Crisis hotlines

• Huntsman Mental Health Institute Crisis Line: 801-587-3000
• SafeUT Crisis Line: 833-372-3388
• 988 Suicide and Crisis LifeLine at 988
• Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1-866-488-7386

Online resources

• NAMI Utah: namiut.org
• SafeUT: safeut.org
• Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988lifeline.org
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Utah chapter: afsp.org/chapter/utah

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Sicily Stanton for KSL and Dan Rascon