New Autopsy Details Reveal Final Hours of 11-Year-Old Cheerleader and Her Mother in Las Vegas Hotel Tragedy
Addilyn Smith was with her mom in Las Vegas at the time of her death for a cheer competition.Facebook/Tawnia McGeehan
Newly released autopsy reports are providing a clearer picture of the deaths of 11-year-old cheerleader Addilyn Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, inside a Las Vegas hotel room earlier this year.
Addilyn had traveled from Utah with her 34-year-old mother for a cheerleading competition when both were found dead at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Feb. 15. Authorities determined that McGeehan killed her daughter before taking her own life.
The latest reports reveal additional details about the hotel room, toxicology findings and handwritten notes investigators recovered after the deaths.
Concern Grew After Mother and Daughter Disappeared
Addilyn Smith was with her mom in Las Vegas at the time of her death for a cheer competition.Facebook/Tawnia McGeehan
McGeehan’s ex-husband, Brad Smith, became concerned after he was unable to reach the pair on Feb. 14.
By the following morning, other families connected to Addilyn’s cheer team were also worried when the mother and daughter failed to appear at the competition they had traveled to Las Vegas to attend.
Police eventually conducted a welfare check at their hotel room and discovered them lying side-by-side on a bed.
Investigators found a firearm in the room along with several handwritten notes. One note had been placed near the entrance warning whoever entered to call 911 before proceeding further.
Addilyn was found wrapped in a blanket and still dressed in pajamas. Her stuffed animals were discovered on the other bed alongside luggage and other personal belongings.
Toxicology Reports Reveal Multiple Substances
Tawnia Hope McGeehan with her daughter Addilyn Smith. The mom killed her daughter before taking her own life.Facebook/Tawnia McGeehan
The newly released toxicology findings showed several medications in Addilyn’s system, including quetiapine, gabapentin, lorazepam and diphenhydramine.
McGeehan’s results showed the same substances, along with additional prescription medications, cannabinoids and other compounds.
Despite those findings, authorities determined that the medications were not the cause of either death. Both deaths were attributed to gunshot wounds.
One of McGeehan’s handwritten notes stated that Addilyn had been heavily medicated before her death and had slept beside her mother.
The report also said Addilyn’s phone had deliberately been left accessible so her photographs and videos could be viewed afterward.
Notes Offer Insight Into the Days Before the Tragedy
Investigators found multiple prescription bottles bearing McGeehan’s name inside the hotel room, as well as THC gummies and medication capsules.
According to the report, McGeehan had been experiencing severe depression amid relationship difficulties and a long-running custody dispute with her former husband.
Family members also told investigators that she had previously experienced severe depression, had received prescription treatment and had a history of suicidal thoughts.
McGeehan and Brad Smith had reportedly been involved in a custody dispute concerning Addilyn for roughly nine years.
Family Had Previously Described Tensions Around Cheerleading
After the deaths, McGeehan’s mother, Connie McGeehan, also described tensions involving other parents connected to Utah Xtreme Cheer.
She said her daughter had been receiving hostile messages from “one or two” mothers in the weeks before the Las Vegas trip.
According to Connie, tensions had intensified after another cheerleader was dropped during a previous competition and some parents blamed Addilyn.
“Cheer was her and Addi’s life,” Connie said, adding that she believed something may have happened shortly before the deaths that caused her daughter to spiral.
That account reflects the grandmother’s belief and has not been established by investigators as the cause of the tragedy.
A Cheer Competition That Ended in Tragedy
Addilyn and her mother had traveled from West Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City, expecting to spend the weekend at a cheer competition.
Instead, their failure to appear the following morning prompted mounting concern among family members and other cheer families, eventually leading police to their hotel room.
Months later, the newly released reports have added painful details about what investigators encountered there, including Addilyn’s belongings, the handwritten messages left behind and the circumstances surrounding the final hours of the mother and daughter.