Found Deceased NV - Mother and young daughter: Tawnia McGeehan and Addi Smith missing in Las Vegas after not arriving for cheer competition. February 14, 2026

[sls314]

I would love to see something more than the social media angle. There is more that was happening in this woman's life. Aside from the custody case, the mean moms...what made her feel she needed a weapon?

1) When did they arrive in LV and checked into the hotel?
2) Were more people participating in the competition staying at the same hotel?
3) When were they last seen by the rest of the group and what happened during that interaction?

My children were never into this sort of activity; we were never the family that traveled for competitions, etc. The oldest was a theater nerd, and competitions that were out of town he navigated with the chaperones, always keeping us informed. We were not, regrettably, in a position to go with him, and he was a teenager already.

Is there anyone here who can give a clearer picture of how these meets work? I am sure that, as with professional conferences, there are sign ins, getting-to-know-you gatherings, meetings to discuss schedules for training, etc. At some point, something happened that this was triggered.

Why travel and wait until you are in the room to do this? She could have done this anywhere along the way. This is what I'm thinking.

Of course, untried in these matters as I am, these are all opinions and questions I've been mulling over. I will gladly accept being told to sit in a corner and say nothing.

I'm not sure why she bought the gun. However, the family member she lived with said that she purchased the gun over a year ago, and no one in the household knew she had it.

Exclusive | Utah dance mom ‘spiraled’ after getting ‘mean’ texts from another parent before murder-suicide: sources

“There’s one or two ladies that she never got along with and it got really bad a month ago,” Connie McGeehan, 61, told The Post.

nypost.com

Connie, who has a seven-bedroom home in Salt Lake City, said Tawnia and Addi had been living with her and other family members for some time.

Connie said she wasn’t aware Tawnia owned a gun, let alone carried it interstate.

“[We’ve since learned] she bought it over a year ago,” she said.

 

[Athos65]

I'm not sure why she bought the gun. However, the family member she lived with said that she purchased the gun over a year ago, and no one in the household knew she had it.

Exclusive | Utah dance mom ‘spiraled’ after getting ‘mean’ texts from another parent before murder-suicide: sources

“There’s one or two ladies that she never got along with and it got really bad a month ago,” Connie McGeehan, 61, told The Post.

nypost.com

Connie, who has a seven-bedroom home in Salt Lake City, said Tawnia and Addi had been living with her and other family members for some time.

Connie said she wasn’t aware Tawnia owned a gun, let alone carried it interstate.

“[We’ve since learned] she bought it over a year ago,” she said.

I am on the fence about the wisdom of owning a weapon on the sly while living in someone else's home. If it's your own home and you're the head of household, that's one thing. But this is a woman who is going through a divorce, has a young child, is suddenly in her mother's home and acquires a gun.

This is a conversation people who share a space, especially family, should have openly. "I am thinking of doing this, is that ok with you?" I, for one, would expect to be told, and would also expect to be apprised of how the weapon will be stored, etc.

Poor family. This is just not a good story from any angle.

 

[SimplyCass]

So she had lost custody of her before. But won her back at some point. Makes me wonder if she thought she was going to lose her again. No excuse to do what she did but people can react terribly when backed into a corner. Sound's like step Mom also caused Issues.

(RSBM) can I get a source on this?

 

[SpicyFruit]

(RSBM) can I get a source on this?

Docs reveal longtime custody dispute after mother, daughter found dead in Las Vegas hotel

A mother shot and killed her 11-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself in a Las Vegas hotel room over the weekend in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

www.fox5vegas.com

"Years of legal battles preceded tragedy​

Court documents obtained by FOX5 show McGeehan and her ex-husband, Brad Smith, had been involved in a custody dispute since Addi was a toddler.

McGeehan temporarily lost custody of Addi in 2020 after the court determined she had acted in ways that could alienate the child from the father. Documents also revealed she had committed domestic abuse in front of Addi and said McGeehan’s ability to co-parent was in serious question.

By 2024, McGeehan and Smith had reached an agreement. The court awarded joint legal and physical custody with one week on and one week off."

 

[sls314]

(RSBM) can I get a source on this?

I haven’t seen any verified reporting confirming misconduct by the stepmom.

In 2021, the mother filed for a restraining order related to recording parent-time exchanges, but I haven’t seen anything yet confirming that it was granted. Making an allegation isn’t the same as proving wrongdoing. Until there’s confirmed reporting, I don’t think it’s fair to claim the stepmom was causing problems too.

Source mentioning mom filing for a restraining order: Docs reveal longtime custody dispute after mother, daughter found dead in Las Vegas hotel

In 2021, McGeehan filed a temporary restraining order alleging Addi’s stepmother was recording parent-time exchanges, a violation of a court custody agreement.


The exchange terms were extremely strict, down to how many parking spaces had to separate the vehicles.

That level of detail suggests the court was trying to manage significant conflict. In situations like that, I can understand why any one of the parents might have felt tempted to record the exchanges to protect themselves from accusations of violating the order. That being said, I haven’t seen verified reporting yet confirming that the stepmom actually recorded the exchanges, only that mom alleged it.

Utah mom suspected of killing daughter was in bitter custody battle

Court documents allege that Tawnia McGeehan temporarily lost custody of her daughter after committing an act of domestic violence

www.the-independent.com

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.


Another source that also states the same information and references the 2021 request for restraining order. (This article doesn't mention the stepmother, but the timeline fits with the 2021 allegation mentioned in the other article.)

Utah mother who killed daughter, self had lengthy custody battle

The Utah mother who police say killed her 11-year-old daughter before taking her own life was previously engaged in a lengthy custody battle.

news3lv.com

"The lawyers kept changing, and that's never a good sign," said Schneider.

In 2020, the ex-husband received a temporary order granting sole custody. The order stated that McGeehan was "subjecting the child to behavior that is on the spectrum of parental alienation" and had "committed domestic abuse in the presence of the minor child."

McGeehan later filed for a temporary restraining order to receive supervised visitation with Addilyn in 2021.

Another order was issued in 2024 to modify the divorce decree, awarding joint custody of their child through alternating weeks. The ex-spouses were to exchange custody of Addilyn at her school, and when class wasn't in session, at a police station.

The order required that McGeehan and her ex-husband park at least five spaces apart when exchanging custody, something Schneider noted was unusual.

"That's a red flag," the attorney said. "If you have to mandate five parking spaces, things are really having to be controlled here."


Custody disputes are often messy, and sometimes there’s shared conflict on both sides. I’m open to seeing what verified reporting shows about the adults involved. But regardless of any potential behaviors from dad and/or stepmom, Mom is still the one who made the irreversible decision to take Addi’s life. That fact doesn’t change.

 

[SimplyCass]

Docs reveal longtime custody dispute after mother, daughter found dead in Las Vegas hotel

A mother shot and killed her 11-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself in a Las Vegas hotel room over the weekend in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

www.fox5vegas.com

"Years of legal battles preceded tragedy​

Court documents obtained by FOX5 show McGeehan and her ex-husband, Brad Smith, had been involved in a custody dispute since Addi was a toddler.

McGeehan temporarily lost custody of Addi in 2020 after the court determined she had acted in ways that could alienate the child from the father. Documents also revealed she had committed domestic abuse in front of Addi and said McGeehan’s ability to co-parent was in serious question.

By 2024, McGeehan and Smith had reached an agreement. The court awarded joint legal and physical custody with one week on and one week off."

Okay, but the stepmom isn't mentioned at all in that article. That is all between the biological parents.

 

[sunspun]

For those of you questioning why no one seemed to notice the gunshots, a silencer could have been used.

Or a pillow. Works at least as well, or at least it did in the movie "In the Nick of Time", if I have the title correct.

When Christopher Walkens' character shot a woman (I believe it was the housekeeper), he merely held a pillow up to her stomach and shot into it, and the sound was effectively suppressed, if I recall.

Maybe it doesn't work as well IRL, but I assumed it does. IMO

Shocking scene.

 

[tomatotraveler]

It sounds like this little girl’s entire life involved strife between her parents to a significant degree. Which is sad enough on its own, but in light of how things ended is just another level of heartbreaking.

 

[Occam's Zebra]

Docs reveal longtime custody dispute after mother, daughter found dead in Las Vegas hotel

A mother shot and killed her 11-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself in a Las Vegas hotel room over the weekend in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

www.fox5vegas.com

"Years of legal battles preceded tragedy​

Court documents obtained by FOX5 show McGeehan and her ex-husband, Brad Smith, had been involved in a custody dispute since Addi was a toddler.

McGeehan temporarily lost custody of Addi in 2020 after the court determined she had acted in ways that could alienate the child from the father. Documents also revealed she had committed domestic abuse in front of Addi and said McGeehan’s ability to co-parent was in serious question.

By 2024, McGeehan and Smith had reached an agreement. The court awarded joint legal and physical custody with one week on and one week off."

This is not a source for any issues caused by a stepmother.

 

[SpicyFruit]

Okay, but the stepmom isn't mentioned at all in that article. That is all between the biological parents.

"In 2021, McGeehan filed a temporary restraining order alleging Addi’s stepmother was recording parent-time exchanges, a violation of a court custody agreement."

 

[SimplyCass]

"In 2021, McGeehan filed a temporary restraining order alleging Addi’s stepmother was recording parent-time exchanges, a violation of a court custody agreement."

Thank you for that quote.

now I'm wondering if that was adjudicated or not. Surely it was? The ongoing custody battle lasted from 2015-2024.

Are family court records public in Utah? How did the Daily Mail and other news organizations acquire the custody agreement and court files so quickly?

 

[Pseudonymph]

As a former dance mom, sometimes the parent cliques can get extremely intense and very ugly. That wasn't so much the case with me but I know others it happened to. The feathers (and sequins) can really fly. Couple that with all the ongoing stress and the availability of the gun and it's easy to see even one random catty comment could trigger this. (That's not saying that anyone is to blame, because that's not how mental illness works.) Some people also choose a hotel room because they don't like to make a mess in their own house for their loved ones to find.

 

[SpicyFruit]

Thank you for that quote.

now I'm wondering if that was adjudicated or not. Surely it was? The ongoing custody battle lasted from 2015-2024.

Are family court records public in Utah? How did the Daily Mail and other news organizations acquire the custody agreement and court files so quickly?

I am unsure... I honestly might look into that myself.

It just seemed like so much back and forth and there is so much supposed new information from all these weird little bloggers etc that I don't know what to believe and with as much traction as this has gained I hope LE can come out and clear up some of it. I cannot imagine how hard it will be to attempt to return to life after this. The amount of click bait articles I have seen claiming to get quotes from friends and family or the little girls friends is crazy.

 

[SpicyFruit]

As a former dance mom, sometimes the parent cliques can get extremely intense and very ugly. That wasn't so much the case with me but I know others it happened to. The feathers (and sequins) can really fly. Couple that with all the ongoing stress and the availability of the gun and it's easy to see even one random catty comment could trigger this. (That's not saying that anyone is to blame, because that's not how mental illness works.) Some people also choose a hotel room because they don't like to make a mess in their own house for their loved ones to find.

It really can add up. Our gym had a strict no tolerance policy. I thought it was extreme when we first joined until I seen how things could spiral quickly. We were not allowed to even have side group texts, and any drama you got the boot and banned from the gym for 2 years. I can't say it completely capped the drama or the sometimes negative comments but it put a stop to anything that could severely escalate.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

McGeehan was charged in connection with five incidents in West Jordan or Sandy involving custodial interference or electronic harassment between June 2017 and August 2020, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, which were later dismissed through a plea in abeyance, though a judge denied her request to expunge them from her record.


In another case, she received probation and a suspended jail sentence, while in a fourth, a misdemeanor charge was reduced to an infraction. In a fifth case, the charge she faced was dismissed.

A court search shows no criminal charges against Smith related to his relationship with McGeehan. The final court filing in their divorce case shows he was late on $9,772 in child support payments as of February 2024.

Court records reveal Utah mom's legal issues years before Las Vegas murder-suicide - East Idaho News

WEST JORDAN, Utah (KSL) — A mother suspected of killing her daughter before taking her own life in Las Vegas had a handful of brushes with the law related to apparent custody issues after divorcing the girl’s father, court records show. The incidents occurred years before the weekend tragedy in...

www.eastidahonews.com

 

[Pseudonymph]

It really can add up. Our gym had a strict no tolerance policy. I thought it was extreme when we first joined until I seen how things could spiral quickly. We were not allowed to even have side group texts, and any drama you got the boot and banned from the gym for 2 years. I can't say it completely capped the drama or the sometimes negative comments but it put a stop to anything that could severely escalate.

I love that policy. Unfortunately at our studio the owners and teachers got directly involved in the .