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An unthinkable tragedy has destroyed a family.
Over the weekend, preteen Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan were on a trip for Addi’s cheerleading team.
They didn’t show to the cheer meet. No one was able to get a hold of them.
Police found the mother and daughter dead in an apparent murder-suicide.
Our hearts go out to Addi’s loved ones
On Sunday, February 15, authorities made a grim discovery at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Mom Tawnia McGeehan and her preteen daughter, Addi Smith, were in the city for a cheer meet.
Addi was part of Utah Xtreme Cheer.
When she did not show up (and her mother did not call) for the competition, her teammates were worried.
From the information at hand, it appears that parents or others with the cheerleading team reached out to other family in search of answers.
Tawnia and Addi’s family were unable to contact them.
Worried, they reached out to authorities and made repeated requests for police to conduct a welfare check on the mother and daughter.
At around 10:45am on Sunday morning, officers and hotel security at the Rio Hotel & Casino visited the room.
There, police uncovered a tragic scene.
They found the bodies of both Tawnia and Addi. Additionally, they found an apparent suicide note.
Police have only disclosed certain details thus far
Both Tawnia and Addi had died by gunshot wounds.
(It remains unclear if anyone in the hotel heard gunshots or reported them)
A homicide investigation is ongoing.
However, based upon their findings, investigators believe that this was a murder-suicide.
They believe that Tawnia fatally shot her daughter on Saturday night and then killed herself.
The cheer team themselves announced the tragedy — in part — in a public statement.
“With the heaviest hearts, we share the devastating news that our sweet athlete Addi has passed away,” the statement shared.
“We are completely heartbroken,” the cheer team expressed. “No words do the situation justice.”
Speaking of Addi, they affirmed: “She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family.”
The statement did not delve into Tawnia’s passing. Given the alleged circumstances, that is understandable.
What could prompt a murder-suicide like this?
Investigators are likely speaking to family today (and all this week) alongside classmates, school counselors, hotel staff, and fellow cheerleaders.
There is so much that we do not know. And we do need to emphasize that, even if murder-suicide is apparently the likely explanation, sometimes crime scenes (and notes found at them) are misleading.
If you have ever known someone who had a tragedy like this in their family, you know that all that it takes is a heated argument, a loss of control, and easy access to a gun.
It seems unlikely that Tawnia planned this for the trip. (Family annihilators might plan a family trip in advance before a deliberate crime, but it likely wouldn’t be to a hotel in the middle of a city)
This is a heartbreaking and devastating tragedy. Addi was so young. And her friends and other loved ones are grappling with shock.
For most of her peers, she is likely the first person they have known who has been murdered — and perhaps their first friend who has died.
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