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Addilyn Smith, 11, was killed by her mother last weekend before the woman died by suicide

Samira Asma-Sadeque is a legal writer at PEOPLE’s crime desk. Her work also appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian US and HBO Max, among other platforms.

Tawnia McGeehan with Addilyn Smith (left); and Addilyn Smith.Credit : Tawnia McGeehan/Facebook (2)

NEED TO KNOW

Tawnia McGeehan, 34, killed her daughter while the two were in Las Vegas for a cheerleading tournament
Hotel security guards responding to requests for a welfare check on Sunday, Feb. 15, found McGeehan and her daughter, Addilyn Smith, fatally shot
Court records show a judge once removed Addilyn from McGeehan’s custody, citing parental alienation

The woman who fatally shot her 11-year-old daughter in a Nevada hotel room before turning the gun on herself once temporarily lost custody of the child, according to reports.

Addilyn Smith, a beloved cheerleader from Utah, was killed by her mother Tawnia McGeehan, 34, inside a Las Vegas, Nev., hotel room before McGeehan died by suicide, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Officers with LVMPD found their bodies on Sunday, Feb. 15.

According to FOX 5, the mother-daughter duo were in town for a cheerleading tournament.

Court documents obtained by KUTV are now shedding light on McGeehan’s history with her child.

Addilyn’s parents divorced in 2017, according to court records pertaining to the custody arrangements cited by KUTV.

In December 2020, a Utah County court granted Addilyn’s father sole custody on a temporary basis, the documents stated.

In his decision, a judge cited McGeehan’s parental alienation as one of the reasons for the deicison. The judge further said that McGeehan had committed domestic abuse in front of Addilyn.

Per the judge’s order, McGeehan was required to have a third party present for her parent time with Addilyn, KUTV reported.

The decree was modified in May 2024, when a judge awarded both parents joint legal and physical custody. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to this modification.

Addilyn Smith.Tawnia McGeehan/Facebook

Addilyn is being deeply mourned following the killing, which has shaken her cheer community.

“She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family,” Utah Xtreme Cheer said in a post on Facebook on Sunday.

“She took a lot of pride in what she was doing,” Emily Morgan, who once coached Addilyn, told KUTV. “As a coach, that’s the dream. And because of that attitude, I always knew she was going to go far in this experience.”

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Addilyn and her mother’s bodies were found following welfare check requests from Addilyn’s cheer team after she missed the competition on Sunday morning, FOX 5 reported.

Police initially responded to the hotel for a welfare check and got no response, but found no reason for concerns, LVMPD said in their statement.

However, hotel security personnel decided to get into the room after repeated calls for checks later into the day, per LVMPD.

It wasn’t immediately clear what led up to the killing, and police have not publicly commented on a motive.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.