An 11-year-old Utah cheerleader was shot and killed by her mother inside a Las Vegas hotel room before the woman turned the gun on herself in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide, police said.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers were called to the Rio Hotel & Casino on Sunday afternoon after hotel staff carried out a welfare check and found the girl and her mother unresponsive in their room.
Both had gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives later determined that the mother shot her daughter and then herself, according to authorities, according to USA Today.
The victims have been identified by the Clark County coroner's office as 34-year-old Tawnia McGeehan of West Jordan, Utah, and her daughter, 11-year-old cheerleader Addilyn "Addi" Smith. Official records list McGeehan's death as a suicide, while the manner of death for Addilyn was still pending as of earlier this week, though police continue to treat the case as a suspected homicide-suicide.
Police said the pair had traveled to Las Vegas so Addilyn could compete in a national cheerleading event with her Utah Xtreme Cheer team. Team members and friends raised alarms when they did not show up for a scheduled meeting and later reported them missing on social media.
Officers first went to the hotel room Sunday morning for a welfare check but left after getting no answer at the door and seeing no immediate signs of danger, according to Las Vegas police, the Independent reported.
Additional requests from concerned relatives and the cheer program prompted hotel security to enter the room shortly before 2:30 p.m., when they discovered the bodies and a note, whose contents have not been made public.
The incident has drawn attention in Utah after reports emerged of a long-running custody dispute between McGeehan and Addilyn's father, including past court action and temporary loss of custody for the mother, though investigators have not said whether that history played a role in the killings.
Las Vegas homicide detectives say the investigation is ongoing but that they are not seeking any additional suspects. Authorities and victim advocates are urging families affected by domestic conflict or mental health crises to seek help through hotlines and local support services, as per People.
