Las Vegas authorities are investigating the deaths of an eleven-year-old girl and her mother, who were found deceased in a hotel room at the Rio Hotel & Casino on February 15th. The investigation has revealed a timeline of missed warning signs and delayed response that preceded the tragic discovery.
Addilyn Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, had traveled to Las Vegas for a cheerleading competition. When young Addilyn failed to appear at the scheduled event, her coach became concerned and requested authorities conduct a welfare check at approximately 10:45 in the morning local time.
Officers responded to the initial call, knocking on the door and calling into the room for fifteen to twenty minutes. Receiving no response and observing no immediate signs of danger, police cleared the call and departed the scene.
Over the subsequent hours, hotel personnel received multiple additional requests for welfare checks on the room’s occupants. The situation took a more urgent turn at approximately 2:26 in the afternoon when fire officials notified dispatchers that a note had been discovered on the door, suggesting a possible suicide attempt.
Hotel staff entered the room one minute after this discovery. By 2:35 in the afternoon, emergency medical personnel confirmed to dispatchers that they had located both an adult woman and a child deceased inside the room.
Lieutenant Robert Price of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Division addressed the media in a subsequent news conference, confirming the preliminary findings of the investigation. “The mother shot her daughter and then shot herself,” Lieutenant Price stated. He acknowledged that a note had been left behind but declined to discuss its contents, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Authorities have not publicly identified a motive for this apparent murder-suicide. The investigation remains active as detectives work to piece together the circumstances that led to this tragedy.
The case raises questions about response protocols when initial welfare checks yield no immediate evidence of danger. The four-hour gap between the first police response and the eventual discovery of the bodies has become a point of examination as investigators review the timeline of events.
This incident serves as a somber reminder of the hidden struggles that can exist behind closed doors, even during what should be joyful occasions such as a child’s sporting competition. The cheerleading community and the families’ hometown have been left to grapple with the shocking loss of a young girl whose life was cut tragically short.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department continues to investigate all aspects of this case and has not indicated when additional information might be made available to the public.
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