The Utah girl who was murdered by her own mother during a trip for a cheerleading competition in Las Vegas has been at the center of a bitter custody dispute that dragged on for years, according to documents shared with Us Weekly.
Tawnia McGeehan and her ex-husband, Brad Smith, began battling over their daughter, Addi Smith, back in 2020, when the 38-year-old mother briefly lost custody of the girl — then a toddler.
McGeehan lost custody of Addi when the court determined she took deliberate actions to try to alienate the girl from her father.
The judge in the case called the mother’s coparenting abilities into question, according to the court documents.
The documents further detailed an alleged domestic abuse incident that allegedly happened in Addi’s presence.
Records show that McGeehan filed for a temporary restraining order in 2021, alleging Addi’s stepmother was recording their parent-time exchanges, which she insisted was a violation of a court-approved custody agreement.
McGeehan and Smith came to an agreement on custody in 2024, and the court approved it, granting joint legal and physical custody of Addi — with one week on and the next week off.
The mother and daughter were found dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room on Sunday, February 15. Police believe the woman shot Addi, 11, to death in their room at the Rio Hotel and Casino near the Las Vegas Strip sometime on Saturday, February 14. She later died by suicide, cops said.
According to investigators, no other hotel guests reported hearing gunfire.
McGeehan and Addi were in Las Vegas for a cheerleading competition. A motive — if known — has not been disclosed by investigators, who confirmed that McGeehan did leave a note that was found in the hotel room. The note’s contents have also been kept private.
Reports are now suggesting McGeehan may have been on the receiving end of some vicious texts sent by other cheer moms.
McGeehan, according to the New York Post, had been having issues with a couple of other women with daughters in the Utah Xtreme Cheer (UXC) team, which counted Addi as a member. “There’s one or two ladies that she never got along with and it got really bad a month ago,” said Tawnia’s mother, Connie McGeehan, speaking to the Post.
“In the last comp[etition] they had, another girl got dropped and some of the moms were saying it was because of Addi,” Connie told the tabloid. “They were texting [Tawnia] mean stuff and blaming Addi. Cheer was her and Addi’s life. I think something happened the day before [they died] that made her spiral.”
Connie did say that Tawnia struggled with depression, but that things seemed to be improving for her, after regaining custody of Addi.
A source close to UXC allegedly told the Post the Utah mom had recently been involved in a “confrontation” with another cheer mom that went down inside the team’s waiting room.
Kory Uyetake, the UXC team owner, explained to the Post he knew that there had been “comments back and forth” between Tawnia and some of the other moms, but said things seemed normal Saturday, after the team traveled from Utah to Nevada for the competition.
Las Vegas police continue to investigate the murder-suicide.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
