In a tragic case of murder-suicide, the stepmother of an 11-year-old cheerleader, killed by her own mother in a Las Vegas hotel, had issued a chilling appeal for assistance just before their bodies were discovered.
McKennly Smith took to Facebook, sharing a missing persons poster with the message, “My daughter Addi and her mom [are] missing, please share this post and contact me with any information. Thank you!”
The poster featured a photo of Addi Smith smiling alongside her mother, 38-year-old Tawnia McGeehan, and noted their last known location as the New York-New York Hotel in Las Vegas.
Concerned team members alerted authorities on Sunday when Addi and her mother did not appear for the cheer competition she was scheduled to attend.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers visited their room at the Rio Hotel & Casino around 10:45 a.m. but, finding no signs of immediate danger and receiving no answer at the door, they departed, according to a police statement.
Despite the police visit, family members continued to request that authorities and hotel staff check the room. Four hours later, hotel security entered the room and found Addi and McGeehan dead from gunshot wounds. Police revealed that McGeehan, who was in the midst of a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband, Brad Smith, had left a suicide note.
Addi was a cheerleader for Xtreme Cheer, which was devastated by her death.
“No words do the situation justice. She was so beyond loved, and she will always be a part of the UXC family,” the cheer team said.
