Toxicology results have been released for a Utah mother and her 11-year-old daughter following their deaths in a Las Vegas hotel murder-suicide.
Tawnia McGeehan, 34, and Addilyn Smith were discovered dead from gunshot wounds inside a room at the Rio Hotel and Casino on February 22, after police conducted a welfare check. The pair had traveled to Las Vegas for Smith’s cheer competition.
Autopsy reports from the Clark County coroner show multiple prescription drugs were present in both victims’ systems. Smith’s toxicology screen detected quetiapine, an antipsychotic; gabapentin, an anticonvulsant; lorazepam, an anxiety medication; and diphenhydramine, an antihistamine.
McGeehan’s system contained the same four substances plus additional drugs. Her report also listed eszopiclone or zopiclone, a prescription sedative; citalopram or escitalopram, an antidepressant; and cannabinoids. Caffeine was detected in both mother and daughter.
The coroner determined McGeehan shot Smith in the head before turning the gun on herself. Both died from their injuries in the hotel room where they had been staying for the cheer event.
Handwritten notes recovered from the scene indicated the child had been “very medicated” in the period leading up to the killings, according to the coroner’s investigative report. The documents did not elaborate on who authored the notes or their precise contents.
The welfare check that discovered the bodies was requested after concerns were raised about the pair. The Rio, located off the Las Vegas Strip, regularly hosts youth sports families traveling for regional competitions.
McGeehan and Smith had come from Utah for the cheerleading event, part of a circuit that draws young athletes and their parents to cities across the western United States. The February competition drew teams from multiple states.
The combination of substances found in Smith’s system raises questions about how an 11-year-old came to ingest multiple powerful prescription medications. Quetiapine carries a black-box warning for use in children and adolescents, while lorazepam is generally not recommended for pediatric patients. Gabapentin and diphenhydramine are more commonly prescribed but can cause significant sedation.
McGeehan’s additional drugs — the sedative eszopiclone or zopiclone and the antidepressant citalopram or escitalopram — are both adult medications with no established pediatric use. The presence of cannabinoids in her system was also noted in the coroner records.
The exact timing of the drug ingestion relative to the shootings was not specified in the reports obtained by local media. The coroner has ruled both deaths, with McGeehan’s manner listed as suicide and Smith’s as homicide.
Las Vegas police have not indicated whether they are continuing any investigation beyond the coroner’s findings. The department typically closes cases once a murder-suicide determination is made and no additional suspects exist.
Youth sports travel has come under scrutiny in other contexts involving child welfare, though no systemic issues have been identified in this case. Cheer competitions specifically involve long hours, physical demands, and significant parental investment in training and travel costs.
The Clark County coroner’s office released the autopsy and toxicology findings following standard procedures for closed cases in Nevada. The reports were first obtained by Las Vegas television station KSNV.