Utah dance mom ‘spiraled’ after getting ‘mean’ texts from another parent before murder-suicide: sources

The dance mom in an apparent murder-suicide with her 11-year-old daughter at a cheer competition in Las Vegas had been getting “mean” texts from other parents in their team, The Post has learned.

Tawnia McGeehan, 38, had been having problems with “one or two” other women with daughters in the Utah Xtreme Cheer (UXC) team, of which her daughter, Addi Smith, was a part, according to her mother.

“There’s one or two ladies that she never got along with, and it got really bad a month ago,” Connie McGeehan, 61, claimed to The Post.

Selfie of a woman and a young girl with pink highlights in their hair.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan.

“In the last comp they had, another girl got dropped and some of the moms were saying it was because of Addi. 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.”

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A source close to UXC confirmed there had recently been a “confrontation” between Tawnia and another of the dance moms in the team waiting room.

Tawnia had “struggled with depression her whole life,” according to her mother, but appeared to be “turning a corner,” especially since ending a nine-year custody battle for Addi with her ex-husband, Brad Smith, in 2024.

UXC team owner Kory Uyetake told The Post he was aware there had been “comments back and forth” between Tawnia and some of the other moms, but that everything seemed normal on Saturday after the team traveled from Utah to Nevada for the competition.

Connie Norman McGeehan smiling.
Connie McGeehan said she and her family are devastated over the loss of her daughter Tawnia McGeehan and granddaughter Addi Smith. Connie Norman McGeehan/Facebook

Addi was in her first season as a member on the team and “loved it,” he said, adding she “was the first [to practice] every time … She was a beautiful girl and she didn’t deserve this.”

Tawnia and Addi’s bodies were discovered at the Rio hotel and casino Sunday along with a note after they failed to appear at the cheer competition and worried family members called for a welfare check.

Connie, who has a seven-bedroom home in Salt Lake City, said Tawnia and Addi had been living with her and other family members for some time.

Addi Smith in a cheerleader uniform sitting on a stone wall with a replica of the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Addi in Las Vegas, where she was excited to take part in a competition as part of the Utah Xtreme Cheer team. tawnia.mcgeehan/Facebook

“Addi loved her gymnastics, she loved her friends, she always seemed happy no matter what,” she said.

According to Connie, Tawnia seemed in good spirits when they left for the cheer competition and had made gifts for the cheer team members, bought new clothes for the trip and posted happy snaps of “Addi doing backflips” in their hotel room at 5 a.m. Sunday.

“They just looked like they were happy but then there was one pic of Addi and Tawnia together and I thought something doesn’t look like right. The look was off, something had happened. Something was off,” she told The Post through tears.

Addi Smith, a young girl in a cheerleading uniform, smiles at the camera.
Addi Smith was always the first to show up for practice, according to her team’s boss. Facebook/Utah Xtreme Cheer

Kory Uyetake posing behind a large "US ASF" sign.
Utah Xtreme Cheer (UTC) owner Kory Uyetake said he was shocked to learn about the murder-suicide and wants Addi to be remembered for the delightful child she was. @uxc_kory/Instagram

Police officers and hotel security first went to the mom and daughter’s room at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday after a welfare check request.

They knocked several times but left when no one answered, police said.

Tawnia McGeehan and her daughter, Addi Smith, smiling at the camera.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan. facebook/Tawnia McGeehan

Hotel security personnel then returned after repeated requests to check the room and made the grim discovery around 2:30 p.m.

The alarm was also raised by Addi’s stepmom, McKennly Smith, who shared a missing poster and a note saying: “My daughter Addi and her mom [are] missing please share post and call or text with any information thank you!”

Tawnia Hope McGeehan and her daughter Addi Smith sitting on red rock formations at sunset.
Connie McGeehan said Tawnia and Addi were close and always together. tawnia.mcgeehan/Facebook

Connie told The Post authorities have not yet shared the contents of the note they found with her.

“We had no idea [Tawnia] was contemplating this,” she said, adding: “I thought she was doing OK, she’d been having some of the cheer moms over and making things with the kids.

Missing persons flyer for Tawnie McGeehan and Addi Smith with a contact number.

A young girl in a pink cheerleading shirt making a peace sign.
The 11-year-old was killed by her mother, who then turned the gun on herself, according to police.

The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and other buildings illuminated at dusk in Las Vegas, with mountains in the background.
The pair had traveled to Vegas for Addi to take part in a cheer competition on Sunday but she never showed. NAN – stock.adobe.com

Connie said she wasn’t aware Tawnia owned a gun, let alone carried it interstate.

“[We’ve since learned] she bought it over a year ago,” she said.

Homicide detectives are still probing the case. The Post has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for additional information.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.