Newly released autopsy reports have revealed harrowing details surrounding the death of an 11-year-old Utah cheerleader who was killed by her mother in a hotel murder-suicide.
Las Vegas police officers discovered the bodies of Addilyn Smith and her mother, Tawnia Hope McGeehan, 34, during a welfare check inside their room at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Feb. 15.
Investigators performing the inspection found the mother and daughter lying side-by-side on a bed, both suffering from fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
According to findings from the Clark County coroner, the young girl was found with her face covered by a pillow containing a single bullet hole.
Authorities also recovered several handwritten suicide notes left behind in the hotel room by McGeehan.
Providing descriptive context before the tragic message, officers noted that one note taped to a chair near the hotel entrance instructed, “Call 911 before walking in. Two dead bodies and one is an 11-year-old.”
The mother and daughter had traveled from Utah to Nevada so the young girl could participate in a local cheer competition.
Toxicology results included in the public files revealed that both individuals had ingested multiple prescription medications prior to the shooting.
Medical examiners detected quetiapine, an antipsychotic medication, along with gabapentin, an anticonvulsant drug used to treat seizure disorders, inside the child’s system.
The 11-year-old girl also tested positive for the anxiety medication lorazepam as well as diphenhydramine, a common antihistamine.
Laboratory analysis of the mother’s body showed the exact same four substances alongside additional pharmaceutical and recreational compounds.
McGeehan had also consumed eszopiclone, a prescription sedative, as well as the antidepressant drug citalopram and cannabinoids.
Toxicology reports further identified desmethyl loperamide, a chemical breakdown caused by anti-diarrhea medication, within the deceased mother’s bloodstream.
The newly published findings offer a comprehensive timeline of the tragic events that unfolded inside the Nevada resort room during the cheerleading event.