Court records outline years of custody disputes between parents of child killed in Vegas 
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Newly reviewed court records outline years of custody disputes between Tawnia McGeehan and Bradley Smith, the parents of 11-year-old Addilyn Smith, who died this past weekend.
The documents include strict exchange rules and findings by a judge that reshaped custody of their daughter.
2News obtained the records after the Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identities of a woman and her 11-year-old daughter found dead Sunday at the Rio Hotel & Casino as McGeehan, 34, of West Jordan, and Addilyn. The coroner’s office officially ruled the death of McGeehan a suicide.
Official rulings for the cause and manner of death for Addilyn were still pending as of Tuesday morning.
The mother and daughter had been reported missing by family and friends after they were last seen Saturday night at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino.
In Utah, divorce proceedings between McGeehan and Smith date back to 2015. A decree of divorce was finalized in 2017 in the 4th District Court in Utah County.
In May 2024, a judge signed an order modifying the divorce decree, awarding the parents joint legal and joint physical custody on a week-on, week-off schedule.
Exchanges were to take place at the child’s school when in session, or at the Herriman Police Department when school was not in session. The order required the parents to park five stalls apart during exchanges and prohibited either from recording the child during those transitions. It also allowed the other parent to keep her overnight if one was unable to pick her up from school during the scheduled parent time.
Earlier rulings reflect a more contentious period. In December 2020, following a temporary order hearing, the court granted Smith, the father, sole physical custody on a temporary basis. The judge found it was in the child’s best interest to change custody, citing concerns that McGeehan had engaged in behavior described as being on the spectrum of parental alienation and had committed domestic abuse in the child’s presence. The order also questioned her co-parenting skills and required that her parent-time be supervised by a third party at her expense.
In May 2020, the court issued an order to show cause directing McGeehan to appear and explain why she should not be held in contempt for allegedly failing to pay insurance costs and for denying parent-time. The order warned she could face sanctions, including up to 30 days in jail.
The case file includes multiple motions for temporary orders, custody modifications, and a change of venue from Salt Lake County to Utah County in early 2015, underscoring a years-long legal battle over custody and parent-time.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department continues to investigate the deaths.
Outside of the family case in court, Smith’s court record includes a DUI in 2023, a few traffic offenses, and child support liens in 2015 and 2024, and a trespassing charge from 2013 that was dismissed.
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