Resorts World Murder Suspect Out on Bail For Deadly Fight at Las Vegas Hotel
Daniel Rodimer, a professional wrestler and former congressional candidate, turned himself up to police on Wednesday. Rodimer is suspected of killing a visitor at Resorts World Las Vegas in 2023.
At approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Rodimer, 45, turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center. For the incident at the Las Vegas Strip property on October 29, 2023, he faces open murder charges.
According to Las Vegas TV station KLAS, the attack occurred after the victim, Christoper Tapp, 47, allegedly supplied cocaine to Rodimer's stepdaughter at a party in a hotel room.
Rodimer responded to that with rage.
Threatening to murder the victim
According to KLAS, a witness claimed to have heard Rodimer threaten Tapp, saying, "If you ever talk to my daughter again, I'll [expletive] kill you." Police records state that the witness then heard two "loud banging noises."
According to a second witness, Rodimer shoved Tapp to the ground. Tapp's head hit a table on the way down.
"Dan proceeded to punch Christopher throughout his head and body,” this witness told police.
On November 5, after being taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Tapp passed away.
According to an autopsy, he had bleeding on his brain and died from blunt force trauma to the head. It was determined to be a homicide.
Texts that incriminate
Following the incident, text messages between Rodimer and his wife, Sarah Rodimer, said, “I watched you nearly murder somebody and I had to take your [expletive] hands off from his neck as he laid there and you ran away and I spent the next two hours trying to take care of him. Nobody should have to watch their husband murder somebody.”
David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, two prominent criminal defense lawyers in Las Vegas, are defending Daniel Rodimer on the murder accusation.
The lawyers told KLAS that Rodimer "intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected."
Rodimer's bail was set at $200K by Judge Eric Goodman. Rodimer is expected to appear in court on April 10 after successfully posting the bail.
Congressional Races Lost
The third congressional district seat, which encompasses Las Vegas, was lost by Republican Rodimer in 2020 to Democratic incumbent Rep. Susie Lee. Despite having Donald Trump's support, he lost by about 13,000 votes.
He failed a bid for a congressional seat in Texas the following year.
Tapp was previously incarcerated for 20 years for a sexual assault and murder case in Idaho. A jury found Tapp guilty of first-degree murder, rape, and the use of a dangerous weapon in 1998.
Tapp was later exonerated by genetic genealogy data. In 2019, he was freed from detention.
In 2020, Tapp filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the City of Idaho Falls, and the case was settled for $11.4 million.
Check Out Other News
UK
