Daniel Rodimer: Resorts World Death, Criminal Case, and Lawsuit

Daniel Rodimer, a former WWE wrestler and two-time Republican congressional candidate in Nevada, is charged with the October 2023 beating death of Christopher Tapp inside a suite at Resorts World Las Vegas. The Daniel Rodimer murder case is set for trial on June 15, 2026, before Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones. Rodimer has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $200,000 bail.¹²

What Happened at Resorts World

The party took place on October 29, 2023, in a luxury suite at the Crockfords hotel inside Resorts World Las Vegas. It was hosted by “Street Outlaws” race car driver John Odom and a concierge service called Vegas Nights. Christopher Tapp, 47, was in town for a car show and appeared as a sponsor on the party flier.³⁴

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Rodimer became enraged after he believed Tapp had offered cocaine to his stepdaughter, Bella Duffy. Witnesses said Rodimer told Tapp, “If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll f**king kill you,” followed by “two loud banging noises.”²

Tapp was taken to a hospital and died on November 5, 2023. The Clark County Coroner’s Office ultimately ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head. That was not the first finding. The coroner initially classified the death as accidental, treating it as an apparent overdose and fall, and did not perform an internal autopsy. The classification was changed to homicide only after Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detectives investigated. Police were not told the death was suspicious until November 22, 2023, nearly a month after the incident.⁵⁶

What the Witnesses Say

The prosecution’s central witness is Dani Lyons, a friend of Rodimer’s stepdaughter who was in the suite. Lyons told a grand jury in April 2024 that she saw Rodimer tackle Tapp to the floor, sending Tapp’s head into a small circular table. She said Rodimer then punched Tapp on the ground and put his hands around Tapp’s neck. Lyons acknowledged using cocaine at the party but said it did not impair what she saw. She also testified that the next day, Rodimer’s wife Sarah told her to tell police she “didn’t see anything.”⁷⁸

The host offered a different account. John Odom told hotel security Tapp had “slipped and fell.” A Resorts World security manager testified that he saw bruising on Tapp’s neck, head, and face when he responded to a call for medical help, and that the slippers Odom said Tapp had tripped on could not be found.⁵

Prosecutors also have a text message Sarah Rodimer sent her husband the night of the incident: “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.”⁹

Where the Criminal Case Stands

Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint on March 4, 2024. An arrest warrant for open murder followed two days later. Rodimer surrendered to the Clark County Detention Center on March 6, 2024, and posted $200,000 bail with no travel restrictions. A grand jury indicted him, and the case was assigned to Judge Jones.²¹⁰

Rodimer’s attorneys first sought to dismiss the indictment through a pretrial habeas petition, arguing that prosecutors relied on inadmissible hearsay, failed to present exculpatory evidence about Lyons’ drug use, and let a detective offer an opinion on guilt. Judge Jones denied the petition. On April 9, 2025, the Nevada Court of Appeals denied Rodimer’s petition for a writ of mandamus, concluding the trial court had not “manifestly abused its discretion.”¹¹

A second dismissal effort is pending as trial approaches. In spring 2026, defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld moved to dismiss the case or suppress evidence, alleging that Las Vegas police intercepted privileged attorney-client conversations, including one in which Rodimer discussed Tapp’s death, through court-authorized wiretaps. The defense argues the recordings were used to escalate the investigation into a murder case and that police also improperly captured communications between Rodimer and his wife in violation of spousal privilege.¹²

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal responded that any intercepted attorney-client calls were “incidental” to “otherwise lawful, judicially authorized surveillance,” said the privileged material had not been used in charging or trial preparation, and said prosecutors would not use it at trial. On the spousal claim, prosecutors argued the privilege applies to compelled testimony and does not shield text messages obtained by search warrant.¹²¹³

Judge Jones heard argument on April 30, 2026, and said she would rule in writing. As of early May 2026, the motion was still pending, and both sides confirmed they were ready for the June 15 trial.¹³¹

The Civil Lawsuit

In November 2024, Vera Tapp, Christopher Tapp’s mother, sued John Odom, his company Odom Racing, Resorts World Las Vegas, and Vegas Nights for wrongful death and negligent security. The complaint alleges Odom was in the master bedroom during the attack, left the suite with Rodimer afterward, and “loudly” told others not to call security. It also accuses Resorts World of failing to keep guests safe. Neither Odom nor Sarah Rodimer has been criminally charged.¹⁴

Who Christopher Tapp Was

Tapp’s life story is part of why the case has drawn national attention. In 1996, 18-year-old Angie Dodge was raped and murdered in her Idaho Falls apartment. Tapp was arrested in January 1997 after repeated police interrogations that produced coerced, inconsistent confessions. He was convicted in 1998 of first-degree murder, rape, and use of a deadly weapon, and sentenced to life.¹⁵

DNA testing repeatedly excluded him. In 2017, prosecutors vacated the rape conviction and reduced his murder sentence to time served, releasing him after 21 years in prison. Forensic genealogy later identified Brian Dripps, who lived across the street from Dodge, as the actual killer. Tapp’s murder conviction was formally vacated on July 17, 2019. He was the first person in the world exonerated through genetic genealogy.¹⁵¹⁶

After his release, Tapp lobbied for an Idaho compensation law for exonerees and testified in several states in support of banning deceptive interrogation. In 2021 he received $1.2 million through Idaho’s wrongful imprisonment statute, which pays $62,000 per year of incarceration. In 2022 he settled a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Idaho Falls and its police department for $11.7 million and an official apology.¹⁷¹⁶

Who Daniel Rodimer Is

Rodimer grew up in Rockaway, New Jersey, and played tight end at the University of South Florida. He became publicly known as a contestant on WWE’s “Tough Enough” in 2004, wrestled in the promotion’s developmental territories, and was released in 2007. He later attended Ave Maria School of Law in Florida and started small businesses in the Las Vegas area.¹⁸¹⁹

He ran twice for U.S. House as a Republican, first in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020, where he touted an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and lost to Democrat Suzanne Lee, and later in a second unsuccessful bid.²⁰ Before the murder charge, he had three prior arrests in Florida on suspicion of assault, none of which resulted in convictions. In 2018, Las Vegas police responded to two 911 calls from his wife alleging domestic violence and theft of guns and jewelry; he was not arrested or detained in either instance.²¹

1
Yahoo News. Trial Date Set for Ex-Republican Congressional Candidate in Las Vegas Murder Case
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CNN. Daniel Rodimer Murder Arrest
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Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lawsuit Accuses Resorts World of Negligence in Halloween Party Death
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Fox 5 Vegas. Witness: Ex-Pro Wrestler, Congressional Candidate Tackled Victim at Halloween Party Before His Death
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News3LV. Witnesses Testify in Las Vegas Hotel Room Killing
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LVMPD. Homicide Investigation Update
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Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I Will Kill You”: Witness Tells Grand Jury Rodimer Threatened, Attacked Alleged Victim
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8 News Now. Ex-Congressional Candidate Accused of Killing Man in Las Vegas Hotel Room
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8 News Now. Attorneys for Ex-Congressional Candidate Dan Rodimer Seek to Suppress Damaging Text Messages
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News3LV. Murder Trial for Ex-Nevada Congressional Candidate Dan Rodimer on Track for 2026
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FindLaw. Rodimer v. State, Case No. 89950-COA
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Las Vegas Review-Journal. Attorneys Say Metro Intercepted Attorney-Client Communication, Want Murder Case Dismissed
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News3LV. Attorneys for Ex-Wrestler Rodimer Argue to Dismiss Murder Charge, Block Evidence
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8 News Now. Race Car Driver Failed to Help Dying Man in Las Vegas Hotel Room, Lawsuit Alleges
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Innocence Project. Christopher Tapp
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Innocence Project. Remembering Christopher Tapp
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NBC News. Former Nevada Congressional Hopeful Accused in Death of Chris Tapp
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Yahoo Entertainment. Former WWE Tough Enough Star Charged With Murder
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The Well News. NV-03: Daniel Rodimer (R)
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New York Times. Ex-GOP Candidate Dan Rodimer Charged With Murder
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News3LV. Ex-Congressional Candidate Daniel Rodimer Wanted for Murder in Las Vegas