Christopher Tapp, the Idaho man who became the first person in the world exonerated through genetic genealogy after more than two decades wrongly imprisoned for murder, died on November 5, 2023, at a Las Vegas hospital from blunt force head injuries sustained at a Halloween party on the Strip. He was 47. Daniel Rodimer, a former WWE wrestler and unsuccessful congressional candidate, is charged with his murder, and the case remains pending in Clark County, Nevada.
What Happened at the Halloween Party
On the night of October 29, 2023, Tapp attended a party in a suite at the Resorts World hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. He had come to town because of his interest in street racing. Greg Hampikian, director of the Idaho Innocence Project and a close friend, said Tapp “wanted to race cars, and hang out with the folks who were racing cars” and “got swept up into it.”1Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lawsuit Accuses Resorts World of Negligence in Halloween Party Death The party was hosted by John Odom, a former professional race car driver, and organized by a concierge service called Vegas Nights VIP.2East Idaho News. Documents Reveal New Details About Chris Tapp’s Alleged Homicide
According to police documents, an altercation broke out in the early hours of October 30 between Tapp and Daniel Rodimer. Witnesses told police that Rodimer became enraged after being told that Tapp had offered cocaine to Rodimer’s stepdaughter. One witness reported hearing Rodimer say, “If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll f—ing kill you,” followed by two loud banging noises. Another said Rodimer knocked Tapp to the ground, causing Tapp’s head to strike a small table, then punched him repeatedly while Tapp did not fight back.3CNN. Daniel Rodimer Murder Arrest2East Idaho News. Documents Reveal New Details About Chris Tapp’s Alleged Homicide
After the attack, Odom and Rodimer allegedly left the room and instructed other attendees not to call security. Odom later told hotel security that Tapp had “slipped and fell.”1Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lawsuit Accuses Resorts World of Negligence in Halloween Party Death Tapp was found on a bed with a swollen face and a large mark on his neck, then taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. Scans revealed several brain bleeds.48 News Now. Mom of Christopher Tapp Speaks After Ex-Congressional Candidate Accused in Case He died a week later, on November 5, 2023. The Clark County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.5Las Vegas Review-Journal. He Struggled to Regain His Life. Now an Ex-Congressional Candidate Is Accused of Taking It
A funeral was held on November 21, 2023, at Coltrin Mortuary in Idaho Falls. Among those in attendance was Carol Dodge, the mother of Angie Dodge, the woman whose 1996 murder Tapp had been wrongly imprisoned for. Retired Washington State Judge Mike Heavey, co-founder of Judges for Justice, said in his eulogy that Tapp’s “story is about good over evil, truth over lies and justice over injustice.”6East Idaho News. He Left Us All Too Early: Funeral Services Held for Christopher Tapp Tapp was survived by his mother, Vera Tapp.7Coltrin Mortuary. Christopher Tapp Obituary
From Accident to Homicide
Tapp’s death was initially treated as an accident, consistent with Odom’s account to security that Tapp had slipped and fallen. Reclassifying it took months. On March 6, 2024, after a murder warrant was issued, Daniel Rodimer turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center. He was released on $200,000 bail.5Las Vegas Review-Journal. He Struggled to Regain His Life. Now an Ex-Congressional Candidate Is Accused of Taking It
Who Daniel Rodimer Is
Rodimer, 45 at the time of the incident, wrestled professionally in WWE under the billing “Big Dan” before running for office. In 2020, he ran as a Republican for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, losing to incumbent Democrat Susie Lee by roughly 13,000 votes. He then moved to Texas and entered a 2021 special election to fill the seat of the late U.S. Representative Ron Wright, finishing in the middle of a 23-candidate field with less than 3 percent of the vote.8Dallas Morning News. Retired Wrestler, Ex-Texas Congressional Candidate Sought in Nevada Killing
The Criminal Case Against Rodimer
Rodimer pleaded not guilty. His defense team, led by Las Vegas attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, has mounted multiple challenges to the prosecution.
In early 2025, Rodimer petitioned the Nevada Court of Appeals to dismiss his indictment, arguing that prosecutors used inadmissible hearsay during grand jury proceedings, failed to inform the grand jury about a key witness’s drug use, and allowed a detective to offer an impermissible opinion on guilt. On April 9, 2025, the Court of Appeals rejected all three arguments, finding that Rodimer had failed to substantiate his claims.9News 3 Las Vegas. Nevada Appeals Court Denies Petition From Ex-Congressional Candidate Charged With Murder
The defense also filed a motion at the district court level to dismiss the case on the ground that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had unconstitutionally intercepted privileged attorney-client and marital communications through court-authorized wiretaps. According to the defense, police listened to and recorded conversations in which Rodimer discussed Tapp’s death with his attorney. Prosecutors responded that the interception was incidental and that the communications were never used in charging decisions, trial preparation, or to generate derivative evidence, and they formally conceded they would not use the identified communications at trial. As of early May 2026, District Judge Tierra Jones had not ruled on the motion.10Las Vegas Review-Journal. Attorneys Say Metro Intercepted Attorney-Client Communication, Want Murder Case Dismissed
The murder trial was originally scheduled to begin in June 2026, though later filings placed the date as early 2027.11News 3 Las Vegas. Murder Trial of Ex-Nevada Congressional Candidate Dan Rodimer on Track for 2026128 News Now. Rodimer Lawyers Want Hearing on Private Conversations Recorded by Las Vegas Police Rodimer’s attorneys have said he “intends on vigorously contesting the allegations.”3CNN. Daniel Rodimer Murder Arrest
The Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In November 2024, Tapp’s mother Vera and the administrator of his estate filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit in Clark County against Resorts World Las Vegas, Vegas Nights VIP, John Odom, and related entities, alleging negligence and negligent security.13News 3 Las Vegas. Tapp Estate v. Resorts World Complaint Vera Tapp has attended criminal court proceedings and spoken publicly about the case. “He was a human being, he was a kindhearted person,” she told reporters. “All I want is for the justice system to show respect for Christopher.”48 News Now. Mom of Christopher Tapp Speaks After Ex-Congressional Candidate Accused in Case
Who Christopher Tapp Was
The reason Tapp’s death drew national attention is the life that preceded it. In 1996, eighteen-year-old Angie Dodge was raped and murdered in her Idaho Falls apartment. Idaho Falls detectives subjected Tapp, then 20, to nine interrogation sessions totaling roughly 25 hours over nearly four weeks, using tactics that included threats of the death penalty, false claims that another suspect had implicated him, suggestions of repressed memories, and fed details about the crime.14The Marshall Project. In an Apparent First, Genetic Genealogy Aids a Wrongful Conviction Case On May 28, 1998, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, rape, and use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 30 years. No DNA or physical evidence ever linked him to the crime.15Innocence Project. Christopher Tapp
Angie Dodge’s mother, Carol Dodge, who had initially advocated for Tapp to receive the death penalty, eventually reviewed the interrogation tapes and became convinced the wrong man was in prison. She sought out Northwestern University law professor Steven Drizin, who produced a 2014 report concluding that Tapp’s confession was coerced and unreliable. With the Idaho Innocence Project, the Innocence Project of New York, and Judges for Justice on his side, Tapp walked out of prison on March 22, 2017, after prosecutors agreed to vacate his rape conviction and reduce his murder sentence to time served.15Innocence Project. Christopher Tapp
He was not yet fully cleared. After his release, the Idaho Innocence Project and Idaho Falls police partnered with Parabon NanoLabs, where geneticist CeCe Moore used the third-party database GEDmatch to build a family tree from a degraded crime scene DNA sample. The trail led to Brian Leigh Dripps Sr., who had lived across the street from Angie Dodge in 1996 and had been briefly interviewed and then dropped by police days after the murder. A discarded cigarette butt matched the crime scene DNA, and Dripps confessed after his arrest in May 2019.14The Marshall Project. In an Apparent First, Genetic Genealogy Aids a Wrongful Conviction Case On July 17, 2019, Judge Alan Stephens vacated Tapp’s murder conviction and dismissed all remaining charges, making him the first person in recorded history exonerated using genetic genealogy.16Innocence Project. Remembering Christopher Tapp Dripps later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June 2021 to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years.17Idaho Statesman. Brian Leigh Dripps Sentenced
In the years between his exoneration and his death, Tapp lobbied for wrongful conviction compensation laws, testified in multiple states against deceptive interrogation tactics, and mentored newly released exonerees. In June 2022, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously approved an $11.7 million settlement of his federal civil rights lawsuit, and Mayor Rebecca Casper issued a formal letter of apology.18East Idaho News. Mayor Apologizes as Chris Tapp, City of Idaho Falls Settle Lawsuit for $11.7 Million He was 47 when he died, six years and roughly four months after walking out of the Idaho prison where he had spent his twenties and thirties.