On Wednesday, a two-time Republican Congressional candidate and former professional wrestler was arrested on suspicion of murder in October in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room.
Daniel “Dan” Rodimer — endorsed by former President Donald Trump in 2020 — turned himself in at the Clark County Jail after police issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of murder around 6 p.m. 8 News Now reported.
The failed Republican candidate, who lost a congressional bid in Nevada in 2020 and then Texas a year later by playing Southern crooks, died in a Resorts World hotel room on October 29, 2023. He is accused of punching Christoper Tapp, 47.
Mr Tapp said he had a “second chance at life” after being jailed for 20 years for murder and rape and later being found not guilty, but suffered a brain bleed and blunt force trauma to the head. He died in the hospital a few days later.
The coroner ruled his death a homicide, and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office called the killing “deliberate, premeditated, and premeditated.”
Rodimer, 45, is accused of assaulting Tapp after he allegedly provided the ex-WWE wrestler’s stepdaughter with cocaine during a party in his hotel room, according to an arrest warrant obtained by a local CBS affiliate. has been done.
“If you talk to my daughter again, I will.” [expletive] Kill you,” witnesses said they heard him say to Tapp.
Shortly after, witnesses heard two loud bangs, documents state.
According to Tapp’s autopsy results, detectives initially believed Tapp’s death was an accidental overdose and fall because he had cocaine in his system.
However, further investigation revealed that the victim had been involved in some kind of altercation in the hotel room on the fateful night.
A second witness told officers, “I saw Dan slam Christopher to the ground and that’s when Christopher’s head hit a small table.” Dan continued to punch Christopher in the head and body,” according to files obtained by the department.
However, a third witness claimed Tapp slipped and hit his head on the coffee table when he fell, the documents state.
Investigators obtained revelations and some of the most damning evidence from text conversations between Rodimer and his wife, Sarah Rodimer.
“I saw you almost kill someone, so I had to take you away.” [expletive] He let go of his neck as he lay down. [sic] So you ran away and I spent the next two hours caring for him. Police said Sarah sent a text message to her husband after her argument.
“I watched you kill someone, it was like instilling it in a psychopath,” she added in another text, documents show.
Rodimer, a father of six, and Tapp knew each other through classic cars and tracks, the family’s attorney told 8 News Now.
A lawyer for the Republican Party told the office that his client “intends to vigorously contest the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence ensure respect for all Americans.”
This is not the first time Rodimer has clashed with police or been accused of aggressive behavior.
In 2011, Rodimer was charged with misdemeanor assault for assaulting a man at a Waffle House in Florida after he asked him to leave his female friend alone. According to the Daily Beast.
In a statement obtained by the newspaper, Rodimer’s victim said: “When I asked him to leave the girls at the table alone and move on, he grabbed my neck. He grabbed her, pushed her into a chair, and threw her on the floor,” he told police.
Police and witnesses said Rodimer appeared drunk when he left a Naples breakfast restaurant and bragged that he loved to “tease” people.
“As Dunn left the restaurant, he used profanity and stated how much he enjoyed hurting people,” police wrote.
In 2020, the murder suspect lost Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District to Democratic Rep. Susie Lee by just 3 percentage points.
He then left the Silver State for Texas to seek elected office again.
The New Jersey-born Republican was accused of adopting a false Southern flavor to curry favor with Texas voters.
He placed 11th in the 2021 Republican primary for Texas’ 6th Congressional District.
Rodimer’s victims have also been the subject of numerous news articles and even featured an episode of Dateline featuring an interview about his wrongful conviction.
However, Tapp was unable to watch the episode, which aired last month, until after his death.
The Idaho resident was tried and convicted of murdering and raping 18-year-old Angie Dodge in 1996, and was sentenced to 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Doge was exonerated in 2019 after DNA samples left on her body matched her neighbor at the time, Brian Dripps. Dripps confessed to the rape and murder, saying she acted alone and did not know Tapp. According to the Innocence Project.
“I’m so grateful to have been given a second chance at life. I wasted 20 years of my life on things I didn’t do, but in those 20 years, I’ve grown, too.” Tapp said in a now tragic statement after his exoneration.
He sued the city of Idaho Falls and the police department for wrongful conviction and was awarded $11.7 million in damages in 2022. East Idaho News reported..
Rodimer posted $200,000 bail on the murder charge and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 10, according to 8 News Now.
