Dan Rodimer, a former professional wrestler and two-time unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate, is challenging the evidence that led to his arrest for killing a man in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room last year.
Rodimer, 45, allegedly punched Christopher Tapp, 47, of Idaho, during a Halloween party in a Resorts World hotel room on October 29, 2023.
Tapp suffered a brain hemorrhage and blunt force trauma to the head, and was pronounced dead at a hospital several days later.
Rodimer lost a congressional election in Nevada in 2020 and a year later in Texas after faking his Southern proclivities, and was charged with murder after turning himself in to Las Vegas police. March 6th. The former WWE wrestler remains free on $200,000 bail.
His attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schoenfield, said Wednesday that prosecutors suspect Rodimer fatally struck Tapp, based on privileged conversations between Rodimer and his wife. He submitted documents claiming to have concluded.
The judge did not immediately rule on evidentiary issues, the Associated Press reported.
According to arrest warrants, Rodimer, a father of six, allegedly attacked Tapp after providing cocaine to the wrestler’s stepdaughter at a party.
“If you talk to my daughter again, I will.” [expletive] Witnesses testified that shortly after he said that to Tapp, they heard a loud banging sound.
Investigators initially believed Tapp’s death was due to an accidental overdose from the cocaine found in his system, according to Tapp’s autopsy results. However, authorities later learned that he had been in a fight in his hotel room that night.
A second witness claimed to have seen Rodimer slam Tap on the ground and bang his head on a small table. Rodimer then rained several punches on his head and body. But another witness said Tapp slipped, fell and hit his head on the coffee table.
But it was text messages between Rodimer and his own wife, Sarah Rodimer, that provided the most damning evidence.
“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.
Tapp was sentenced to prison after serving more than 20 years for a 1996 murder. Settlement amount: $11.7 million His arrest in a wrongful conviction case out of Idaho Falls in 2022 drew national attention.
Rodimer and Tapp, both from New Jersey, knew each other through classic cars and the track, a family lawyer told 8 News Now.
with post wire
