Former congressional candidate and pro wrestler arrested in Vegas murder of man who was wrongly imprisoned for cold-case killing
A retired professional wrestler and former congressional candidate surrendered to police in Nevada on Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the killing of a man — who himself was acquitted of murder — who died last year from a head injury at a Las Vegas Strip hotel, his lawyers said.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said earlier in the day that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of 45-year-old Daniel Rodimer on a charge of open murder in the death of Chris Tapp -- who previously served two decades in prison for a murder he did not commit.
Tapp, 47, was treated on Oct. 29 by medical personnel responding to a call for help after he was found at the hotel and taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Rodimer's Las Vegas lawyers, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Rodimer was "voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court ordered bail."
"He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected," they said.
Police said detectives opened a suspicious death investigation after they received new information Nov. 22 about the injuries Tapp had suffered "as a result of a purposed accident."
"Through the course of the suspicious death investigation ... detectives have learned Tapp was in an altercation inside a room at the resort before being located and transported to the hospital," police said
The Clark County Coroner's Office subsequently ruled it a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
According to the arrest warrant obtained by CBS affiliate KLAS-TV, Rodimer allegedly became upset after Tapp offered Rodimer's stepdaughter cocaine.
A witness then heard Rodimer say, "If you ever talk to my daughter again, I'll [expletive] kill you," documents said. "Immediately after hearing Dan say this to Christopher, [the witness] heard two loud banging noises."
KLAS-TV reported that investigators also obtained text messages between Rodimer and his wife, Sarah Rodimer, where 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."
Tapp and Rodimer knew each other through the classic car and racing circuit, a family attorney told KLAS-TV.
Rodimer, a Republican, challenged Democratic Rep. Susie Lee for her seat in Nevada's District 3 in 2020. He lost by around 13,000 votes.
KLAS-TV reported that Former President Donald Trump had endorsed Rodimer before the 2020 election, tweeting: "Dan Rodimer will be an incredible Congressman for Nevada! A former professional wrestler, he will fight for Lower Taxes, Better Education and More Jobs, and he will always support our Brave Law Enforcement. Dan has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"
Rodimer later moved to Texas, where he was among 23 candidates who ran in a special congressional election in 2021 to fill the seat of Republican Ron Wright, who was the first member of Congress to die after contracting COVID-19. He finished in the middle of the pack, getting less than 3% of the vote.
Tapp served two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. According to the Innocence Project, Tapp was charged and convicted in the 1996 rape and murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge, despite being excluded by DNA evidence. In 2019, Tapp's murder conviction was vacated.
"48 Hours" first met Tapp when he was 40 years old. Tapp told "48 Hours" his confession was a lie — a story fed to him by police and then forced back out of him on tape.