Daniel Rodimer Turns Himself In On Murder Charge, Released On Bond

UPDATE 2: PWInsider reports that Rodimer has been released from prison after turning himself in. Rodimer was released on a $200,000 bond at 7:43 PM PST and is due for a court hearing on April 10th at 7:30 AM.

UPDATE: Daniel Rodimer has turned himself in after a warrant was issued for him on a murder charge in Las Vegas. KLAS reports that Rodimer turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center around 6 PM local time on Wednesday.

According to the report, detectives believe that Rodimer attacked the man, Christopher Tapp, on October 29th after Tapp allegedly offered Rodimer’s stepdaughter cocaine at a part in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room. Tapp’s death was initially believed to be an “apparent overdose” and “fall” according to documents. His autopsy showed blunt force trama to the head and recent cocaine use, and he died at Sunrise Hospital on November 5th.

Detectives learned during their investigation that Rodimer and Tapp were involved in an altercation, which occurred after the alleged cocaine offer. One witness reports Rodimer told Tapp, “If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll [expletive] kill you. Immediately after, the witness heard “two loud banging noises.”

A second witness said they saw Rodimer knock Tapp to the ground and that Tapp’s head hit a small table, after which Rodimer punched Tapp “throughout his head and body.” A third witness alleged that Tapp slipped and fell, hitting his head on a coffee table. Other witnesses told police that several people at the party used cocaine.

Police also obtained texts Rodimer and his Sarah, who texted, “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…. I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in your psychopath.”

Tapp and Rodimer knew each other through the classic car and racing circuit according to a family attorney. The age of Rodimer’s stepdaughter’s is not mentioned in the report.

In addition, the outlet reports that Tapp previously served two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. Tapp was convicted in the 1996 rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl despite being excluded by DNA evidence. Tapp was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 30 year sentence, but the conviction was vacated in July of 2019. He filed a lawsuit in state court seeking damages from the city of Idaho Falls.

ORIGINAL: Daniel Rodimer, a former WWE developmental star who ran for public office in 2021, is being sought on a murder charge in Nevada. According to News 3 Las Vegas, Rodimer is wanted on a charge of murder in connection with the death of Christopher Tapp. Tapp, 47, died in a hospital after being found with injuries purportedly from an accident at Resorts World Las Vegas on October 29th, 2023. Tapp was found to have been involved in a fight inside a hotel room and his death has been ruled a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Clark County District Attorney’s office, Rodimer killed Tapp by striking him on the head, “the said killing having been willful, deliberate and premeditated.” The criminal complaint and arrest warrant for Rodimer was issued this week for open murder.

Rodimer was a contestant on the 2004 season of Tough Enough and signed to a WWE developmental contract in 2006. He was assigned to Deep South Wrestling and had brief runs with OVW and FCW before WWE released him in August of 2007. He popped back up in the news in 2021 when he ran for an open congressional seat in Texas against 22 other candidates. Rodimer, who is from New Jersey, tried to portray himself as a Texan and was mocked for “cosplaying” as a Texan. He also ran for office in Nevada in 2020.