Vegas police are investigating whether a WWE wrestler-turned GOP Congressional candidate murdered a man who offered his stepdaughter cocaine at a hotel room party.
Former wrestling star Dan Rodimer, 45, turned himself in on Wednesday night after he was accused of murdering Christopher Tapp, 47, at a Vegas hotel Halloween party last October.
Tapp was a recently exonerated man who had served 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his friend in 1996. He and Rodimer, who was endorsed by Donald Trump during a failed Nevada campaign bid, reportedly knew each other through Vegas’ classic car and racing circuit.
In an arrest warrant obtained by 8NewsNow, the alleged cocaine-fueled killing came after Rodimer was enraged by the offer of narcotics to his stepdaughter, whose name and age is not known.
A witness allegedly heard Rodimer tell Tapp, ‘If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll (expletive) kill you’, seconds before the witness ‘heard two loud banging noises.’
Several other witnesses allegedly gave similar versions of events, as investigators also found text messages between Rodimer and his wife Sarah, where she told him: ‘I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in you psychopath.’
Rodimer, 45, has been accused of the murder of Christopher Tapp, 47, which took place on October 29 last year
Rodimer, a former WWE wrestler and has unsuccessfully run for Congress twice, in both Nevada and later in Texas. He is pictured with former president Donald Trump
Rodimer became a wrestler after winning the 2004 WWE’s reality ‘Tough Enough’ contest
Tapp was a recently exonerated man who had served 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his friend in 1996
Tapp’s death at Vegas’ Resorts World suite was initially ruled as an accident, but the Clark County Coroner’s Office later determined it a homicide after discovering ‘blunt force trauma’ to his head.
According to the reported arrest filing, a second witness claimed she saw the former wrestler ‘knock Christopher to the ground, at which time Christopher’s head hit a small table.’
They claimed he then ‘proceeded to punch Christopher throughout his head and body.’
The alleged fatal assault unfolded at a Halloween party in the Resorts Worls suite on the Vegas strip, where event organizers bring ‘Instagram models’ to a number of parties that are put on for wealthy clients.
On the night of the fight, the master bedroom became the ‘fun room’, where one partier told cops that several people were taking cocaine.
Rodimer, who was reportedly dressed as ‘Ken’ from the Barbie movie and was shirtless with a fur coat, allegedly flew into a frenzy when he caught Tapp offering his stepdaughter cocaine.
He reportedly was described by a witness as then turning into ‘angry Ken’, ripping off his jacket and running into the master bedroom ‘fun room’, reports KTNV.
The witness, who added that they believed the host of the party to be an unidentified F1 driver, told the host to try and stop Rodimer from attacking the ex-convict, shorty before they heard the ‘two loud bangs.’
A third witness claimed to see Tapp slip and fall before hitting his head on a coffee table.
Vegas detectives have reportedly obtained chilling text messages between Rodimer and his wife Sarah, where she 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.’
She then allegedly texted: ‘I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in you psychopath.’
Rodimer, a married father-of-six, pictured with his wife Sarah. Investigators found chilling text messages after the alleged murder, where she reportedly told him: ‘I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in you psychopath’
The incident unfolded in a hotel room in Resorts World Las Vegas on October 29, 2023 after an alleged bust-up with the former wrestler-turned GOP candidate. Tapp later died in hospital
The former wrestler was charged with Tapp’s death after it was changed from an accidental to homicide ruling by the coroner’s office
After the alleged fight, some party attendees went to a nightclub. When the one returned to the suite, they found Tapp laying with his eyes open on a bed but not speaking.
They called 911 and noted that his face was swollen and he had a large mark on the left side of his neck.
He was taken to Sunrise Hospital, where he passed away a week later on November 5. An autopsy reportedly found he had cocaine in his system, and died after suffering multiple brain bleeds.
Now Rodimer, a married father-of-six, turned himself into Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday night. Lawyers for the accused said he ‘vigorously contests’ the allegations, 8News Now reports.
His reset bail was set before his arrest at $200,000, which Rodimer posted, records show. He is now set for a court date on April 10.
When the alleged murder occurred, Police said that Tapp had been involved in an ‘altercation’ prior to his death.
Originally from Rockaway, New Jersey, Rodimer became a wrestler after winning the 2004 WWE’s Tough Enough contest, eventually going on to wrestle on its RAW brand under the name Dan Rodimer.
In 2020, he challenged Democratic Rep. Susie Lee for her District 3 seat in Nevada and lost by 13,000 votes.
He later moved to Texas to run as a Republican in a District 6 special election with the slogan, ‘Vote Big Dan’, where he was thrashed once again gaining just over 2,000 votes, equal to 2.7 percent of the ballot.
In 2020, he received Trump’s full endorsement, with the former president tweeting at the time: ‘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’s bio on Instagram states he is a law school graduate, and his wrestling fan page indicates he attended the University of South Florida, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and played football for the school.
He also had a semi-pro football career for the Tampa Bay Barracudas, played for Arena Football League, and worked as a personal trainer, according to the page.
Tapp, pictured behind bars, served twenty years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his friend in 1996
Christopher Tapp, pictured right with his public defender John Thomas during Tapp’s post-conviction relief hearing at the Bonneville Courthouse in Idaho Falls on March 22, 2017
Brian Dripps confessed to Dodge’s murder in 2021. He is now serving between 20 years and life in prison
Tapp died not long after he was freed from prison where he was serving time for the wrongful conviction of the rape and murder of his friend 18-year-old Angie Doge in Idaho.
Tapp was charged in February 1997, roughly eight months after Dodge’s nearly decapitated body was discovered at her Idaho Falls apartment.
Tapp spent decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted of the murder of Angie Dodge (pictured)
Tapp initially told investigators he had nothing to do with the crime, but after multiple interviews and a polygraph test, the then 20-year-old confessed to being involved and accused two others.
One of his friends was also charged, but this was later dismissed. Tapp was found guilty in 1998 and sentenced to 40 years.
However, he maintained he had only told police what they wanted to hear and his case was eventually taken up by the Idaho Innocence Project.
Carol Doge, the victim’s mom, also did not believe Tapp was responsible after reviewing video of his interrogation.
She was stunned to see police showing Tapp images of the crime scene after he did not appear to have any knowledge of Dodge’s apartment.
Steve Drizin, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern University and co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, also reviewed the videos of the confession and told ‘Dateline’ it was the ‘worst example of police contamination’ and ‘fact-feeding’ he had ever seen.
In 2017, Tapp’s lawyer successfully argued his client had been coerced and the prosecutor’s office agreed to vacate the conviction to time served, however this still left him with the guilty conviction.
Rodimer with Chuck Norris on the campaign trail
Rodimer (pictured with Magic Johnson left, and North Dakota Governor Kristi Noem right) turned to politics at the end of his wrestling career
‘That was one of the hardest decisions of my life, to continue to have to say I was convicted of a first-degree murder I know I didn’t do,’ Tapp told ‘Dateline.’
‘But I had to move on with my life. And that was the only opportunity I had so I took it with the best ability that I had.’
In 2019, he was fully exonerated after DNA evidence linked Dodge’s neighbor Brian Dripps to the scene and he was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Since returning to normal life Tapp had got married, bought a home and found work at a factory.
He was also pressuring officials to sign legislation guaranteeing compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
In 2021 the bill became law and in 2021 that bill became law. Today wrongfully incarcerated people are given $62,000 for each year inside and $75,000 annually for those on death row.
DailyMail.com has contacted Rodimer for comment.