Daniel Rodimer, a retired professional wrestler and onetime congressional candidate, is the latest ex-WWE star to find themselves charged with murder. Rodimer, who competed in WWE under the name Dan Rodman in the mid-2000s, has reportedly already turned himself in.
On March 6, the Las Vegas Police Department said in a statement that it had identified Rodimer as a suspect in the October 2023 death of 47-year-old Idaho man Christopher Tapp. Tapp spent two decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit and went on to become an advocate for the wrongfully convicted. He died in Las Vegas; his lawyer said he was hospitalized and in a coma after he fell and hit his head on a coffee table in his hotel room. Upon further investigation, detectives found that Tapp had been in a fight before he went to the hospital. The county coroner's office ruled his death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
According to police documents, Rodimer and Tapp crossed paths at a party last fall in a Resorts World suite. Tapp allegedly offered drugs to Rodimer’s stepdaughter, and Rodimer allegedly responded in a violent fashion. Per police findings, he was overheard telling Tapp "If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll f--king kill you." Witnesses say he then began punching Tapp violently.
Rodimer turned himself in on March 6 on the open murder charge and is cooperating with authorities. "Mr. Rodimer is voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court-ordered bail," police told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected."
Back in 2020, Rodimer made a run for public office as a Republican vying for Congress in Nevada's third district. After losing that race, he moved to Texas and ran in a 2021 special congressional election.
Rodimer posted a $200,000 bail and is set to appear in court April 10.
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