Las Vegas, Nevada – A former Nevada congressional candidate, Daniel Rodimer, has been named as a suspect in the death of Chris Tapp, an Idaho man who spent 20 years wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Las Vegas police announced on Wednesday that an arrest warrant has been issued for Rodimer on a murder charge.
Tapp, 47, passed away in Las Vegas following an incident that was initially reported as an accident on October 29. However, further investigation revealed that Tapp had been involved in a fight prior to his hospitalization, ultimately leading to his death from blunt force trauma to the head, ruled a homicide by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Rodimer, a former wrestler and political hopeful, was the runner-up in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District race in 2020. Meanwhile, Tapp gained national attention after being exonerated in 2019 for the murder of Angie Dodge, a case that he had falsely confessed to in 1996 after facing intense interrogation and lie detector tests.
Advocating for the wrongfully convicted, Tapp successfully lobbied for legislation in Idaho that provided fair compensation to exonerees. In 2021, he received $1.2 million for his wrongful imprisonment, as well as a settlement of $11.7 million from the city of Idaho Falls for what he described as “egregious misconduct” by the police department.
The relationship between Tapp and Rodimer, who lost the congressional race by a narrow margin in 2020, remains unclear as authorities have not disclosed further details surrounding the case. However, the tragic circumstances surrounding Tapp’s death and his journey from wrongful conviction to exoneration shed light on the flaws in the justice system and the importance of seeking justice for those who have been wrongly accused.
As the investigation unfolds, the community awaits more information on the events leading up to Tapp’s death and the potential involvement of the former congressional candidate, Daniel Rodimer, in this disturbing case.