A former Republican congressional candidate and former WWE wrestler is wanted on murder charges in Las Vegas after a man was found dead in a hotel room.
Daniel Rodimer, 45, has been charged with the murder of Christopher Tapp, 47, which occurred on October 29 last year.
Tapp was a recently exonerated man who had served 20 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of killing his friend in 1996.
His death in a Resorts World suite was initially ruled an accident, but the Clark County Coroner’s Office later determined it to be a homicide after discovering “blunt force trauma” to his head.
Rodimer, a married father of six, is now wanted in connection with the murder and is currently on the run. FOX5 Vegas reports.
Former Republican congressional candidate and former WWE wrestler Daniel Rodimer is wanted on murder charges in Las Vegas.
Rodimer, 45, has been charged with the murder of Christopher Tapp, 47, which occurred on October 29 last year. He was found dead in a hotel room.
Rodimer is a former WWE wrestler and has twice unsuccessfully run for Congress.
Tapp was a recently exonerated man who had served 20 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of killing his friend in 1996.
Police said Tapp had been involved in an “altercation” before his death.
Originally from Rockaway, New Jersey, Rodimer became a wrestler after winning WWE’s Tough Enough contest in 2004 and eventually continued working with WWE to wrestle on their Raw brand under the name Dan Rodimer.
In 2020, he challenged Democratic Rep. Susie Lee for her seat in Nevada’s District 3 and lost by 13,000 votes.
He later moved to Texas to run as a Republican in a District 6 special election under the slogan “Vote Big Dan”, where he was defeated once again garnering just over 2,000 votes, equal to 2.7 percent of the ballot.
He also drew the ire of Donald Trump’s team after branding himself “Trump’s candidate” and falsely claiming to have received the current presidential hopeful’s endorsement.
Rodimer’s Instagram bio indicates that he graduated from law school and his wrestling fan page indicates that he attended the University of South Florida, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and played football at school. .
He also had a semi-professional football career for the Tampa Bay Barracudas, played for the Arena Football League and worked as a personal trainer, according to the page.
Tapp died shortly after being released from prison where he was serving time for the wrongful conviction of the rape and murder of his friend Angie Doge, 18, in Idaho.
The former wrestler was charged with Tapp’s death after the coroner’s office changed the ruling from an accident to homicide.
Rodimer became a wrestler after winning the 2004 WWE Tough Enough reality competition.
Rodimer is a married father of six who attempted to run for office as a Republican candidate in Nevada and Texas. In the photo: the defendant with his wife Sarah Rodimer.
Tapp was charged in February 1997, about eight months after Dodge’s nearly decapitated body was discovered in her Idaho Falls apartment.
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 other people.
One of his friends was also charged, but it was later dismissed. Tapp was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 40 years.
However, he maintained that 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 mother, also did not believe Tapp was responsible after reviewing the video of his interrogation.
She was stunned to see police show Tapp crime scene footage after he didn’t 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 confession videos and told Dateline that it was the ‘worst example of police contamination’ and ‘fact-feeding.’ he had never seen.
In 2017, Tapp’s attorney successfully argued that his client had been coerced and the prosecution agreed to vacate the conviction for time served, however, this still left him with a guilty conviction.
Rodimer with With Chuck Norris campaign
Rodimer drew the ire of Donald Trump’s team after calling himself a ‘Trump candidate’ and falsely claiming to have received the current presidential hopeful’s endorsement.
Tapp’s body was found in his Resorts World suite on October 29, 2023.
“That was one of the hardest decisions of my life, to still have to say that I was convicted of a first-degree murder that I know I didn’t commit,” Tapp told “Dateline.”
But I had to move on with my life. And that was the only opportunity I had, so I took advantage of it to the best of my ability.”
In 2019, he was completely exonerated after DNA evidence linked Dodge neighbor Brian Dripps to the scene and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Since returning to normal life, Tapp has gotten married, bought a house, and found work in a factory.
He was also pressuring officials to sign legislation ensuring compensation for those wrongly convicted.
In 2021 the bill became law and in 2021 that bill became law. Today, people wrongfully imprisoned receive $62,000 for each year in prison and $75,000 annually for those sentenced to death.
DailyMail.com has contacted Rodimer for comment.