A former congressional candidate and professional wrestler accused in the death of a man in a Las Vegas Strip hotel was dressed as “Ken” when the alleged deadly incident happened during a Halloween party.
Daniel Rodimer, 45, was reportedly dressed as Ken from the “Barbie” movie when he got in an altercation with Christopher Tapp, 47, during a Halloween party last year at Resorts World.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said medical personnel responded to a call inside a hotel room on Oct. 29 and found Tapp injured.
Tapp died at Sunrise Hospital on Nov. 5 and authorities began investigating the death as suspicious. His death was ruled a homicide.
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Daniel Rodimer, 45, was reportedly dressed as Ken, played by actor Ryan Gosling, in the “Barbie” movie, during a deadly incident at a Las Vegas hotel. (Getty Images/Warner Bros)
Rodimer surrendered to police on Wednesday after an arrest warrant was issued. His attorneys said he “intends on vigorously contesting the allegations.” He posted his $200,000 bail Wednesday night.
According to court documents obtained by KVVU-TV, Rodmier believed Tapp had offered his stepdaughter cocaine.
A guest at the party described seeing “angry Ken” pull off the fur coat that was part of his costume and charge toward a bathroom where lines of cocaine had been laid out. Others claimed Rodimer pushed Tapp to the floor and punched him, the documents state.
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Daniel Rodimer speaks during a rally for U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the Boulder City Airport on October 8, 2020 in Boulder City, Nevada. Rodimer was allegedly dressed as “Ken” from the “Barbie” movie during a deadly incident at a hotel on the Vegas Strip. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Further evidence against Rodimer includes text exchanges between him and his ex-wife.
“I had to take your… hands off his neck as he laid there and you ran away,” a text message to Rodimer from his ex-wife read. “And I spent the next two hours trying to take care of him. Nobody should have to watch their husband murder somebody.”
Tapp had previously served 20 years in prison for the 1996 rape and murder of an 18-year-old Idaho woman. He was released in 2017 and exonerated in 2019.
Another man pleaded guilty to the crime.
Rodimer competed as a professional wrestler in the WWE from 2004 to 2007.
He then ran unsuccessfully twice for Congress as a Republican. He lost against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in 2020 for her seat in Nevada’s District 3.
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Rodimer then moved to Texas, where he ran in a 2021 special election to fill the seat left vacant by GOP Rep. Ron Wright, who died in office after contracting COVID-19.
As one of 23 candidates, Rodimer garnered less than 3% of the vote.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
