Suspicious Death Outside Posh Las Vegas Casino of Man Awarded Millions After Wrongful Conviction Ruled Homicide

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is now treating a suspicious death outside a ritzy casino as a homicide, after it was first believed to be accidental.

Medical personnel responded to a call for service on Oct. 29, 2023, for a man suffering from injuries from a "purported accident" on South Las Vegas Boulevard, LVMPD said in a . The man was found near Resorts World, FOX5 reported.

The man, later identified as 47-year-old Christopher Tapp, was taken to a local hospital and later died from his injuries.

Tapp spent more than 20 years in jail for a murder he did not commit, according to KIFI. He was exonerated in 2019 and awarded $11.7 million following a settlement with law enforcement for his wrongful conviction. 

As LVMPD Homicide Detectives investigated the death, they discovered that Tapp was in an altercation inside a hotel room before the call for service.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office ruled Tapp’s death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

Police have not identified any suspects.