A trio of Kansas City Chiefs fans were found frozen to death in a friend’s yard two days after watching the team win against the Los Angeles Chargers on January 7.
Since then the mystery surrounding how three healthy grown men died outside despite their car being parked a few steps away and their friend sleeping upstairs has been unravelling.
A lawyer for the survivor’s friend, Jordan Willis, claimed he slept for the next two days and did not see messages from friends or hear people calling at his home.
Willis, 37, was said to be as shocked as everyone else when police found three of his old friends dead in his backyard. Kansas City police said their investigation is ongoing but is not being treated as a homicide and Willis is not a suspect.
Here is what has emerged since the body was found on Jan 9:
Five men had feasted together on the day of the chief’s victory
Ricky Johnson, 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, and another friend — who has yet to be identified — gathered at the rented home of HIV research scientist Willis to watch the Chiefs’ regular season finale against the Chargers.
All of them are die-hard fans of the team, hang out together often and have been friends for years. Willis is said to have bought tickets for all of them to the next Chiefs game before the tragedy, according to his lawyer.
David Harrington (circled in red, second from left), Clayton McGeeney (second from right) and Ricky Johnson (right), were found frozen to death in the yard on January 9. Ricky Johnson / Facebook
5th Mystery Friend says he left friends watching ‘Jeopardy’ at midnight
A fifth man who was at the Willis home, located on NW 83rd Terrace in Kansas City, told Fox station 4KC through an attorney that he left the home around midnight while others watched reruns of “Jeopardy” on TV.
Andrew Talge, the lawyer, said Johnson, Harrington and McGeeney were alive and well at the time his client took off.
The three men had gone to their friend Jordan Willis’ rented house on January 7 to watch a Kansas City Chiefs game. fox 4kc
Jordan Willis’ attorney said he fell asleep for the next two days
Jordan Willis was “sleeping on the coach,” wearing noise-canceling headphones and next to a loud fan, according to his attorney John Picerno.
In an interview with The Post this week, Picerno said: “Last memories [Willis] have is of they go [out] front door. He doesn’t know what happened to them.”
Picerno added Willis was working from home and did not leave his home until police called.
The organizer of the watch party, Jordan Willis, has never been accused of any wrongdoing or charged with any crime. GitHub
The three bodies were found on the morning of Jan 9
The bodies of three of Willis’ old friends – two of whom had been known since high school – were found by police in Willis’ yard on the morning of January 9, following a frantic effort by many relatives to contact them.
None of the three men answered their cell phone calls or messages from those closest to them during that time.
A fiance of the victim raised the alarm and called the police
McGeeney’s fiancee, April Mahoney, raised the alarm after going to Willis’ home looking for him on the night of January 9.
According to local news reports, after getting no answer at the house, he then broke into the house through the basement and found the body on the back porch. Mahoney then called the police to request a welfare check, leading to the discovery of two more frozen bodies in the yard.
Willis met the responding police officer in his shorts and holding an empty wine glass, according to the victim’s relative.
Clayton McGeeney’s fiance requested a welfare check after going to the home and finding the body. Clayton McGeeney / Facebook
Police said there was no foul play, but the cause of death is unknown
The Kansas City Police Department has stated that foul play is not suspected – and the case is not being investigated as either a homicide or a suspicious death.
Detectives are still waiting for the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death, which could take up to eight weeks depending on the complexity of the case.
Toxicology reports for all three victims, which could potentially provide important information, are also pending.
Harrington was among a trio found frozen to death in the backyard. David Harrington / Facebook
Willis is not suspected of any wrongdoing
Willis has denied any knowledge of what happened to his friends while he slept. He was never accused of any wrongdoing or charged with any crime in connection with the strange incident.
Picerno told Fox News Digital that the researcher has taken a leave of absence from his job at a nonprofit developing a vaccine and has moved out of his rental home “for fear of retaliation” amid intense media scrutiny.
Attorneys for Willis have given conflicting accounts
Picerno has been speaking on Willis’ behalf for the past week but has made some contradictory and disputed statements about the incident.
It was not immediately clear how or when Willis separated from his guests, with Picerno initially telling Fox 4 KC he was “tired and went to bed” while there were still people in the house.
A day later, Picerno said he misspoke, and Willis escorted his friends to the door, said goodbye and then fell asleep on the couch.
Later in an interview with NewsNation Friday, Picerno said his client had left the house periodically on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, but he clarified that what he really meant was that Willis “left his bedroom sporadically.”
Picerno also maintains Willis has not received any texts or calls from concerned family members – and saw messages sent via Facebook Messenger by McGeeney’s fiancee only after the body was found.
A fifth friend who was at the house disputed some of Picerno’s statements, claiming that contrary to what he said, he had sent Willis unanswered text messages.
Johnson’s father also said he called Willis looking for his son, but got no answer.
Picerno has yet to address the alleged inconsistency.
Ricky Johnson’s family has proposed wild and unfounded theories that he and his friends were drugged and left for dead. Family Distribution
Johnson’s family has speculated the three men may have been drugged and dragged outside
Family members of father-of-three Ricky Johnson have floated unsubstantiated theories that the 38-year-old and two friends may have been drugged, dragged into the yard and left to die as temperatures dropped into the low 30s. — Willis’ lawyer’s claim was immediately dismissed as “absurd.”
Ricky Johnson Sr. told Fox News Digital his son was not “irresponsible” and would never leave home without a coat and freeze to death.
Johnson’s mother, Norma Chester, also pointed the finger at Willis – although she admitted her suspicions were nothing more than her own “thoughts” rather than any evidence.
“Something crossed my mind, this man [Willis] I want to brag that he is a scientist. My thoughts are that he made something up and gave it to the three men,” he said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
