KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TCD) — Friends, family, and law enforcement are searching for answers after three men were found dead in a backyard just days after they spent the day watching an NFL game together.
According to WDAF-TV, on Tuesday, Jan. 9, Kansas City Police Department officers went to a residence on Northwest 83rd Terrace after a woman called to say she was searching for her fiancé at the house and found him dead on a back porch. When officers arrived, they discovered two other males deceased in the backyard.
The three have been identified as 36-year-old Clayton McGeeney, 38-year-old Ricky Johnson, and 37-year-old David Harrington. Police reportedly said there does not appear to be any foul play involved, though the man who lived in the house where they were found reportedly said his friends “froze to death.”
The Kansas City Star reports the three men, who have been friends since childhood, went to Jordan Willis’ home on Sunday, Jan. 7, to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers. McGeeney’s fiancée reportedly became concerned because she had not heard from him, so she went to Willis’ house and broke in through the basement after no one answered the door.
Willis is reportedly cooperating with police. His attorney, John Picerno, told KCTV-TV Willis had “absolutely nothing to do with the deaths of his three friends.”
Picerno said, “He had no knowledge that they remained in his backyard or that they needed medical attention. Had he known, he certainly would have called for help. The last time he saw them was when they left his house, and he went to bed.”
WDAF reports there was also a fifth person at Willis’ home on Sunday night. Picerno initially said Willis went to sleep while his friends were still there, but in a later statement, he reportedly said Willis walked his friends out, then went to sleep. The fifth friend reportedly told WDAF he left before Willis went to bed.
The fifth person’s attorney told WDAF Willis, McGeeney, Johnson, and Harrington were watching “Jeopardy!” when he went home.
According to KCTV, Picerno said Willis “did not receive any phone calls or text messages from friends or family members of the deceased” before police showed up at his house. Willis allegedly claimed he did not hear anyone come to his house, including McGeeney’s fiancée, because he “sleeps with air buds and a loud fan.”
McGeeney’s fiancée reportedly attempted to contact Willis through Facebook Messenger, but he claimed he did not see the message until it was too late.
Autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending.
Willis has reportedly since moved out of his house.
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