The Kansas City Chiefs fan whose three friends died in his backyard after attending a watch party on January 7 has broken his silence to insist he had no idea they were lying dead on his property for two days until police showed up to look for them.
Jordan Willis hosted the party for his friends David Harrington, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers on January 7 in his home in Kansas City, Missouri.
He claims he went to bed, leaving the three men downstairs to ‘hang out’ with an unidentified fifth man, and knew nothing of their plight until the fiancée of one of the men broke into the home on January 9 and found him on the back porch.
The police were called and soon discovered the other two bodies in the backyard. Willis opened the door to the cops in his underwear, holding an empty glass of wine.
The medical examiner is yet to confirm how the victims died. Willis, who says he was close friends with the victims, says they froze to death.
But the families of the three victims say his story ‘doesn’t add up’ and are demanding answers. Police are also yet to confirm Willis’ claim that there was a fifth man in the house on the night in question.
David Harrington (second left), Clayton McGeeney (second right) and Ricky Johnson (right) are shown with two unidentified fellow Chiefs fans, neither of whom is believed to be involved in the mystery. Harrington, McGeeney and Johnson were found dead on January 9 in the backyard of another man’s house
The owner of the home (pictured) told police the men had frozen to death in his backyard. Their loved ones have raised questions over the lack of reporting of their bodies, and the snow that they say was not deep enough to submerge them
Ricky Johnson, a father-of-three, was described as a ‘cherished son, brother, uncle and friend’ who was beloved by his ‘three beautiful daughters.’ His brother said: ‘My brother was a smart man, and there’s no way that he would just freeze to death’
David Harrington was found dead on his friend’s property
One of the bodies was found on the back porch of the property by the fiancée of one of the men, who broke in after receiving no answer from Willis
The other two bodies were found in the backyard. Police initially said there was no foul play, but are yet to confirm the cause of death for the three men
‘Nobody believes this story,’ said Harrington’s mother Jennifer Marquez.
‘None of his friends, none of the families, none of us believe it… Everybody is furious.’
‘Something is not right,’ added Johnson’s mother.
They are demanding answers from the police, who were quick to dismiss the case as an accident.
In the meantime, Willis has moved out of the home.
Initially, his attorney claimed he last saw the men leave the house when he went to bed.
Now, his lawyer says he never saw them leave, and instead left them to ‘hang out’ with the unidentified fifth man when he went to bed.
Two of the dead men had parked their cars on the street – but Willis didn’t notice the vehicles, because he claims he didn’t leave the house on January 8.
None of the family members of the three men had contacted him before police showed up at his house, he claims, but family of the deceased contest this. The attorney said that two people came to Willis’ home, but he didn’t hear them because he sleeps with headphones and a loud fan.
He did say that one of the deceased’s wives contacted him on Facebook Messenger, but Willis didn’t see the message until after cops got in contact.
Picerno said in a press release: ‘Jordan had absolutely nothing to do with their deaths. He does not know the timing or manner of their deaths, nor does he know how or when they exited his house.’
In his first set of comments, he said the last time he saw the men was when they ‘left’ the house.
Captain Jake Becchina of the Kansas City Police Department said: ‘First and foremost, this case is 100% NOT being investigated as a homicide.
‘There have not been any arrests [or] charges, and no one is in custody.
‘There are no specific threats or concerns for the surrounding community at this time.
‘The resident at the house was cooperative with detectives the day the deceased were discovered.’
Johnson’s grief-stricken family say they aren’t satisfied with the investigation, with his brother Jonathan Price (center) saying that ‘freezing to death is not a cause of death that I would accept’
Johnson’s (center, with his family) mother feels that police are ‘not doing anything’ to solve the mystery of her son’s passing, and called for the owner of the home, who has not been publicly identified, to be ‘at least investigated’
Although relatives of the men feel investigators haven’t given the case enough attention, the Kansas City Police Department previously said they are awaiting medical examiner’s results on a cause of death before moving forward.
Answers from police have done little to satisfy the men’s loved ones, with Norma speculating the trio were ‘poisoned’
The two-day delay in finding the men and the lack of any reporting of their disappearance has also raised eyebrows.
Johnson’s brother Jonathan Price said that he heard the owner of the home had animals that would need to go outside, and claimed the city didn’t get enough snow to submerge the men for them to be hidden for days.
‘There’s many different things that don’t add up, we just don’t understand how somebody would at least be investigated in any way,’ he said.
‘We’ve heard that he’s moving out as well, so we don’t know if he’ll even be sticking around much longer.’
He said Johnson and his two friends were inseparable, but he did not know Jordan Willis and hadn’t heard how his brother met him.
Price said he didn’t want to speculate over his brother’s death, but said the circumstances don’t make sense to him at all.
‘My brother was a smart man, and there’s no way that he would just freeze to death.
‘Freezing to death is not a cause of death that I would accept,’ he said.