Kansas City man had no idea 3 friends were dead in backyard, attorney says
1 February 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) – More than three weeks after the bodies of three men were found outside a Kansas City home, the families of those men met with a local prosecutor in an attempt to uncover the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Their meeting with a Platte County prosecutor took place Wednesday — the same day that, according to a family member, the man who lived in the home checked into rehab to face an addiction “head on.”
The families of all three men found dead — David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson — were represented in Wednesday’s meeting.
Harrington, McGeeney and Johnson had visited their friend Jordan Willis at his home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs’ final regular season game on Jan. 7. Nexstar’s WDAF learned that the three men were alive into the early hours of Monday morning, possibly as early as 1:30 a.m.
Late on that Tuesday, McGeeney’s fiancée went looking for him, broke into the property and discovered a body. All three men were ultimately found dead outside the home.
The Kansas City Police Department previously told WDAF that foul play is not suspected, but Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said the police have yet to conclude their portion of this investigation.
In the meantime, the three families are caught in the middle of grieving and desperately trying to understand what could have happened at that Kansas City home.
“I also want to see what action is being taken. And that’s most important — what action is being taken,” said Caleb McGeeney, cousin of Clayton McGeeney.
David Harrington (second from left), Clayton McGeeney (second from right) and Ricky Johnson (right) were found dead on Jan. 9 outside a friend’s home.
Speaking previously with NewsNation, John Picerno, an attorney for Jordan Willis, said his client was unaware of the bodies in the yard because Willis works from home, and had no reason to go outside. Picerno also said Willis did not check his phone in those two days, and did not see that people had reached out to him asking about the location of the three men.
One of the victims’ brothers, however, worries that the investigation began “too late,” and that his quest for answers may be hindered as a result.
“We don’t know information on what [police] had at the very beginning, so it’s kind of speculation on whether or not all the pressure and the attention that this is getting is what caused this now,” Jonathan Price, the brother of Ricky Johnson, said Wednesday night on NewsNation’s “CUOMO.” We just don’t know what caused them to start looking [for more information about the deaths] or if they’ve been looking the entire time.”
Closure will only be achieved once there are answers available, an attorney for the Johnson family added.
“I’m hopeful that these families, we get some closure on this, and having some answers is what they need to have some closure,” said Ross Nigro, attorney for the Johnson family.
Kansas City police are still waiting for the results of the toxicology reports, WDAF has learned. The release of final reports could still be more than a month away.