Families devastated, still waiting for answers after 3 men found dead at KC home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Three men were found dead in their friend’s backyard, and two weeks later, we still know very little of their final hours.

“His sister and brother are devastated, and needless to say, I am, too,” said Jennifer Marquez, David Harrington’s mom.

“He’s finally gotten his life together the way he wanted to live it,” said Jim McGeeney, Clayton McGeeney’s uncle.

David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson are the three men found dead outside a Northland home two days after they went to their friend Jordan Willis’s home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs’ final regular season game on Jan. 7.

Since then, we’ve heard a lot about the mystery of what may have happened to these men. Now we’re learning what connected them before that fateful night.

“He was a great friend to so many people out there,” Marquez said of her son.

The family described Harrington as a teddy bear. He was there when you called and could always be counted on. 

Harrington didn’t have any kids of his own, but he did have two bonus children he was raising. He was a family man and, of course, a Chiefs fan.

Now his mom is devastated and broken — but determined. 

“My son and these other men were wonderful people. They deserve justice,” Marquez said. “The story, the whole story, needs to come out.”

Clayton McGeeney was engaged to get married. Family said he loved nothing more than his fiancée. For him, over the course of his life, nothing came easy, and his family said he was a hard worker.

“Some of the friends that gave little whatnots about him and how just a wonderful guy he was, never had a temper, never got into arguments with anyone,” Jim McGeeney said.

Johnson had three kids, one who is just 4 years old. That toddler’s mom said Johnson was the best co-parent she could ask for. 

The day he went missing, the 4-year-old’s mother said all the little girl wanted to do was talk to her father. She never got that chance.

Willis, the man who lived at the Northland home, became friends with the three high school buddies — Harrington, McGeeney and Johnson — in the last 3-5 years, according to multiple family sources.

Watching the Chiefs game on Sunday together wasn’t only normal for these men. It was almost the expectation.  

But the Chiefs game two weeks ago would prove to be their last together.  

These men, first connected by high school friendship, are now linked by the mysterious circumstances of their deaths.

“He’s not telling the whole story. He’s covering something up,” Marquez said. “If you’re telling the truth, the story should be the same.”

“You just don’t go to a house and find three dead grown men in the backyard,” Jim McGeeney said.  

This past weekend, hundreds of friends gathered to celebrate the lives of Harrington, McGeeney, and Johnson — a fitting tribute to a friendship that thrived for two decades. 

A Kansas City Police Department spokesperson said they are still waiting on the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death.

The agency stressed this case has not been ruled a homicide or suspicious death because there were no obvious signs of foul play.

The medical examiner’s office said the process takes 6-8 weeks. They said it’s important to note that the 6-week estimate is the minimum amount of time to complete their work. 

They said all cases aren’t the same. Depending on the complexity, this could take longer than eight weeks.