Kansas City man had no idea 3 friends were dead in backyard, attorney says

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A Missouri man, whose three friends were found dead in his backyard after a football gathering, said he didn’t know of the deaths until days later.

Kansas City police said they discovered the men after a woman went searching for her fiancé on Tuesday, Jan. 9. The woman called police, reporting a body outside of a Kansas City home.

When officers arrived, they confirmed there was a body on the back porch. Officers continued their investigation and found two more bodies in the backyard.

Police identified the three victims as 38-year-old Ricky Johnson, 36-year-old Clayton McGeeney and 37-year-old David Harrington.

Harrington’s mother, Jennifer Marquez, previously told Nexstar’s WDAF that her son went over to a friend’s house to watch the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday, Jan. 7.

The homeowner was close friends with the three men and had nothing to do with their deaths, according to his attorney, John Picerno.

“He had no knowledge that they remained in his backyard or that they needed medical attention,” Picerno said in a statement.

Nexstar isn’t naming the homeowner because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

Picerno said his client doesn’t know the timing, manner of their deaths, or when they left his house. The man’s family previously said he was told that “his friends froze to death.”

According to Picerno, the last time his client saw the three men was when they left the house and he went to bed.

Picerno said that prior to being contacted by Kansas City police, his client did not receive any phone calls or text messages from family or friends of the victims.

Two people came to the house, however, the homeowner didn’t hear them due to sleeping with air buds and a loud fan, according to Picerno.

Picerno said the wife of one of the victims tried to reach the homeowner on Facebook Messenger, but he didn’t see the message until after being contacted by KCPD.

According to Picerno, two of the victims’ cars were parked on the street and none were parked in the driveway, and the homeowner didn’t notice them, adding: “It would not be unusual for his friends to have left their cars there overnight.”

When police arrived at the house, Picerno said the homeowner allowed them inside, told them all he knew and voluntarily consented to a search of the home.

As of Sunday, Jan. 21, the Kansas City Police Department is still waiting on the results from medical examiners to determine a cause of death. It could be weeks before they get results from an autopsy and other tests. Police said there is no indication of foul play suspected.