Six months after three men were found dead in a Missouri backyard, questions remain

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (WDAF) — Six months ago, a group of friends met in Kansas City to watch the Chiefs game and hang out.

Days later, three of those friends were found dead in the backyard of Jordan Willis’ house.

By July, the families of the three dead – David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson – had few answers and said their questions were being ignored.

There is frustration and despair among these families, desperate for answers, wondering if anyone will be held accountable for the deaths of Clayton McGeeney, Ricky Johnson and David Harrington.

A lawyer close to the families told Nexstar’s WDAF that because of the amount of time that has passed and the lack of communication from police and prosecutors, he believes no charges will ever be filed.

This happened after the coroner confirmed to WDAF that his work was complete.

“Throughout this whole thing, I had a lot of trouble finding anyone to respond to me,” said Jennifer Marquez, Harrington’s mother.

“My nephew died a tragic death along with two of his friends and no one is being held accountable,” said Jim McGeeney, McGeeney’s uncle.

“If your car explodes now, what happened, well, they’ll find out what happened,” he continued. “If a plane crashes, what will they do? They get the black box, they can find out what happened, but with these three dead people, they’re not doing anything, it looks like they’re not doing anything, and if they do, let us know.”

In January, preliminary toxicology reports were presented to the families, which found cocaine and fentanyl in the bodies of the three men.

“Yes, our office has determined the cause and manner of death of all three deceased persons.
“All three cases are currently under seal and there are no public records available to release,” Kelsie Gwartney, chief of investigations and director of Forensic Medical of Kansas, said in a statement. In a second statement, she said all three reports were certified on Jan. 31.

The WDAF was previously informed that the forensic reports were delaying the investigation.

But nearly six months after the reports were confirmed, all three families are still trying to get more information from police or the Platte County District Attorney’s Office, other than confirmation that the investigation is still ongoing.

In fact, after months of contacting the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the WDAF was informed that “there is nothing further to discuss on this case at the moment.” (Platte County Attorney Eric) Zahnd is not commenting by phone or otherwise until the investigation is complete.”

Furthermore, the coroner refused to disclose the official cause and manner of death, even to the parents of these men.

WDAF also contacted Willis and his attorney, but received no response. As WDAF previously reported, a family source confirmed that Willis had checked into a rehab clinic to combat his addiction in the days following the men’s discovery. Attempts to speak to the fifth person who had been at Willis’ home in January and his attorney were also unsuccessful.