The fifth man at the KC Chiefs watch party in a home where three men later died in the backyard has spoken out, and what he said contradicts the man who rented the Kansas City house where the deaths took place, Jordan Willis‘ version of events.
On Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, five men gathered at Willis’ home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play, and two days later, three of those men turned up dead in the backyard. When Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington — all in their 30s — failed to return home or show up for work, those close to the three men tried to contact Willis but said they couldn’t.
On Tuesday of that week, one man’s fiancée went to Willis’ house and found the three men in the backyard dead, covered in snow. According to early reports, when the police finally talked to Willis only moments after the man’s fiancée failed to get him to respond, he said they must have frozen and died and that he was unaware their bodies were there two days after the Chiefs game.
Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, later said his client never told the authorities that’s what caused their death.
Willis’ statement
A few weeks after the three men were discovered, Jordan Willis‘ attorney, John Picerno, spoke publically about what happened at his client’s rental house. Through Picerno, it was revealed there was a fifth man there who, as of this report, has not been named in the press. Picerno also said the five men watched the Chiefs game at other locations before returning to Willis’ home.
According to Picerno, Willis’ said he fell asleep, all the men were still there, and when he woke up, they were gone. Willis later contradicted himself when he added the last time he saw his three friends was when they left. Conflicting reports say Willis was asleep on the couch, while others say he was in his bedroom.
Willis’ attorney also explained that his client slept with a loud fan and earbuds, so Willis didn’t hear any phone calls, social media alerts, or knocks on the door from those concerned about the three men’s whereabouts. Picerno added Willis never noticed the cars parked on the street in front of his rental property and that if Willis knew his friends were in trouble, he would have helped them.
Whether Willis slept for the roughly 48 hours between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, when the men were found, is unclear. In a NewsNation interview, Picerno said his client left the home periodically on Monday and Tuesday before the bodies were discovered, but later backtracked on that, too, and said he meant to say Willis had left his bedroom.
Willis has also moved out from the house where the men were found, his attorney said, Fox4KC reported.
What the fifth man said
A few days after Jordan Willis’ attorney, Joe Picerno, spoke to the media, the unnamed fifth man in the group told Fox4KC a different version of events from Picerno’s comments. The outlet also contacted the fifth man’s attorney, Andrew Talge. According to the fifth man, he left the home while the three men were still there, and Willis was awake early Monday morning watching Jeopardy. He insisted he was not the last person to see Johnson, McGeeney, and Harrington alive, as Picerno implied.
In his comments, Picerno also said Willis was only contacted by those concerned with the three men’s whereabouts via Facebook Messenger. The fifth man, however, said McGeeney and Johnson’s loved ones texted him. He then tried to contact Willis and Johnson through a text but got no response. Willis had said he saw the Facebook message only after the bodies were found.
Questions remain
From the start, those close to the three men who died were suspicious of Willis’ story. As of this report, Willis has not been charged with any crime, and KC police have said the deaths of the three men were not being investigated as homicide. There were no signs of foul play at the scene, according to KC police. Their cause of death and the results of an autopsy and toxicology reports on the three were pending. Unconfirmed reports say drug use may have been involved.
But according to Willis’ attorney, “[Willis] has nothing to hide. He went to the police station and spoke with officers without a lawyer present, he allowed them to search his home … these were his friends … he didn’t want any harm to come to any of them” (via Daily Mail).
Published: Jan 25, 2024 04:11 pm