A Kansas City Chiefs watch party became a nightmare when three men were found dead in the backyard of the home two days later. According to early reports, Jordan Willis, who hosted the gathering, said his friends must have frozen to death, and he seemed unaware they were there.
Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington, all in their 30s, were the three men who died. A statement from Willis’ lawyer later said an unnamed fifth man was inside the home. Each one, meanwhile, had been invited to Willis’ rental home in the Northland area of Kansas City to watch the Chiefs face the LA Chargers, Fox4KC reported.
According to several unconfirmed TikTok reports, it was common for the men to gather to watch NFL games and then stay the night so as not to drive after drinking, one possible explanation for why the three men did not return home that Sunday night or Monday morning.
The men were found two days later
By Tuesday, however, the three men were still missing, and Willis was not responding to numerous phone calls and texts from those close to the men, inquiring what may have happened to them. One of the men was engaged to be married, and his fiancée took matters into her own hands and visited Willis’ home, where she found one man dead and covered in snow on the back porch. The two other men, also under snow, were in the backyard. It’s unclear which man was in which position, or who the woman was who made the grim discovery. All three cars were still parked outside the home.
Once the bodies were found, the woman called the police, who roused Jordan Willis when the woman who discovered the men had failed to get him to respond. Many TikTok reports say he seemed to have just woken up when the police spoke to him, and when he learned his three friends had died, Willis told them they must have frozen to death.
No one knows what happened
But until the autopsy and toxicology results are revealed, what happened to the three men who lost their lives in Jordan Willis’ backyard sometime between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, 2024, is pure speculation. Given the suspicious circumstances and the unconfirmed reports of Willis’ behavior when he found out they died, many think foul play was involved. The possibility remains, however, that all four men were intoxicated. Willis may have fallen asleep, while the three men went into the backyard for an unknown reason and succumbed to the elements.
According to AccuWeather, Kansas City temperatures ranged between 27 and 39 degrees when the men likely died. Fox4KC says there were no signs of foul play, and that autopsies and toxicology screenings would be performed on the three men. The results could take weeks to return.
Willis is a scientist
Willis, meanwhile, is a senior principal scientist at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), according to the nonprofit organization’s website. Otherwise, not much is known about him.
After the three men’s bodies were found, TikTok creators shared photos of U-Haul trucks outside Willis’ rental home, suggesting Willis was moving. Other unconfirmed reports allege that Willis was known to use illicit drugs, possibly laced with fentanyl, a potential cause of death for the three men.
Willis lawyered up and released a statement
A few weeks after the three men were found dead in Jordan Willis’ backyard, Fox4KC reported that Willis released a statement through his attorney, John Picerno. In it, Willis said there was an unnamed fifth man in the house and that he went to bed when the three men who died left the home. In an inconsistency, Willis also said he could not remember when the three men left. In a later update, Willis said through Picerno that he fell asleep while the four men were still there.
Picerno confirmed that Willis was moving from the home he rented in the Northland area of Kansas City. He said he sleeps with air buds and a loud fan, explaining why he didn’t hear any phone calls or alerts from those trying to contact him. Meanwhile, the three men’s cars were parked not directly in front of the house, but on the street. Willis said he didn’t notice them. Willis’ whereabouts between Sunday, Jan. 7, the day of the Chiefs’ game, and the Tuesday when the three dead bodies were discovered remains unclear.
Once the police arrived at Willis’ home, Willis said he cooperated fully with the investigation and had no involvement or knowledge of when or how the men died. Willis, who has not been charged with any crime, said if he’d known his friends needed medical attention, he would have helped them.
Family members want answers
Despite Willis’ statement, grieving family members are not satisfied with the information they’ve received. Caleb McGeeney, a cousin of Clayton McGeeney, one of the men who died, told Fox4KC, “[Willis’ statement has] a lot of holes in it, like last time he saw them they were leaving the house, but he didn’t know they had left, that doesn’t make much sense.”
Referring to the case, Jennifer Marquez, mother of David Harrington, another man who died, told Fox4KC, “I’m furious. Everybody is furious. Nobody believes [Willis’] story. None of his friends, none of the families, none of us believe.”
