Midwest
Investigation into Kansas City Chiefs fans' deaths nearing a dramatic end, homeowner's attorney says
Nine months after three Kansas City Chiefs fans were found dead in their friend’s snowy backyard, the homeowner’s attorney believes that criminal charges will finally be levied in their deaths — but not against his client.
On Jan. 9, 37-year-old Clayton McGeeney, 38-year-old Ricky Johnson and 36-year-old David Harrington were found dead on Jordan Willis’ Kansas City property by McGeeney’s fiancée. Two days earlier, they had come to Willis’ home to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers. Willis could not be reached by phone and did not answer his door in the days that the families searched for their relatives who never returned home.
Although preliminary autopsy results shared with the media by family members indicate that fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana were in their systems, the deceased men’s families have maintained that Willis was involved in their deaths, with some threatening to file civil suits against the homeowner.
On Tuesday, Willis’ attorney John Picerno told Fox News Digital that “charges [will be] forthcoming in the next few weeks,” based on “internal conversations” with prosecutors.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ DEATHS: VICTIMS’ FAMILIES AT ODDS OVER ‘ANGRY’ SPECULATION, LAWYER SAYS
David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson were found dead outside their friend’s Kansas City home on Jan. 9, 2024. (Ricky Johnson/Facebook)
“I can say with confidence that my client will not be charged in that regard,” Picerno said. “My client will not be charged in any manner with having to do with the untimely death of his friends.”
When asked who would face criminal charges in the men’s deaths, Picerno replied, “The criminal liability could be for a felony murder charge if somebody provided those young men with drugs.”
Fox News Digital previously reported that a fifth man, who Fox News Digital has chosen not to name unless criminal charges are filed, was in Willis’ home at Northwest 83rd Terrace on Jan. 7 — but that man told Fox 4 that he left while the men were still watching the game, and he stressed that he was not the last person to see them alive.
That fifth man’s attorney could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ DEATHS: FAMILIES AT ODDS THREATEN LAWSUITS AGAINST EACH OTHER
An exterior view of the home of Jordan Willis in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
Picerno said that the length of the probe, which the Kansas City Police Department has repeatedly characterized as a death investigation rather than a homicide investigation, is “definitely out of the ordinary.”
He also said his client voluntarily handed over all his electronic devices to police early in the investigation, along with DNA samples.
“I don’t know what caused this investigation to go on for nine months,” Picerno said. “That would be a better question answered by the prosecutors.”
“There is nothing to report or comment on at this time,” a representative from the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office told Fox News Digital. “It’s still an ongoing investigation. I assume when something is done, [Platte County Prosecutor] Eric [Zahnd] will be doing a press release. We don’t have a timeline to report, unfortunately.”
The Kansas City Police Department could not be reached for comment at press time.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS DEATHS: ‘WALTER WHITE NARRATIVE’ ABOUT PARTY HOST IS ‘OUT OF CONTROL,’ SOURCE SAYS
Family and friends of Clayton McGeeney, left, David Harrington, center, and Ricky Johnson, right, are clamoring for answers after the three men inexplicably died in below-freezing temperatures outside their friend’s Kansas City home. (Facebook)
Although he is “confident” that his client will avoid criminal prosecution, Picerno said that civil charges are likely on his horizon. He said he has been contacted by attorneys representing the men’s families and noted that the statute of limitations on these types of cases is five years in Missouri.
Jennifer Marquez, David Harrington’s mother, told Fox News Digital that this is “the first [she’s] heard” of movement in the case. Until she hears further news from the prosecutor’s office, she said she will “keep [herself] calm and not get any hopes up.”
“Of course I am extremely happy to hear that there may be something going on,” she said on Tuesday.
“I have not been told anything,” she continued. “They just have not relayed any information to us, the families, though, so I have nothing as far as information. We’ve not been getting the autopsies or any information like that. They do not want us to be able to release anything that would hurt the case, I guess.”
“Of course, I would love to see people held responsible for this and I believe Jordan should be held responsible,” Marquez said. “It was his home, he had the party, and, you know.”
Jordan Willis, who moved out of his Kansas City home and enrolled into a rehabilitation program after his friends’ deaths, has had his “life changed forever,” Picerno said.
HIV scientist Jordan Willis, 38, checked himself into a rehab facility after his three friends were found dead in his backyard on Jan. 9. (GitHub)
“It’s an awful thing when people have already presumed you’re guilty without real evidence,” Picerno said. “It’s a tough road to home, and he’s managing it as best he can.”
A source close to the Willis family told Fox News Digital that the 39-year-old Ph.D. holder and research scientist “still struggles with the aftermath of all of this.”
“[He] not only lost good friends of his, but [had] many people turn on him,” the source said.
“It affected every part of his life, and he’s doing the best he can,” the source continued. “He has been helping with his dad’s care this year, and trying to stay positive.”
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Ohio
Former Ohio State football players to join a sexual abuse lawsuit against the school
Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some former NFL players, have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the sexual abuse of student athletes decades ago by a team doctor, a lawyer in the case said Thursday.
The lawyer, Rocky Ratliff, said in an interview that the men came forward some eight years after the first lawsuit was filed because they needed to overcome the shame of revealing that they’d been sexually abused by another man and the fear of taking on the university publicly.
They are “tearful and living with it,” Ratliff said. “But as this case progresses on, they see how Ohio State’s treating athletes from the university and I think they want people to know it’s OK, even if it is male to male (sexual abuse), to come forward.”
Ohio State has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Hundreds say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998. He died in 2005.
The men have signed letters of agreement to join a lawsuit filed by other student-athletes who say they are victims of Strauss, Ratliff said.
Of the 30, only three have agreed to make their identities public, Ratliff said. They are Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson, he said. All were members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team and were recruited by and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes.
Some other former football players have settled with the school in sealed agreements that kept their names a secret, Ratliff said.
In a statement, Ohio State said it has “sincerely and persistently tried to reconcile with survivors, including former football student-athletes, through monetary and non-monetary means, including settlements, counseling services and other medical treatment.”
As of April 15, the university has settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, and is remains actively engaged in mediation, the school said.
In an interview, Washington said it was hard to talk about the abuse he suffered and recalled being subjected to “unlawful” physical exams by Strauss when he was 18 or 19. He and the other players tried to make light of it with each other and joke about it.
“But it was really uncomfortable,” said Washington, now 67.
He didn’t discuss it with others over the decades, but watching the 2025 documentary film “Surviving Ohio State” put it back into his thoughts.
“As a matter of fact, I couldn’t make it through that movie,” Washington said. “The pain and anguish that I saw, I just couldn’t take it.”
Strauss was on the faculty and medical staff and Ohio State. He retired in 1998 with emeritus status. School trustees revoked that mark of honor three years ago.
Washington was drafted in 1981 by the New York Jets and played one season for the team. Ellis, a former defensive back, had a seven-year NFL career from 1981 to 1987, playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. Ferguson, a former defensive end, played in the NFL from 1981 to 1990, including stints with the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions.
South Dakota
USC Trojans Pick Up Final Transfer Portal Addition From South Dakota
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team added one more piece to an already stacked transfer portal class on Thursday.
Transfer guard Isaac Bruns heads to the Downtown Los Angeles region, leaving South Dakota, per college basketball insider Joe Tipton. Bruns follows former Lindenwood University guard Jadis Jones to USC, who committed to coach Eric Musselman and company 24 hours earlier.
Background on USC Addition Isaac Bruns
Musselman swoops up a 20-point scoring option here.
Bruns dropped 20.8 points per game for the Coyotes last season and delivered a 39 percent shooting percentage from behind the arc. He delivered 12 different 20-point contests in 20 games played during the 2025-26 campaign.
The 6-5 shooter even lit up power conference teams and March Madness qualifiers when he was on the floor.
He delivered a 29-point outburst against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion Prairie View A&M during South Dakota’s 97-85 win on Dec. 13. Bruns produced 19 points against Kansas State out of the Big 12 during the season, too. He even scored 22 on Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference, plus 16 versus a Creighton team that was ranked No. 23 at the time.
Isaac Bruns Adds Needed Wrinkle for USC
Musselman and the coaching staff are swiftly addressing last season’s weaknesses.
The backcourt play sustained the most hits through injuries and inconsistency. Hence why USC made a run at Georgetown’s KJ Lewis, Colgate’s Jalen Cox, Hawaii’s Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, and the Wednesday pickup out of the Ohio Valley Conference, Jones.
All present their strengths: Lewis offering a combo guard presence, Cox as a facilitator and scorer, Hunkin-Claytor for his reliable defense, and Jones bringing a post and defensive presence.
Musselman and the Trojans still lacked a true long range scoring presence, until now.
The North Sioux City native has buried more than 31 percent of his attempts from behind the arc during his three seasons with South Dakota. Plus, he’s fresh off delivering a career-best mark for 3-point shooting, which featured 11 games in hitting multiple long-distance baskets.
Where USC’s Transfer Portal Class Stands
To recap, USC now has pulled in seven total transfers during this current cycle.
And once again, addressing the backcourt rose as the biggest offseason need. But locating a consistent marksman from deep surfaced as another pivotal need for a USC team that floundered late and missed out on landing in the field of 68.
The now former Summit League star Bruns fills that void in the land of Troy. This officially signals that USC is done adding to the roster, per Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times.
The Trojans will welcome back prized freshman Alijah Arenas for one more season, who boosts the backend of the floor with his return. Arenas now enters a guard room featuring eight different options Musselman can choose from.
USC presents up to eight frontcourt options, which now features the UConn transfer Eric Reibe at center. But Bruns entering the picture will boost the Trojans’ national portal ranking higher from here. Plus, spark conversations for USC, boasting one of the nation’s deepest backcourts, especially among Big Ten teams.
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Wisconsin
Kickoff time announced for Wisconsin-Notre Dame at Lambeau Field
(WLUK) — The Wisconsin-Notre Dame game at Lambeau Field will be under the lights.
Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6.
The matchup, originally scheduled for Oct. 3, 2020, was rescheduled for 2026 after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the 2020 football season.
The Badgers took on the Fighting Irish at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2021 as part of the Shamrock Series, the neutral-site non-conference series between the two programs. Notre Dame claimed the first game of the series 41-13.
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Wisconsin last played at Lambeau Field in 2016 and scored a 16-14 win over No. 5 LSU.
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