Midwest
Kansas City Chiefs fans' mysterious deaths yet to be resolved a year later
A year-to-date after three Kansas City Chiefs fans were last seen alive, it is still unclear why they died in their friend’s snowy backyard — and authorities have not handed down any criminal charges in their deaths.
Clayton McGeeney, 37; Ricky Johnson, 38; and David Harrington, 36, visited their longtime friend Jordan Willis’ home in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 7, 2024 to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
Two days later, the three men were found dead on Willis’ property by McGeeney’s fiancée. Willis could not be reached by phone and did not answer his door in the days afterward, according to family members who searched for the three friends 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 questioned Willis’ involvement in what happened, with some threatening to file lawsuits.
In September, 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, Missouri, 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 at the time. “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.”
However, Picerno and attorneys for the men’s family members have said that there have been no developments since.
Fox News Digital previously reported that a fifth man 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 in September 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 [more than] 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 are clamoring for answers after the three men inexplicably died in below-freezing temperatures outside their friend’s Kansas City, Missouri, home. (Facebook)
Although he is “confident” that his client will avoid criminal prosecution, Picerno said in September that civil action is 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.”
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, 2024. (GitHub)
“It’s an awful thing when people have already presumed you’re guilty without real evidence,” Picerno said. “It’s a tough row to hoe, 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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Nebraska
Nebraska driver hits 160 mph fleeing state troopers on Interstate 80
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A 20-year-old driver accused of reaching 160 mph while fleeing from state troopers in Lancaster County was arrested early Thursday.
The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) said the incident began around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when a trooper was patrolling on Interstate 80 in Lincoln, southeast of Lincoln Airport. A BMW sedan was reportedly seen speeding at more than 95 mph in a 65 mph zone.
The trooper attempted a traffic stop on the BMW, but the driver accelerated and fled eastbound, NSP said. A pursuit then began.
NSP said the BMW driver reached speeds of more than 160 mph on Interstate 80 before taking the exit at 56th Street and continuing south. The pursuit was discontinued out of concern for public safety.
The suspect vehicle was found several minutes later by another trooper. It was traveling westbound on Cornhusker Highway between 70th and 65th streets.
NSP said the driver again fled from law enforcement, turning northbound onto 56th Street, where another trooper successfully deployed stop sticks. The driver continued before coming to a stop near Highway 77 and Agnew Road in northern Lancaster County and ran off.
Troopers, with help from several other agencies, later found the driver when he returned home around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
The driver, identified as Nathanael Campbell of Ceresco, was arrested on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest, second-offense willful reckless driving, obstructing a peace officer and other traffic violations. He was lodged in the Lancaster County Jail.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
State Patrol identifies victim in fatal West Fargo pedestrian crash
WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Authorities have identified the man killed and the driver involved in a fatal overnight crash in West Fargo.
Jose Rodriguez, 38, of West Fargo, died after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to the North Dakota State Patrol.
The driver, Carly Vizenor, 25, of West Fargo, was not injured. Charges and restraint use remain under investigation.
The crash happened at approximately 2:46 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and 9th Street West.
According to the State Patrol, a 2016 Ford Fusion was traveling westbound on 32nd Avenue South when it struck Rodriguez, who was crossing the street approximately 20 to 30 yards east of the 9th Street intersection.
The driver left the scene and returned approximately 10 minutes later.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Dakota State Patrol, West Fargo Police Department, and West Fargo Fire Department all responded to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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.
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