Kansas
Kansas City Chiefs' fans deaths: Why former homicide detective believes criminal charges still possible
A year-to-date after three men were found frozen in their friend’s snowy Kansas City backyard after an NFL watch party, their families still have no explanation for their sons’ mysterious deaths.
Clayton McGeeney, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and David Harrington, 36, were found dead behind their friend Jordan Willis’ home on Jan. 9, 2023. Two days earlier, the four men met up at the house to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
In the days before McGeeney’s fiancée found the men’s bodies, Willis could not be reached by phone and did not answer his door, according to family members who searched for the three friends who never returned home.
A representative from the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that an investigation into the men’s deaths is ongoing. Members of each of the three men’s families said that a year later, they still have no updates in the case, with Johnson’s mother saying she was “heartbroken.”
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)
“No news or developments,” a source close to Willis said on Wednesday. “It’s very frustrating, and we don’t know what the holdup is.”
“He’s taking it hard on the anniversary,” the source said. “We thought there would be closure by now.”
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: FAMILIES AT ODDS THREATEN LAWSUITS AGAINST EACH OTHER
An exterior view of the home of Jordan Willis in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 26, 2024. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
“They claim the case is still under investigation,” Picerno said on Wednesday. “But as you know, [the] prosecutor told me months ago that my guy has been cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to harming the other three individuals.”
Julie Rendelman, a former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that if Willis was responsible for his friends’ deaths, he “likely would have been arrested already.”
That said, she said she would “be shocked if a prosecutor’s office would promise that any individual wouldn’t be pursued, especially if the case is being investigated.”
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)
“I’m not saying that [Picerno] is lying, but none of us were privy to any conversation that was had,” she said on Wednesday.
“It seems to me that there’s room to give some answers without giving it away, even if the answers are ‘we don’t have the answers,’” Rendelman said of the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office. “That happens – cases go unsolved.”
Criminal defense attorney Ted Williams told Fox News Digital that a year later, a medical examiner should have complete autopsy results.
“After getting the results of the autopsy, which I would believe they have the full results by now, you would think that would be enough to bring charges against someone associated with the death of these three men,” Williams said on Wednesday.
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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)
“What is weird and strange and mysterious is that this is still an open case with the Kansas City Police Department – if they believe that this was not a death that was caused at the hands of another, you would think that they would close this investigation out, and they have not,” Williams said. “It’s still open, so… it could still be considered a homicide… The big question is, what direction is the investigation going?”
But Rendelman pointed out that, although toxicology results and an autopsy are likely completed, a medical examiner may have been unable to determine causes of death.
Rendelman also said it is not outside the realm of possibility that detectives with the Kansas City Police Department are still gathering information in the case. They could be withholding information from the public so as not to jeopardize that investigation.
“I had cases as a prosecutor where we didn’t charge anyone for years,” she said. “We kept them very quiet and close to the vest because we didn’t want outsiders impacting our ability to fully investigate and hold the people responsible that were responsible… they may be concerned that anything they tell to the public could impact their ability to investigate this.”
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ MYSTERIOUS DEATHS YET TO BE RESOLVED A YEAR LATER
“Are there some law enforcement offices that just take longer to investigate things? Yes. Are there some prosecutors’ offices that aren’t as savvy in determining what the public should or shouldn’t know? Yes,” Rendelman said.
Previously, members of the men’s families told Fox News Digital that they intended to sue Willis in civil court. David Harrington’s father told Fox News Digital that he and his son’s mother were “convinced that Jordan Willis played a part in this somehow” and they “just [hadn’t] figured out how yet.”
Rendelman said that, in addition to holding someone responsible for their sons’ deaths, the families could get the information they are seeking through the discovery period of a civil lawsuit if the prosecutors’ office continues to keep them in the dark.
“Sometimes people sue just to get information – you can get a subpoena, get depositions,” Rendelman said.
“I would have to believe that there’s going to be civil litigation that will bring out more than the public is going to learn from the criminal investigation,” Williams echoed.
Kansas
SW Kansas wildfires prompt evacuations, school closure, road closures
MEADE, Kan. (KWCH) – Wildfires burning in southwest Kansas prompted evacuation orders, a highway closure, and responses from agencies and task forces from across the state, including Sedgwick County.
As efforts to gain the upper hand on fires in Ford, Meade, Clark and Stevens counties continue Friday morning, there’s a piece of good news as the evacuation order for the city of Meade has been lifted. Overnight, residents were told to evacuate due to a fire burning south of town as firefighters battled to gain control of the wildfire. Meade Public Schools will not be in session on Friday.
Around 1 a.m. Friday, the NWS said the fire in Meade County was approaching the southern portion of the city of Meade. Late Thursday, KDOT closed K-23 because of the fire from U.S. 54 to the Oklahoma state line. Kansas Wildlife and Parks also announced Meade State Park had been evacuated late Thursday afternoon.
The Englewood Fire Department shared a video from Clark County that shows what firefighters were facing late Thursday night, with thick smoke billowing from scorched ground and flames still spreading.
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
Kansas
At least seven grass fires burning in southwest Kansas; highway shut down
Posted:
Updated:
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Crews are battling multiple grass fires in southwest Kansas.
There are seven active fires near Rolla in Morton County, according to emergency management.
The Kansas Department of Transportation said Kansas 51 Highway between the U.S. 56 Highway junction in Rolla and the Kansas Highway 27 junction in Richfield is closed due to the fires.
According to Storm Track 3 Meteorologist Jack Maney, the fires started as a dry thunderstorm moved through the area. But the cause of the fires hasn’t been determined yet, as crews are still working to bring them all under control.
In addition to Morton County, there are also reports of wildfires in Ford, Clark, Meade and Stevens counties.
The State Emergency Operations Center has been partially activated to help respond to the fires.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks said Meade State Park has not been affected but has warned visitors to reconsider coming due to multiple fires in the area.
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.
Kansas
KHP says 135 spill was human waste
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) -Matthew Ho likes to keep a clean car.
“I basically use my car a lot for work, with my multiple day jobs and weekend jobs,” Ho said.
However, on Tuesday, it was anything but.
“I was on 135 going northbound towards Bel Aire,” Ho said, “Right about the exit of 21st st I kind of saw this big mess of pile up that just happened right as I was blinking.”
Ho had no choice but to drive through it. Then the smell came.
“I think it took a little bit just because at first it didn’t seem like it was anything,” Ho said.
The smell continued to get worse and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a 90 degree day, and even with that intense weather he could not use the air conditioning because the air that it used was smelly itself.
“It sticks, and now that we’re downdraft winds you can just smell it all the time,” Ho said.
The company responsible for the spill, No Limit Logistics LLC, said, ‘There was no human waste’. The Kansas Highway Patrol says otherwise.
Ho has tried to wash the smell out of his car multiple times.
“It didn’t work,” Ho said, “Washed the car again, still didn’t go away.”
Now, he is looking for someone to take responsibility.
“I would really like compensations for all the car wash, especially when it was something I didn’t do personally,” Ho said, “A mechanical failure on a truck isn’t necessarily someone’s fault, but someone’s liable for it.”
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
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