Kansas
Parents of Chiefs fans found dead in backyard break silence as 2 suspects are charged
The parents of two of three deceased Kansas City Chiefs fans, whose bodies were found frozen in a friend’s backyard, expressed mixed feelings following the arrests of two men charged with manslaughter on Wednesday.
Ricky Johnson Jr., 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead in their pal Jordan Willis’ backyard on Jan. 9, 2024.
Harrington’s mom, Theresa, claimed she’s been kept out of the loop in the 14 months since the trio’s bodies were discovered.
“They wouldn’t tell me anything,” she told the Daily Mail.
She said Kansas police officials continuously stated they weren’t investigating the deaths as homicides.
“[The statements] made it easy to think they had already made up their mind and there wouldn’t be any further investigation,” Harrington added, saying she pushed away any hope for criminal charges.
On Wednesday, Platte County prosecutors charged Willis and another man, Ivory Carson, each with three counts of manslaughter and two counts of delivering a controlled substance.
Johnson’s father, Rick, has since vowed to attend each hearing involving Willis and Carson.
“I am happy with the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office and the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department for filling charges,” he told Fox 4 Kansas City. “It’s been a long time. And I’ll be at every court date.”
The trio’s bodies were found on Willis’ property by McGenney’s fiancée two days after they gathered to watch the Chiefs’ final regular season game.
They died from a deadly cocktail of fentanyl and cocaine, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd revealed during a press conference streamed on KMBC.
Willis, an HIV researcher, claims he went to bed in the early hours of Jan. 8 and didn’t know the three men were outside.
He also claimed he didn’t hear the relatives of the men knocking on his door before their bodies were discovered because he was wearing headphones.
Police recovered two bags of drugs, one containing cocaine, the other fentanyl.
DNA samples from the bag of cocaine were mostly from Willis, while Carson’s DNA was found all over the bag of fentanyl, Zahnd said Wednesday.
Police say they found texts on Willis’ phone alleging Carson supplied David Harrington with cocaine. Carson later admitted selling cocaine to the trio.
“Jordan maintains that he is not responsible for purchasing or supplying the drugs that led to the deaths of his three friends,” Willis’ attorney John Picerno told the Kansas City Star after the arrest. “We are very much looking forward to the day a jury gets to hear all of the evidence in this case.”
The arrests did little to clear any speculation surrounding the deaths.
“[I] still don’t know anything about how my son died or his last moments,” Harrington said.
The grieving mother isn’t convinced any outcome in the mystery will come soon, claiming the trial won’t start for more than a year.
Theresa Harrington had acknowledged her son’s drug use but believed he didn’t do it to harm himself.
“He didn’t take that to die,” she told NewsNations’ Chris Cuomo in February 2024. “If he took the drugs on his own, he took them to get high. It just means that there’s more to the story, there’s more to it than just that.”
Harrington assured her son wasn’t a drug addict and pointed blame at “peer pressure.”
Willis and Carson are being held at the Platte County Jail on $100,000 bonds each.
No court hearings were scheduled for the two men following their arrest Wednesday afternoon.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A rural Kansas fire department says it saw yet another increase in calls in 2025.
On Tuesday, Butler County Fire District #3 posted data about last year on social media.
It responded to 782 alarms in 2025, which is a new record.
The majority of the calls were for rescue and emergency medical services, followed by service calls.
The department’s data show the number of calls has been trending upward over the last 20 years.
From 2006 to 2010, the department handled an an average of 550 calls a year. From 2021 through 2025, that average was 720, a 31% increase.
Officials said continued growth in the community has increased the demand for emergency services.
“These numbers reinforce the importance of ongoing training, staffing, equipment planning, and community support to ensure we can continue to provide timely and effective service,” the department said on Facebook.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clay County Commissioner Jason Withington said Wednesday that he still loves baseball, but is “done” negotiating with the Royals on a new stadium for the team in the county.
According to Withington, Thursday, Jan. 8, was the deadline for the Royals to appear on the April 2026 ballot in the county.
Withington said the Royals told the county that they were not ready to meet that deadline.
Withington took to Facebook to explain that “the joy has been drained” out of him over the last few years and expressed his dislike towards the business of baseball.
He called negotiations with the team “a closed chapter” and said that the county is shifting its focus elsewhere.
“It’s time for the Commission to focus fully on priorities we control—either upgrading our existing county jail or building a new one,” Withington wrote.
The Royals’ lease at Kauffman Stadium in the Truman Sports Complex in Jackson County expires in January 2031.
KSHB 41’s political reporter Charlie Keegan reported in May 2025 on efforts by Missouri to keep both the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri.
While the Chiefs announced that they will move to a new stadium site in 2031 in Wyandotte County, the Royals have not announced their next steps to get a new ballpark built.
A stadium site near 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park has emerged as a possibility for a stadium site for the ball club.
Some residents in that area are not happy about that possibility.
KSHB 41 News reached out to the Royals for comment, but has not heard back.
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The No. 1 Arizona Wildcats play against the Kansas State Wildcats in a Big 12 basketball game tonight. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. CT on FS1. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, fans can purchase a monthly subscription offered by Fubo TV/Sling.
The Arizona squad has played at a high level this season, as it enters this matchup with a 14-0 record. The team is coming off a 97-78 win against the Utah Utes.
In order to win tonight’s game, Arizona will need to rely on its forward Koa Peat. He leads the team in scoring this season, as he averages more than 14 points per game.
The Kansas State squad enters this matchup with a 9-5 record, but the team is coming off an 83-73 loss against BYU.
In order to bounce back tonight, Kansas State will need a great performance from its guard P.J. Haggerty. He averages 23 points per game, which leads the team.
Fans can watch this Big 12 basketball game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, fans can purchase a monthly subscription offered by Fubo TV/Sling.
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