Kansas

Parents of Chiefs fans found dead in backyard break silence as 2 suspects are charged

Published

12 months ago

March 6, 2025

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.

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

49 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.

According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.

Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.

Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday

Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.

Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

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