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Kansas
Private detective to probe mystery deaths of Kansas City fans
The family of one of the three football fans found dead at the back of their friend’s house has hired a private detective to try and uncover the truth.
On January 9, the bodies of David Harrington, Ricky Johnson and Clayton McGeeney were found in the backyard of their friend, Jordan Willis, an HIV scientist who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. They had been there since January 7, when the three men visited Willis to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ricky Johnson’s family has now hired a private detective amid a stalled police investigation and an intense public debate about what happened to the men.
Willis said that he hadn’t been at the back of his house for two days and didn’t know the men were there until he was alerted by McGeeney’s fiancee.
GoFundMe
Stephanie Walling, a niece of Johnson, announced on Facebook on Monday that his family had hired the detective. She wrote that his father, Ricky Johnson Snr., had set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to pay for the investigator, a lawyer and other expenses while the family searches for the truth.
“That [GoFundMe] was created by Ricky’s father. Linda was Ricky’s step mother. They have hired a PI and a lawyer and need help paying for that,” she said in response to a query from a supporter.
Walling added that there is now a separate GoFundMe page for each of the three deceased friends.
Police have said they are not treating the deaths as homicides.
Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, said his client “had absolutely nothing to do with the deaths of his three friends,” two of whom he’s known since high school.
“He’s grieving, he’s had to move out of his home, he’s had to shut down his social media, he’s taking leave of absence from his job, so it’s really affected him,” Picerno told KCTV in Kansas City.
GoFundMe
Picerno said that after the friends went to his house following the Chiefs game, Willis decided to sleep on his couch and said goodnight to his friends at around 2 a.m.
“He thought that they left out the front door,” Picerno told KCTV.
Asked why Willis didn’t check for them in the backyard, Picerno said he had no reason to go out into the backyard, and he didn’t know anyone was there.
The medical examiner’s office has yet to determine a cause of death.
April Mahoney, McGeeney’s fiancée went to the house on January 9 and found the first body. She then called police. A neighbor’s video showed the police arriving and questioning Willis at his front door.
On January 9, Captain Jake Becchina of the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement: “First and foremost, this case is 100% NOT being investigated as a homicide. There have not been any arrests [or] charges, and no one is in custody.
“There are no specific threats or concerns for the surrounding community at this time.
“The resident at the house was cooperative with detectives the day the deceased were discovered.”
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.
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If the motto to live by is to get 1 hour of movement a day, the Parkinson’s community in Kansas City is exceeding it.
Bob Zipse has been fighting Parkinson’s for 10 years. He said the diagnosis hit him hard.
Leawood’s Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center expands services as diagnoses climb
“I was super depressed. I mean, I was in a chair. Did you want to move? Look around, just horrible. Because there’s no resources. Where do I go with the time?”
Zipse said the disease can be an isolating experience.
KSHB
“Parkinson’s, I say, is a very lonely, lonely disease. Either people don’t want to deal with you, or you’re embarrassing.”
He found the Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center at his lowest point. Now, he sees people around him pushing past their limits.
“You see people out here, they’re in the mid-70s, they’re doing push-ups, sit-ups, lifting weights. I mean, it’s amazing, really,” Zipse said. “In here, we’re all the same.”
Sarissa Curry founded the center after seeing the power of healing through exercise and recognizing that diagnosis rates were increasing. An aging population and younger diagnoses are among the biggest factors driving that trend.
Kansas consistently ranks as having one of the highest Parkinson’s disease diagnoses and mortality rates in the United States, second only to Nebraska. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, an estimated 20,000 people in the Kansas City metro alone are living with the disease.
“You see your neurologist once every six months to a year, and you see a physical therapist maybe a couple of months out of the year. Community-based programs are here every day to support this community,” Curry said.
Curry said the warning signs of rising Parkinson’s rates have been visible for years.
“They have been predicting this increase in Parkinson’s for many years. They were able to see the writing on the wall, they were able to see how the population was aging, and they knew that this was coming. We paid attention.”
She expanded the center to serve as an all-encompassing resource for people like Zipse.
KSHB
“I’d hate to wager what I would have been like. Life would have stopped for me, I think. This at least gives me hope, gives me some work towards and see some benefit of it,” Zipse said.
The PEWC will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 3, at 3:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend to learn more about the center’s services and the disease as incidence rates continue to rise each year.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two men were arrested following a lengthy Reno County Sheriff’s Office investigation into several burglaries and thefts in the area.
Garson Stanley Boyles was arrested May 21, and Jimmy Ray Miller was arrested May 27. Both were arrested on suspicion of 11 counts of burglary, five counts of criminal damage to property and four counts of theft.
The sheriff’s office said numerous stolen items have been recovered, including a vehicle. Investigators said several items remain missing.
Anyone with information about the location of stolen property is asked to contact the Reno County Sheriff’s Office at 620-694-2735. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Reno County Crime Stoppers at 620-694-2666 or 800-222-TIPS.
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