One of the mothers of three Kansas City Chiefs fans found frozen in their friend’s snowy Missouri backyard after a January NFL watch party said “some charges” are warranted in her son’s death, though police have stated they do not suspect foul play.
“There’s no information being released, even though the police are still working from my understanding on the case,” Jennifer Marquez, mother of 37-year-old David Harrington, told Fox News Digital. “Of course, any family is going to be frustrated. We were warned that it would take a while, but it’s so hard not having any information.”
Harrington; Clayton McGeeney, 36; and Ricky Johnson, 38, were discovered frozen and dead behind their longtime friend Jordan Willis’ home in Kansas City on Jan. 9, two days after they were all last seen alive inside the house watching the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
A representative from Frontier Forensics Midwest LLC told Fox News Digital that their autopsies and toxicology reports had been completed in “late January.” Preliminary results were shared orally with the men’s family members by Kansas City Police Department detectives in early February. THC, cocaine and lethal levels of fentanyl were reportedly found in their systems, Fox News Digital previously reported.
“My wishes are that the person or persons responsible for providing the substance that caused the deaths of Ricky, Clayton and my son David are brought to justice,” Marquez said Thursday.
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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS DEATHS: ‘WALTER WHITE NARRATIVE’ ABOUT PARTY HOST IS ‘OUT OF CONTROL,’ SOURCE SAYS
David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson were found dead outside their friend’s Kansas City, Missouri, home on Jan. 9.(Ricky Johnson/Facebook)
“I believe Jordan still has a lot to answer for — I believe there should be some charges,” the bereaved mother continued. “If you have a party and serve too much alcohol and someone drives away from your house and has a wreck and kills themselves or others, you can be charged with overserving. He had a party and three people died — he should have charges brought against him.”
“Jordan [is] just going on with his life, while the rest of us are having to deal with the loss of family members,” she said. “Was his computer checked to see if he had been on it at any time in the two days that he didn’t answer… and never received any text or anything from family or friends of the men or even his work? You would think he checked on his work so he wouldn’t be in trouble or behind and that would prove he lied about not knowing [the men were dead or dying in his backyard].”
“Make it all make sense where he wouldn’t get in trouble,” she added.
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Previously, Willis’ attorney said that his client was asleep with closed blinds and noise-canceling headphones for much of the two days between allegedly seeing the three men outside his front door and the discovery of their bodies on his property two days later.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ DEATHS: FAMILIES AT ODDS THREATEN LAWSUITS AGAINST EACH OTHER
HIV scientist Jordan Willis, 38, checked himself into a rehab facility after his three friends were found dead in his backyard on Jan. 9. (GitHub)
Willis moved out of his home on Northwest 83rd Terrace, moved his belongings into storage and checked into a rehab facility shortly after his friends’ deaths, a source close to him previously told Fox News Digital.
On Friday, that source said that Marquez’s comments were “just more speculation from upset parents looking to point fingers” and “not based on any proven facts.”
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“The families do deserve answers and we all share the frustration on how long it’s taking for everyone to have those answers,” the source said. “I understand that they have suffered a huge loss — however, there has been absolutely no evidence presented at this point showing that Jordan was in any way responsible for the deaths of his friends, or that he knew they were deceased… before police showed up.”
“Even if he did log into his computer or even if he got up briefly… that doesn’t automatically mean he knew they were outside, especially not on a day when it snowed heavily,” they continued.
The source said that “the families continuing to speculate publicly without facts from the police department is unacceptable,” and that they need to “accept the possibility that their sons participated in behavior that cost them their lives.”
The source also said Willis has not returned to work as a data scientist at HIV research group IAVI.
PRELIMINARY TOXICOLOGY RESULTS BACK FOR KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS FOUND FROZEN TO DEATH
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An exterior view of the backyard and porch of Jordan Willis’ home in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 26. The bodies of Willis’ three friends — Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney and David Harrington — were found in Willis’ backyard, with one body found on the porch, on Jan. 9, two days after attending a Kansas City Chiefs watch party at the home.(DWS for Fox News Digital)
Earlier this week, Kansas City Police Department Sergeant Phil DiMartino told Fox News Digital there were “no updates at this time” on their death investigation. The department still does not suspect foul play in the men’s deaths, and previously said that they are “100 percent not being investigated as homicide[s].”
“Investigators continue to follow all leads,” DiMartino said. “Our agency remains in contact and continues to work with the Platte County Prosecutor’s office for review of any applicable charges.”
The officer also asserted that “the results of an autopsy report are not publicly available in an ongoing investigation. “
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ DEATHS: VICTIMS’ FAMILIES AT ODDS OVER ‘ANGRY’ SPECULATION, LAWYER SAYS
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Family and friends of, from left, Clayton McGeeney, David Harrington and Ricky Johnson are clamoring for answers after the three men inexplicably died in freezing temperatures outside their friend’s Kansas City, Missouri, home.(Facebook)
Ricky Johnson Sr., Johnson’s father, told Fox News Digital that the Kansas City Police Department had turned his son’s case over to their drug task force.
“I think they need to arrest the guy [Willis] and get him to talk,” the elder Johnson said on Thursday. “My attorney told me to give more time [for police] to finish the investigation — [I’m] not pleased but I’ll wait a little longer.”
Fox 4 also reported that the attorney of Alex Lee, a fifth man who spent time at Willis’ house with the men in their final hours, had been contacted by the prosecutor’s office in the case.
In the months following the discovery of the men’s bodies, their loved ones have come forward with theories that Willis played an active role in their demise.
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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS DEATHS: DRUGS IN MEN’S SYSTEMS SHOW ‘THERE’S MORE TO THE STORY,’ FAMILY SAYS
Jon Harrington, left, is pictured along with his son David. In response to preliminary toxicology findings showing cocaine and fentanyl in Johnson, McGeeney and Harrington’s systems, the elder Harrington told News Nation that “somebody gave them something that would kill them.”(Jon Harrington)
All three families are considering wrongful death lawsuits, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Previously, 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.”
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Johnson’s mother previously told Fox News Digital that she feared Willis had “concocted something and gave it to all three men,” while the 38-year-old’s father said he “[believed Willis] drugged them, dragged them outside and waited two days to call police.”
The source close to Willis told Fox News Digital that he “looks forward to having the opportunity to be able to clear his name.”
Thousands are without power across mid-Missouri after Sunday night’s storms.
As of 1 a.m. on Monday, more than 7,600 were without power across the state, according to poweroutage.us. More than 1,800 of those customers were in mid-Missouri.
681 customers were without power in Camden County and 637 customers were affected in Pulaski county. In Benton County, 581 customers were without power as of Monday morning.
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Jasper County customers were the most affected by Sunday night’s storms, with more than 2,900 without power as of 1 a.m.
Get the latest weather updates on your mobile devices by downloading the First Alert Weather App for Apple and Android.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln expects to confer a record 3,800-plus degrees during commencement exercises May 8-9.
Pinnacle Bank Arena, 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, will host a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees, 3 p.m. May 8, and two ceremonies for those earning bachelor’s degrees, 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 9. Doors open to the public at 1:30 p.m. May 8 and 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. May 9. A College of Law ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. May 9 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, 1600 Court St., with doors opening to the public at 1 p.m.
Interim Chancellor Katherine S. Ankerson will preside over the ceremonies. The morning undergraduate ceremony will feature graduates in the Colleges of Business, Education and Human Sciences, Fine and Performing Arts, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Public Affairs and Community Service. The afternoon undergraduate ceremony will feature graduates in the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Architecture, Arts and Sciences, and Engineering.
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Adams
DeMoine Adams, motivational speaker and former Husker football student-athlete, will deliver the keynote address, “The Power of People,” during the morning undergraduate ceremony. Nebraska Builder Awards will be given to College of Architecture alumni and university supporters Scott W. Killinger and Richard L. Youngscap during the afternoon undergraduate ceremony.
Adams is the founder and CEO of The Game Plan — Ready, Set Perform, a Lincoln-based leadership and motivational speaking business that aims to inspire people to lead with purpose and be winners in the game of life. He also recently served for five years as CEO of TeamMates Mentoring, co-founded by legendary Husker football coach Tom Osborne. A first-generation college graduate, Adams holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and Master of Arts in educational psychology from Nebraska.
A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Adams was a standout Blackshirt defensive end and helped lead the Huskers to a Big 12 championship and national championship Rose Bowl appearance. He also earned Academic All-American and All-Big 12 honors. He went on to play professionally in the National, Canadian and Arena football leagues.
Killinger
A native of Hebron, Nebraska, Killinger earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Nebraska in 1961 and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. He has since built an international career as an architect, educator and civic leader. He is principal and founding partner of Kuang Xing International, a 50-person architecture, landscape and urban design practice based in Beijing and Philadelphia, and a founder of the Killinger Center for Urban Studies in China, which has strong ties to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has taught and lectured at the university and served as the interim dean of the architecture college in 2015-16. He has also taught and lectured at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Savannah College of Art and Design, and leading Chinese universities.
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A longtime advocate for his alma mater, Killinger served on the College of Architecture’s Professional Advisory Council from 2004-2015 and as a trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation since 2012. In 2008, he received the distinguished Alumni Master award from the Nebraska Alumni Association. He is also a member of the NU Foundation’s Burnett Society for sustained philanthropic giving.
Youngscap
Youngscap is a lifelong Nebraskan, earning a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Nebraska in 1961. His early career was marked by a commitment to thoughtful urban development and land conservation. In 1965, he acquired 16 acres in southeast Lincoln to protect it from high-density urban sprawl — a decision that led to the creation of Firethorn Golf Club, one of Nebraska’s most celebrated golf venues. In the 1990s, he recognized the potential of Nebraska’s Sandhills region, an ancient seabed with unique natural features ideal for golf. Partnering with architects Bill Coore and the PGA’s Ben Crenshaw, he developed the Sand Hills Golf Club, which opened in 1995. The course, celebrated for its minimalist design and harmonious integration with the natural landscape, has consistently been ranked among the top courses in the world.
In 1997, Youngscap received the Dr. Herbert H. Davis Memorial Award from the Nebraska Golf Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was honored with the Virgil A. Parker Special Recognition Award by the Nebraska Golf Association for his contributions to golf in Nebraska.
To maintain a secure environment, the commencement venues enforce a clear-bag policy that limits the size and type of bag that may be brought inside. Details are available here. To avoid inconveniences, guests and graduates are encouraged to arrive early and travel light.
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No tickets are required for the ceremonies. All seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The public may sit in any non-reserved seats in Pinnacle Bank Arena other than on the main floor, which is set for graduates, faculty and dignitaries. Accessible seating is available on the concourse level in Sections 106, 107, 110, 112, 114, 117 and 118. Beverage stands will be open. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided through the ribbon screens at the corners of the arena concourse level. Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.
Paid parking, including accessible spaces, is available in Haymarket area garages and on the street. Additional information can be found here.
A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the U.S. Post Office building, 700 R St., directly east of Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Graduating students are to check in no later than 2:20 p.m. for the graduate and professional degree ceremony, 8:20 a.m. for the morning undergraduate ceremony and 2:20 p.m. for the afternoon undergraduate ceremony. Graduates should enter the south lobby, off R Street. A graduate-only entrance sign will be posted. Participants should bring their graduation regalia, as well as their NCard, or a photo ID and NU ID number, for check-in. Graduates will be given a name/number card to find their place in the processional lineup. They should bring this card to the stage to receive their diploma. Limited coat room space will be available, so graduates are encouraged to leave personal items with family or friends.
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Guest parking for the College of Law ceremony is available in Lot 58, east of the Devaney Center. Guests should enter the venue via the north ramp. Accessible parking is also available east of the building. Attendants can direct guests to accessible seating. Limited guest services will be available.
Law graduates should park in Lot 57, just south of The Ice Box; enter through the Francis Allen Training Complex, northwest of the Devaney Center; and proceed to the track area. They should check in no later than 1:15 p.m. Graduates should bring their gown, tam and hood, as well as any honor cords or medallions. Personal items should be left with family or friends or in a locked vehicle. Graduates will return their robes in the track area following the ceremony.
Those participating in the Family Traditions Ceremony should arrive at 12:30 p.m. and follow signs to the main level of the Devaney Center, near the Athletic Training Office. The ceremony will begin at 12:45 p.m. and conclude in time for graduates to report for lineup.
The graduate and undergraduate ceremonies are expected to last about two-and-a-half hours, and the College of Law ceremony is expected to last 90 minutes to two hours. Graduates and their guests are asked to stay for the entire ceremony.
The commencement livestreams can be accessed here. The ceremonies also will be broadcast live on Spectrum channel 1303, Allo channel 23 and Kinetic channel 1080.
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Additional information on May commencement is available here or by emailing commencement@unl.edu. For more information on the College of Law ceremony, contact Paige Debrie at 402-472-5117 or pdebrie2@unl.edu.
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) -The Fargo Park District launched the state’s first high school girls flag football program in partnership with the Minnesota Vikings.
The program is part of a national trend. More than 68,000 girls played high school flag football last year, and participation jumped about 60 percent in a single year.
For senior Jennaya Volk, the new league is the answer to years of asking.
“I play track and basketball. I’m in track right now and I’ve been wanting a football team since I was a little kid,” Volk said. “I bothered my school every year since middle school to finally get a team and my senior year they finally get a high school league and I’m the only one from our school in the whole entire league.”
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When Volk found out girls flag football was coming to Fargo, she signed up right away.
“I started screaming, I was upstairs in my room when I found out and I screamed down to my parents that they’re starting a high school league,” she said. “I signed up right away… the website wasn’t working and I was like ‘I need to get in!’ So just really excited about it.”
This new league is proving that everyone is welcome and many of Volk’s teammates had zero experience with flag football. That was the case for Fargo North student, Tempy Meier.
“Uhh, I’ve had zero experience. I’ve played catch with my Dad just in our yard but that’s all my experience that I have,” she said.
Her coach said that’s true for most of the roster. The team practices once a week, then plays games on Sundays.
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“I’m just proud of these guys. We get 1 practice a week, and then we have a game on Sundays, so they’ve had to drink through a fire hose when it comes to learning football,” the coach said. “I’m just incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to get done in that time.”
The coach said the team stayed positive even after falling behind in the first game.
“We were down early in the first game and I asked some on the sideline ‘You guys don’t like hate this because we’re losing now right?’ And they were like ‘No! This is really fun,’” the coach said.
Volk encouraged other girls to try the sport.
“Go for it… Don’t let anyone stop you, don’t let anyone judge you, just go for what makes you happy,” she said. “Go for a sport that might not be popular right now but it will be, so just go for it.”
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Meier said she has no regrets.
“Oh heck yeah. I’m so glad I did it. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.
Flag football will make its debut on the Olympic stage in 2028.
