[imagesource:gencraftai]

The circumstances surrounding three Missouri men found frozen to death in their buddy’s backyard after celebrating a Kansas City Chiefs victory, is puzzling everyone.

Kansas City law enforcement is investigating the deaths of Clayton McGeeney, 36, David Harrington, 37, and Ricky Johnson, 38, after they were found deceased outside the home of their friend, Jordan Willis.

The trio had been at Willis’ home on 7 January to celebrate a game that saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Las Vegas Raiders and had left with no one as a witness, without their coats, only to never make it to their cars, homes, or wives.

Two of the bodies were discovered in the backyard, while one was found on the back porch of the residence, two days after they were last seen, noted The Independent.

Willis claimed he went to bed and had no knowledge that his friends had died until police showed up at his door on 9 January, when they eventually found the remains.

John Picerno, an attorney for Willis, said the men seemingly died by hypothermia. That weekend, Kansas City saw below-freezing temperatures that reached the teens. However, a cause and manner of death have not been confirmed pending an autopsy:

“First and foremost, this case is 100% NOT being investigated as a homicide,” Kansas City police Capt. Jake Becchina said.

“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,” Becchina added.

The police didn’t mention anything about why the men may have declined to seek shelter, or if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is also a mystery how the men went undiscovered for two days:

“Jordan had absolutely nothing to do with their deaths,” Mr Picerno said in that statement to The Independent. “He does not know the timing or manner of their deaths, nor does he know how or when they exited his house. He had no knowledge that they remained in his back yard, or that they needed medical attention.”

Ricky Johnson’s father made the explosive allegation that the three men, including his son, could have been drugged, dragged and left for dead, per The New York Post.

The father told Fox News Digital that his 38-year-old son was not “irresponsible” and would not have gone outside in the snow without a coat to freeze to death along with his friends.

“I believe he drugged them, dragged them outside and waited two days to call police,” Johnson Sr. said of Willis, whose attorney trashed the claim as “ridiculous.”

“He may have done some drugs and stuff in the past, but I do not believe all three of them did drugs and fell over dead in that backyard,” Johnson Sr. said of his son, who had three children of his own.

He went on to make sense of the odd situation:

“I’m not going to say that during a game he didn’t have some drinks. But he wasn’t irresponsible that he was going to go outside and freeze to death,” he claimed of his son, whose coat was left inside the rental house where the pals had watched the game.

“You’re talking about three grown men. If he was out there just freezing like they said, he could’ve kicked out a window to get into the house,” the father continued.

Johnson’s mother, Norma Chester, also lamented with the same theory: “Seriously, these were responsible men,” she said. “How do they go in a backyard and freeze to death, all three of them?”

“Something that comes to my mind, this guy [Willis] wants to brag about how smart he is, he’s a scientist. My thoughts are that he concocted something and gave it to all three men,” she suggested.

Picerno immediately dismissed the wild theory as nothing more than “baseless allegations” from grieving parents struggling to understand the tragedy, adding that it is not fair that Willis be blamed because he is a scientist.

Kaylee La Tier criticised Willis in a Facebook post saying “This man was inside his home alive while my friends were dead in his yard for lord knows how long”.

She couldn’t understand that they were all hanging out after the game Sunday and that Willis “KNEW people were looking for them. He read messages of people searching for him on Tuesday.”

“My husband banged on his door for 20 [minutes],” La Tier continued. “My friend banged on his door and then busted a window and yelled and announced her presence while she’s inside and still nothing from him? Then the cops come 10 [minutes] later and he comes out nonchalant in his boxers with an empty wine glass in hand??! Nothing is adding up. Dave, Clay and Ricky need and deserve justice.”

All of this has been corroborated in the reporting, too. The justification from Willis and his attorney is that he was asleep inside with noise-cancelling headphones and a loud fan.

The Kansas City Police Department is investigating whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.

[source:independent&nypost]