The fifth friend who was at Jordan Willis’ home the night three Kansas City Chiefs fans were last seen alive has hired a lawyer — who has disputed parts of Willis’ account of what happened.
On January 9, the bodies of David Harrington, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found in his backyard at Willis’ home in Kansas City, Missouri.
They had been there since Jan. 7, when the three men visited Willis to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers, along with the as-yet unnamed fifth friend.
That friend told me FOX4 Kansas Cityin which he was not mentioned, that when he left the house at midnight all the men were still alive.
The fifth man insisted that it is “absolutely not true” that he was the “last person to see the three men alive,” the outlet reported.
He has now also hired a lawyer, hiring fierce criminal defense attorney Andrew Talge.
David Harrington (second from left), Clayton McGeeney (second from right) and Ricky Johnson (right) are shown with two unidentified fellow Chiefs fans, neither of whom are believed to be involved in the mystery. Harrington, McGeeney and Johnson were found dead in the backyard of another man’s home on January 9
The fifth friend who was at Willis’ home has also hired a lawyer: he has hired fierce criminal defense attorney Andrew Talge
Talge said his client arrived at Willis’ house at 7 p.m., and they all hung out until midnight. The four other men were watching Jeopardy as he left.
The lawyer also said that on Tuesday – the day after – the fifth man texted Jordan Willis. He sent this after Clayton McGeeney’s fiancée and Ricky Johnson’s mother reached out with questions about their loved ones.
This contradicts what Willis’ attorney Picerno has said repeatedly. He said his client only received messages on Facebook Messenger, not text messages or calls.
Kansas City police have said there was no evidence of any criminal activity or foul play at the scene.
Police classified the ordeal as a death investigation and not a homicide. Willis has not been charged.
For two days, the victims’ families said they visited Willis’ home, calling him and sending him Facebook messages asking where they were. He didn’t respond.
Eventually, the fiancée of one of the men broke into the house through the basement and found the first body in the backyard. She then called the police, who arrived to find Willis in his underwear, holding a wine glass.
His lawyer claims he did nothing wrong and has cooperated with police.
Willis (pictured) told police the men had frozen to death in his backyard. Their loved ones have raised questions about the lack of coverage of their bodies, and the snow they say was not deep enough to submerge them
One of the bodies was found on the back porch of the property by the fiancée of one of the men, who broke in after not receiving a response from Willis.
The other two bodies were found in the backyard. Police initially said there was no foul play, but have yet to confirm the cause of death of the three men
The medical examiner’s office has yet to reveal the cause of death or whether any of the men had drugs in his or her system.
‘He has nothing to hide. He went to the police station and spoke to officers without a lawyer present, he let them search his house… these were his friends.
“He had bought tickets for all of them for the next Chiefs game, he didn’t want any harm to come to them. There was no ill will,” attorney John Picerno told DailyMail.com.
He blasted internet sleuths and those who assumed he was to blame, calling the speculation “unfair.”
Picerno declined to answer questions about whether the men used drugs. The results of the medical examiner’s toxicology report have not yet been released.
Willis insists he spent the next two days in his house, oblivious to the fact that his friends’ cars were still outside, and only learned they had been killed when the fiancée of one of the men arrived in broke into the house. the hope of finding him.
He believes that after he saw the men off on Jan. 7, they returned to “hang out” in the living room while he slept.
“Maybe they didn’t want to go to a bar or meeting place somewhere else,” attorney John Picerno told DailyMail.com today, as the families of the three victims demanded answers.
Ricky Johnson, a father of three, was one of three men found dead
David Harrington was found dead on his friend’s property on January 9
Clayton McGeeney, 36, was also found dead in the backyard
He worked from home and his two dogs were at his father’s house, so there was no need for walks.
For two days, the victims’ families say they bombarded Willis with phone calls and Facebook messages asking where their loved ones were, but received no answers.
When the fiancée broke in and found the first body on January 9, she called the police.
The other two bodies were then found in the backyard.
“He had absolutely nothing to do with their deaths,” attorney John Picerno told DailyMail.com today.
He has now left the premises and deleted all his social media accounts, amid a wave of public interest in the men’s deaths.
Willis’ attorney says he hasn’t heard the victims’ loved ones banging on his door because he sleeps with headphones and a fan on. He also claims he only saw their Facebook messages after the police showed up.
He does not know how the men died and says he never suggested they ‘froze’ as had been reported.
Willis is an accomplished scientist whose research on COVID and HIV has been praised in the medical community. In interviews, he described his two pit bull mixes — Sadie and Daisy — as the “light of his life.”
According to an interview Willis gave on the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative website in 2022, he is a senior chief scientist at the IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center in Kansas City.
Willis said in the interview that he conducts data analysis and interpretation for IAVI’s HIV vaccine trials. He also compared the search for an effective HIV vaccine with the research into the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Virginia native graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemical and Physical Biology from Vanderbilt University in 2014. He previously studied chemistry and molecular biology at Northwest Missouri State University.
In 2022 he has received an award for his ‘significant contributions to the development of HIV vaccines.’
In the intro section of his now-deleted Facebook page, Willis wrote, “Treading the line between being the funniest guy in the room and a complete nervous breakdown.”
On another social media platform, Willis describes himself as follows: “Self-proclaimed man-about-town.”
On January 9, Captain Jake Becchina of the Kansas City Police Department said, “First and foremost, this case is 100% NOT being investigated as a homicide. There have been no arrests (or) charges and no one is in custody.
“There are no specific threats or concerns to the surrounding community at this time.
“The resident of the home was cooperative with investigators on the day the deceased was discovered.”
However, the men’s loved ones are speaking out to demand answers.
She said police are “doing nothing” to solve the mystery of her son’s death and called for “at least an investigation into the owner of the house.”
Johnson’s brother Jonathan Price said he heard the home’s owner had animals that needed to get out, and claimed the city didn’t get enough snow to submerge the men so they could remain hidden for days.
“There’s a lot of different things that don’t add up, we just don’t understand how anyone would at least be investigated in any way,” he said.
“We heard he’s moving too, so we don’t know if he’ll be here for long.”