Arrests Have Been Made in Connection to the Kansas City Chiefs Fans Found Dead in a Backyard
"People may have doubted this investigation because it has spanned over a year," said Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.
Published March 6 2025, 12:20 p.m. ET
The winters in Missouri can be brutal, particularly in January when the average nighttime temperature can dip down to 21 degrees Fahrenheit. People who choose to live in that kind of environment get used to it, but the human body can only take so much. In January 2024, three men were found frozen to death in a backyard in Kansas City. A few days earlier, they had been watching a Kansas City Chiefs game at a fourth friend's house, but he retired early.
An attorney representing the owner of the house told People Magazine in a statement that his client was "unaware of how his friends died." A spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department told the outlet that there were "no obvious signs of foul play observed at or near the crime scene." This has changed, as arrests have now been made in connection to the deaths of the three Kansas City Chiefs fans. Here's what we know.
Three Kansas City Chiefs fans were found dead in a backyard.
In March 2025, the causes of death for David Harrington, 37; Clayton McGeeney, 36; and Ricky Johnson, 38 were revealed, per People. A forensic exam determined the three Kansas City Chiefs fans died of "Fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity." According to CNN, McGeeney’s fiancée went to Jordan Willis's home after her partner didn't come home.
She later explained to her future mother-in-law, Jennifer Marquez, what happened that day. "She told me that she tried the doors, tried the gate, and eventually just — her phone was saying that Clayton was there," explained Marquez. "You know, it was pinging off his phone … So she knew something was up." Per Marquez, her son's fiancée broke into the house then made her way to the backyard. That's when she discovered the first body. After calling police, two more were found.
A witness later told police that they watched the game at Harrington's house along with McGeeney, Johnson, and Willis. They were all passing around a plate with a pile of cocaine on it. The drugs were allegedly supplied by Willis, whose house they ended up at later in the evening. Data recovered from Harrington's cell phone reportedly contained texts between Harrington, McGeeney, Johnson, Willis, and another man named Ivory Carson, regarding the purchase of cocaine.
Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson have been arrested in connection to the deaths of the Chiefs fans.
More than a year after the three Kansas City Chiefs were found dead in the backyard, police arrested Willis and Carson. Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said in a news conference that they have been charged with a "single count of delivery of a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter for 'recklessly causing the deaths' of the three men," per CNN.
"This case has received considerable attention from the media, and I think some people seem to believe that charges may never be brought in this case," said Zahnd. "People may have doubted this investigation because it has spanned over a year." After detectives obtained a search warrant for Willis's house, they found "plastic bags containing white powdery substances," one of which was cocaine. The other bag contained fentanyl.
After testing both bags, police found traces of Willis's DNA on the bag containing cocaine while Carson's DNA was found on the bag with the fentanyl. This gave authorities probably cause for arresting them both.