Parents React to Charges In Deaths of 3 Chiefs Fans Found Frozen: 'Wouldn't Tell Me Anything'

Jordan Willis (bottom left) was charged, alongside Ivory Carson (bottom right), in relation to the deaths of David Harrington, 37 (top middle), Ricky Johnson, 38 (top right), and Clayton McGeeney, 36 (top left).

All three of the victims were found at the same time on January 7, with toxicology reports revealing traces of cocaine and fentanyl in their systems, per TMZ at the time.

Willis and Carson are facing with three counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of the three friends, as well as two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.

The Associated Press reports they are being held on $100,000 cash bonds. Each charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

Following the announcement of the charges, the parents of two of the three men have spoken out, with Harrington's mother Theresa telling The Daily Mail she's been kept out of the loop this whole time.

"They wouldn't tell me anything," she lamented, citing Kansas police officials who've continuously said over the past year that they were not investigating these deaths as homicides.

She said that the statement from police "made it easy to think they had already made up their mind and there wouldn’t be any further investigation," and so she had to give up hope there would ever be any criminal charges.

Johnson's father Rick told Fox affiliate WDAF that he's "happy" with the charges, and plans to stay involved with the case. "It’s been a long time. And I’ll be at every court date," he told the outlet.

In a press conference on Wednesday streamed on ABC affiliate KMBC and detailed by People, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said that the forensic examination determined the cause of death for all three men to be "Fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity."

Zahnd shared that investigators found two plastic bags containing "white powdery substances." He said that testing revealed one bag was cocaine and the other fentanyl.

"Mr. Willis was determined to be the major contributor of DNA found on [the bag with cocaine]," Zahnd told the press, explaining the charges. "The other bag contained fentanyl and the probable cause statement alleges that Mr. Carson was determined to be the major contributor of DNA on that bag."

Additionally, Zahnd said that a witness told authorities they were in attendance at the party and alleged that Willis had provided on a table "a large plate of cocaine ... that everyone was using."

He further claimed, per the arrest affidavit, that Willis "was the only person in the group who could find and purchase that amount of cocaine."

Messages recovered from Willis' phone corroborated witness testimony that Carson was the primary supplier of cocaine, per the court filings, and that he would often provide it for his friends when they were low on funds

A different witness told investigators that he, too, was at the party with the three men who had died, "where they drank, smoked marijuana and used cocaine," per Zahnd. This witness told police they left the home shortly before midnight.

Zahnd said they've not yet been able to determine if the the victims knew they were taking fentanyl.

Willis' attorney John Picerno called the charges a surprise in a statement shared with CBS affiliate KCTV, calling them "contrary" to what prosecutors had told him months ago.

"Jordan maintains that he is not responsible for purchasing or supplying the drugs that led to the deaths of his three friends," Picerno said in his statement. "We are very much looking forward to the day a jury gets to hear all of the evidence in this case."

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at the Wednesday press conference on Wednesday that she hopes these charges send a clear message.

"To those who continue to bring fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our community, know that if you are distributing those drugs, you’re causing harm, you will be arrested and you will be charged," she said.

Harrington, Johnson, and McGeeney went to Willis' house on January 7, 2024 to watch the Chiefs face off against the Los Angeles Charges. Two days later, their bodies were discovered after McGeeney's fiancée went to the house, broke in after seeing the mens' cars in the driveway and eventually discovered one body on the porch. Police showed up and then found two other bodies in the backyard.

In the days after, Willis' attorney offered  a somewhat confusing and changing narrative about what happened. First, he claimed Willis last saw the men when they left the house and he went to bed, he later said his client went to bed before they left, and then said he misspoke and Willis actually did escort them to the front door.

According to Fox News, Willis sought treatment for substance abuse shortly after the deaths, with his attorney saying he "recognized that he had a problem with addiction."

A neighbor, identified by media as Ashton Brady, recorded video of a distressed looking woman walking up to Jordan Willis' residence before multiple first responders arrived.

"Bro, what is going on right now,” Brady can be heard on the video uttering in shock. "What is going on right now?? Dude, domestic violence is crazy. Yo, everybody be nice to one another, c’mon now. What is going on?”

Later, Brady admitted he thought it was a DV call and not the deaths of three men.

"The police searched the house, went to the backyards, everything, and I had no idea what had happened," he told NewsNation. "The next morning I saw the news. I just was kind of in disbelief. … I watched that happen."