Questions are swirling about the mysterious deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans who “froze to death” in a friend's backyard after watching a playoff game.
David Harrington, Ricky Johnson and Clayton McGeeney visited an unnamed friend's house on Jan. 7 to watch the Chiefs' playoff win against the Chargers, but never made it home.
When one of the men's fiancé couldn't reach him for two days, she broke into the house and discovered one of their bodies on the back porch. After the police were called, they quickly found the bodies of the other two men also in the backyard.
The homeowner claimed the three men froze to death, and investigators ruled out foul play because they refused to make arrests.
Now the men's families are speaking out and demanding answers, insisting that the reported circumstances of the deaths simply don't add up.
David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson (LR) were found frozen to death on January 9, two days after watching a Chiefs playoff game at a friend's home
The owner of the home (pictured) told police the men froze to death in his backyard. Their relatives have raised questions because their bodies were not reported and because they said the snow was not deep enough to flood them
“Nobody believes this story,” said Harrington’s mother, Jennifer Marquez. “None of his friends, none of the families, none of us believe it… Everyone is angry.”
The family of Johnson, a father of three, spoke to NewsNation this week and said they were saddened and confused by the “loving” man's sudden death.
“It’s very hard to keep going,” said Johnson’s mother, Norma. 'Something's not right.'
She said police were doing “nothing” to solve the mystery surrounding her son's death and called for the home's owner, who has not been publicly identified, to be “at least investigated.”
Although the men's relatives believe investigators did not pay enough attention to the case, the Kansas City Police Department previously said it would wait for coroner's findings on the cause of death before moving forward.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the case.
Cops have also reportedly reiterated their resolve that no crime was involved in the deaths, saying they are treating the case as a death investigation and not a murder investigation.
But police responses did little to satisfy the men's relatives, and Norma suspected the trio had been “poisoned.” Police have provided no evidence to support this theory.
Ricky Johnson, father of three, was described as a “cherished son, brother, uncle and friend” who was loved by his “three beautiful daughters.” His brother said, “My brother was a smart man, and there was no way he was just going to freeze to death.”
David Harrington (left) and Clayton McGeeney (right) were among the three men found dead
Johnson's grieving family says they are not happy with the investigation, and his brother Jonathan Price (center) says that “freezing is not a cause of death I would accept.”
Some who claim to know the men claimed the homeowner's circumstances were even more bizarre. A Facebook post from girlfriend Kaylee La Tier, reported by Inside Edition, claimed he had a bizarre reaction.
“(He) was alive in his house while my friends were lying dead in his yard for God knows how long.” They had all been hanging out since Sunday after the game. “He KNEW people were looking for them,” she wrote.
“He read messages on Tuesday from people looking for him.” My husband knocked on his door for 20 minutes. My boyfriend knocked on his door and then broke a window, yelled and announced her presence while she was inside and still no word from him??
“Then the police come 10 minutes later and he walks out casually in his boxers with an empty wine glass in his hand??!”
Johnson's sister added that they “didn't hear much at all” from investigators and were left in the dark about how they concluded there was no foul play.
The two-day delay in finding the men and the lack of any report of their disappearance also raised eyebrows.
Johnson's brother, Jonathan Price, said he heard the owner of the house had animals that needed to go outside and claimed there wasn't enough snow in the city to keep the men underwater and hide them for days.
“There are a lot of different things that don't add up, we just don't understand how anyone can be under investigation in at least some way,” he said.
“We heard he’s moving out too, so we don’t know if he’ll even stay any longer.”
Johnson's mother (center, with his family) believes police are “doing nothing” to solve the mystery surrounding her son's death and called for the home's owner, who has not been publicly identified, “at least Investigations” are initiated.
Amid frustration from the men's relatives demanding answers, police said they were waiting for the results of a court report before continuing with the investigation
He said Johnson and his two friends were inseparable, but he didn't know the owner of the house and hadn't heard how his brother met him.
Price said he didn't want to speculate about his brother's death, but said the circumstances didn't make any sense to him.
“My brother was a smart man, and there was no way he would just freeze to death.” “Freezing is not a cause of death I would accept,” he said.
In a GoFundMe for Johnson's funeral, he was described as a “cherished son, brother, uncle and friend” who was loved by his “three beautiful daughters.”
Johnson's father addressed the possibility of legal action, telling KSHB that he has hired an attorney and is waiting for a search warrant to be issued for the home.
“I will not stand idly by,” he said. “I’ll work until the day I die to figure this out.”