The two men involved in the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans in 2024 are now facing murder charges in Platte County.
In March, Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson were charged with drug distribution and manslaughter charges. Last week, the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office updated those charges to three counts of second-degree murder.
Clayton McGeeney, David Harrington, and Ricky Johnson were found dead outside Willis’ home in the 5200 block of Northwest 83rd Terrace in the Platte County portion of Kansas City on Jan. 9, 2024.
“Some people seemed to believe charges would never be brought in this case, perhaps because the investigation has spanned more than a year,” said Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd during a press conference held in March. “Understand this: The Kansas City Police Department and my office do not rest on homicide cases until we have exhausted every possible resource to bring anyone we believe responsible to justice. Today’s charges are the product of the hard work of Kansas City detectives and prosecutors over many months.”
According to court documents, McGeeney’s fiancé told police that McGeeney, Harrington, and Johnson had gone to Willis’ home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs football game on Jan. 7. When she could not contact McGeeney, she went to the home on Jan. 9 and found at least one person dead on the back patio. Temperatures dipped below freezing the night of the Chiefs game.
Officers with the Kansas City Police Department responded and found McGeeney, Harrington, and Johnson’s bodies in the backyard of the home.
Detectives then obtained consent to search the home. They found two plastic bags containing white powdery substances. The bags were tested by the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory. One of the bags contained cocaine, and court documents state that Willis was allegedly determined to be a major contributor of DNA found on that bag. The other bag contained fentanyl, and court documents state that Carson was allegedly determined to be a major contributor of the DNA on that bag.
A witness said he was at Harrington’s home with Harrington, McGeeney, Johnson and Willis the night of the football game, where he saw a large plate of cocaine allegedly supplied by Willis they were using. The witness said McGeeney, Harrington, and Johnson were going to Willis’ home after the football game.
Another witness said he was with McGeeney, Harrington, Johnson, and Willis at Willis’ home on Jan. 7, where they drank, smoked marijuana, and used cocaine. That witness left shortly before midnight.
Data recovered from Harrington’s phone allegedly contained text messages between Harrington, McGeeney, Johnson, Willis, Carson, and others consistent with the purchase and use of cocaine. The messages allegedly indicated that Carson supplied Harrington with cocaine.
A doctor with Forensic Medical of Kansas found that McGeeney, Harrington, and Johnson all died of fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity.
Willis and Carson were booked into the Platte County Detention Center back in March in lieu of $100,000 cash bonds. While Carson remains behind bars, Willis posted the $100,000 bond on Friday, March 7. Carson remains in custody in Henry County, due to overcrowding at the Platte County Detention Center.
Both Willis and Carson are named in three civil wrongful death suits brought by the families of the victims.