KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Platte County prosecutors are seeking to upgrade manslaughter charges to murder against two men in connection with the January 2024 deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans who were found dead in a Northland backyard.
According to court records, the Platte County prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to amend its three counts of manslaughter against Jordan Willis and Ivory J. Carson to second-degree murder for the deaths of Ricky Johnson, David Harrington and Clayton McGeeney.
Both men are also facing two counts of delivery of a controlled substance except 35 grams or less of marijuana or synthetic cannabinoid.
In a news conference held in March, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd and Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves announced that both Carson and Willis had been arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of the three men.
At that point, Willis had been connected to the investigations for over a year because the men were found in the backyard of his rental home. However, in the news conference, Carson was introduced to the case as the suspected dealer who supplied and sold cocaine to Willis and the victims.
Additionally, court records say Carson’s DNA was found on a bag of fentanyl at the scene.
Background
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, a woman called Kansas City police and said she had found a dead body in the backyard of a home near Northwest 83rd Terrace and North Overland Drive while searching for her fiancé, 36-year-old McGeeney.
According to investigators, just two days prior, the three men had gone to the home, rented by their friend Jordan Willis, to watch the Chiefs’ final regular-season game of 2024.
However, over the next 48 hours, the men went silent and would not be seen by friends or family.
The woman told police she knocked on the door multiple times to get in contact with someone inside, but nobody answered. However, court records say that when KCPD arrived, Willis answered the door and let them inside.
Police later found not just one body, but two others in the backyard.
Since the incident, very few updates have been released by law enforcement. But, about one month after the bodies were found, KCPD confirmed they had received a finished toxicology report.
Sources told FOX4 that the report details several substances found in the men’s bodies, including cocaine and fentanyl.
It was also revealed that a fifth friend had been at the home on the night of the Chiefs game. He told police that, when he left the house that night, the three men had been alive and awake.
KCPD later discovered that the three men had stayed up until at least 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. By this time, Willis had gone to bed.
It wasn’t until 10 p.m. the next day that McGeeney’s fiancée reported finding the body.
Willis told police he had no idea any of his friends were dead outside, and he hadn’t heard from any of their family members or friends.
However, investigations revealed that different family members of the three men had tried to contact him through Facebook Messenger.
The fifth friend’s attorney, Andrew Talge, countered this claim, though. He said that on the day the men were found, he had texted Willis because McGeeney’s fiancée and Johnson’s mother had been messaging him. But Willis never responded.
Shortly after the bodies were found, FOX News reported that Willis moved out of the home and checked into a rehab facility.
During the news conference in March, the Platte County prosecutor confirmed one bag of cocaine and another bag of fentanyl were found inside the home.
At this time, the charges have not been formally upgraded. A preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. but was moved to July 24 at 9 a.m., where a Platte County judge will determine if the original charges will be upheld or the new motion will be granted.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned with FOX4 News for the latest updates and information.
