As the investigation drags on, the families of the three dead Kansas City Chiefs fans and the party host who owns the backyard where the men were found are threatening to sue each other. But lawyers told Fox News Digital that either case would be difficult to win in court.
David Harrington, 37, Clayton McGeeney, 36, and Ricky Johnson, 38, met their friend Jordan on January 9, two days after attending a game between the Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers. -Willis was found frozen to death behind his home.
As the man’s family waits for answers about their loved one’s death, Harrington’s family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
“There will likely be a wrongful death lawsuit and private investigators will likely be part of it,” John Harrington told People magazine.
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On January 9, 2024, David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney, and Ricky Johnson were found dead outside their friend’s Kansas City home. (Ricky Johnson/Facebook)
Attorney Tony Cagey, who represents McGeeney’s mother and fiance, told Fox News Digital that his clients are also “exploring civil litigation options.”
A source close to Willis told Fox News Digital on March 11 that the HIV researcher, who has moved out of his home in Kansas City and is spending time in a rehab facility, said the HIV researcher had no choice but to consider filing a slander and libel suit against these families. There’s no choice left.” His friends and loved ones, who have baselessly accused him of smear campaigns in every public forum, are willing to give him a platform to take responsibility and denounce. ”
“That’s a hell of a hurdle.”
The person said Willis “looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name.”
But attorney Daniel Miller, a former prosecutor in Platte County, Missouri, told Fox News Digital that he has no intention of taking on either case.
“That’s a huge hurdle. I don’t want to be the representative.” [Willis] for something [in this case]. Anyway, I don’t represent people in defamation. You have to file a Johnny Depp-level defamation suit, and then you have to find someone to sue against. ”
Fred Tessey, a former federal prosecutor and current New York-based attorney, told Fox News Digital that “anyone can file a lawsuit for a few hundred dollars,” but that “filing a lawsuit and filing a lawsuit are… Winning is another thing.”
“Could they technically file a wrongful death lawsuit? Yes,” Teche said. ”[But they would] You must prove that someone did something wrong and that the mistake caused harm. It’s a cause and effect relationship. It’s not like they died. They must prove that their actions caused the death. ”
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Jordan Willis, 38, an HIV scientist, entered a rehabilitation center after three of his friends were found dead in his backyard on January 9, 2024. (GitHub)
Preliminary autopsy results released to the family indicated the presence of marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl in the deceased men’s systems, but the cause of their deaths is unknown.
”[The results] “Show them that they have multiple types of drugs in their system,” Teche said. “To bring charges against a homeowner…you have to show that they obtained the drugs. [all the drugs in their systems] From the owner of the house? If they took only one drug, there is legitimate doubt as to whether other drugs killed them. ”
John Harrington (left) and his son David. (Courtesy of John Harrington)
Experts previously told Fox News Digital that drugs the men may have ingested and hypothermia likely contributed to their deaths.
Kansas City accident injury attorney James Roswold told FOX News Digital that based on the information currently available, “we do not see any facts to support the wrongful death claim.”
Even if Willis or Alex Lee, the fifth person in the house on the night of the Chiefs game, provided or sold the drugs, “it would be difficult to shift responsibility from one to the other.”
“Let’s say there are consenting adults. [that] what does everyone know [they’re] Participate — they all participate voluntarily and knowingly [drugs,]“Mr. Roswold said, “It’s going to be difficult to shift responsibility from one person to the next. [unless] Some people have great knowledge of what’s in those drugs or where they come from. ”
Kansas City Chiefs fan found frozen to death, preliminary toxicology results revealed
Exterior view of the backyard and porch of Jordan Willis’ home in Kansas City, Missouri on January 26, 2024. The bodies of three of Willis’ friends, Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington, were found in the backyard. (DWS on Fox News Digital)
However, if the men unknowingly ingested the drugs that led to their deaths, their chances of success in a wrongful death lawsuit would increase.
“You could have a crazy scenario where they have no idea and someone kicks the punch bowl. Now, it’s a wrongful death,” Roswold said. “While we need to be sensitive when it comes to the sale of illegal and legal drugs, the wrongful death aspect focuses on knowing or unknowing ingestion of drugs.”
Family members of the three men have previously suggested to Fox News Digital and others that Willis played an active role in their sons’ deaths. “He believes,” Johnson’s father told FOX News Digital. [Willis] He drugged them, dragged them outside and waited two days before calling the police. ”
Johnson’s mother said she feared Willis, an HIV scientist, “made something up” to kill her sons, while Harrington’s father said: told Fox News Digital He and his son’s mother were “convinced that Jordan Willis was somehow involved in this incident,” adding, “We just… [hadn’t] I don’t know how yet. ”
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Family and friends of Clayton McGeeney (left), David Harrington (center), and Ricky Johnson mourn the death of three people who mysteriously died in the frigid temperatures outside their friend’s home in Kansas City, Missouri. I am looking for an answer. (Facebook)
One of McGeeney’s cousins told the New York Post that Willis was nicknamed “The Chemist” because he made drug cocktails in high school, but a source close to Willis told Fox News Digital. That claim is completely false.
“Becoming the scapegoat for their deaths without any evidence has overshadowed every good thing he did in life,” a source told FOX News Digital on Tuesday. “His livelihood has been affected. … This is a witch hunt that goes from one thing to the next with no evidence and none of it is true.”
Willis left her home shortly after the fatal crash made headlines and spent time in a rehab facility, and a source close to Willis told Fox News Digital that Willis is deeply “depressed” by the “constant speculation.” ” he said.
But lawyers say a defamation case in this case would be similarly difficult to win.
“Opinions are free speech and fair game. With very few exceptions, they are not defamatory,” Roswold said. ”[These accusations] stated as an opinion[s]this puts you in a more unstable position in that all sorts of statements are executable.
”[But] “If I had a client in this situation and I had the opportunity to advise them before they made a statement like that, I would say, ‘You’re starting to tread on thin ice,'” Roswold said. added. We often find ourselves counseling people who are in very emotional states. ”
Miller said that even if Willis is found not guilty in the criminal case related to the men’s deaths, the defamation suit could expose him to additional scrutiny that he does not want to undergo.
“He’s going to have to prove that’s false. He didn’t give them drugs, he didn’t take them out into the backyard to die,” Miller said. “Does Willis really want to go there? He can open things that he really doesn’t want to open. He sure seems interesting.”
In either case, Teche said, “none of these individuals have the assets to justify the expense necessary to litigate.”
But Roswold pointed out that in some cases, a monetary judgment isn’t the issue.
“When you bring a lawsuit against someone who is responsible for someone else’s death, you’re doing something in honor of the person who lost their life. That’s always a personal consideration,” Roswold said. said. “If I succeed [in a defamation suit or a wrongful death suit], you’ve proven…if you do something that gets taken up in the court of public opinion, you’ll see that these people did something wrong. ”
The attorneys said it was important for the families and attorneys involved to wait until more facts are known in the case.
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“If I were a prosecutor, and I’ve been a prosecutor for 17 years, I would look under every rock until I was sure we had nothing to gain on Willis, or until we found out who was supplying the drugs. , would drain the blood from all the turnips,” Miller said. He said. “Whether they did this to themselves or not, it’s terrible that it happened to them.”
