Two men have been charged in connection with the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans.
Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson are facing serious charges in Kansas City, Missouri. They were accused of three counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of delivering a controlled substance, as reported by KMBC News. Each charge they face could lead to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd emphasized the thoroughness of the investigation during a statement on Wednesday. He mentioned that despite the investigation taking over a year, the Kansas City Police Department and his office were committed to pursuing justice relentlessly. The charges brought against Willis and Carson were the culmination of extensive work by law enforcement and prosecutors.
The grim discovery of the frozen bodies of Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington in Willis’ backyard on January 9, 2024, shocked the community. The men had been at Willis’ residence to watch a Chiefs game just two days before their bodies were found. Evidence in court documents revealed that alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine had been consumed during the gathering.
In a press conference Wednesday, Zahnd said that McGeeney’s fiancée had worried about his whereabouts and showed up at Willis’ house and “found at least one person dead on the back patio. Temperatures had dropped below freezing the night of the Chiefs game.”
When police searched the scene, they found two plastic bags containing a white powdery substance that was later forensically identified as a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl. Willis and Carson were linked to the drugs via DNA evidence, and an investigation identified Carson as the primary drug supplier. He admitted he had sold cocaine to Johnson, McGeeney and Harrington prior to their deaths.
On January 12, 2024, a medical examiner revealed that the three had died of fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity.
Carson is being held in county jail on Wednesday and Willis is expected to surrender to authorities. Willis intends to post a $100,000 bond for his release, Zahnd stated.
There were no details on when Willis and Carson will appear in court.
“This case is a tragic reminder of the dangers of street drugs,” Zahnd said. “But make no mistake. The people who supply those drugs can and will be held accountable when people overdose.”
The prosecutor added, “The sad part of these cases is we’re not able to ask [the victims] what happened that night.”
