Kansas City police are investigating the deaths of three men whose bodies were found outside a Missouri home earlier this month, two days after they went to the home to watch a Kansas City Chiefs game.
Police responded to the 5200 block of NW 83rd Terr. on Jan. 9 after a woman went to the address to look for her fiancé, authorities said.
Officers found a dead body in the porch of the home, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department said in a statement to NBC News on Jan. 23.
“Upon further investigation, officers located two other dead bodies in the back yard,” police said in the statement. “There were no obvious signs of foul play observed at or near the crime scene.”
Who were the victims?
The three men have been identified as Ricky Johnson, 38, Clayton McGeeney, 36, and David Harrington, 37, according to police.
The three men went to the home on Jan. 7 to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers with a man who lived there, a family member told NBC News.
Stephanie Walling, Johnson’s niece, told NBC News the three men had been friends since high school. She also said she was not familiar with the resident of the home.
“It’s devastating because I just want to know what happened, I just want to know how things went down,” Walling said. “Even if we don’t ever know the answer, it’ll always be something that kind of lingers in the back of my head, because it’s not something I’d wish on anybody and just thinking of him going through it, it hurts.”
Adriana Juarez, Johnson’s former partner who he shared a child with, told NBC News on Jan. 24 he was very close with their 4-year-old daughter.
“We’re just really sad,” Juarez said. “It’s crazy and I just can’t believe he’s gone, and my daughter will never see her father anymore.”
Juarez said she has not heard from or spoken to the authorities, more than two weeks after Johnson and the other two men were found dead.
“So it’s this insane story and I just want answers,” Juarez said. “Someone has to know something. It’s just an odd story. It doesn’t add up. Nothing makes sense.”
Lorie Kruse, the partner of David Harrington, described him as “selfless” and her “ride or die for the past 17 years.”
“He saved a stranger and his dogs’ lives on the way to work. He got up in the middle of the night to help a friend; that car broke down an hr away, and he helped the homeless. He was a solid guy with a ton of selfless love,” Kruse wrote in a statement to NBC News. “He was smart, very funny, gentle, and kind. He was helping raise my 2 kids. He truly loved us, no doubt.”
Kruse added that Harrington “didn’t do drugs” and “was strong about not doing them.”
“He was very physically strong, too. My kids bet him money; he could not lift our couch above his head, and he did it!!! So, he was strong enough to break a door, wall or window,” Kruse said.
Kruse said her family is struggling “every second of every day.”
“Our house is empty without him, and our hearts are beyond crushed,” Kruse said. “My kids and I don’t understand how he….of all people would be mixed up in this mystery. He made so many future promises to us and to my children.”
Has anyone been arrested?
No arrests have been made in connection with the three deaths, police said.
The resident of the home was cooperative with police on the day the bodies were discovered, according to police. Police did not identify the resident, and he has not been charged with a crime.
“I just want to bring awareness to what’s going on to hopefully bring answers out because there is so many questions and not very many answers,” Walling said.
Walling created a GoFundMe to raise money for Johnson’s funeral expenses. She said her uncle, the father of three daughters, was “a very caring person” and the biggest Kansas City Chiefs fan she knew.
“This tragedy has left our family utterly devastated and mourning a tremendous loss,” Walling wrote in the fundraiser’s description. “Ricky was not only an adored father to his three beautiful daughters, but also a cherished son, brother, uncle, and friend.”
The medical examiner was investigating the cause of death for each of the three men, a Kansas City Police Department spokesperson told TODAY.com over email on Jan. 24. The medical examiner did not immediately respоnd to requests for comment from NBC News
