Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HOMICIDE LAWSUIT BOMBSHELL

Episode Date: March 22, 2025

Ricky Johnson, David Harrington, and Clayton McGeeney were last seen alive on January 7, 2024, watching the final regular-season Kansas City Chiefs game at the home of their friend, Jordan Willis. Two... days later, authorities found their frozen bodies outside the house. After a yearlong investigation, prosecutors charged Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson in connection with the deaths, which gained national attention. Both men face three counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of delivering a controlled substance. Police say Carson, known as "Blade Brown," supplied and sold cocaine to Willis and the victims. Investigators found Carson's DNA on a bag of fentanyl inside Willis' home. Willis and Carson remain in jail on a $100,000 cash bond. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison. During the investigation, law enforcement initially said they did not suspect foul play. A toxicology report later confirmed that the men had cocaine, THC, and fentanyl in their systems. Police have since ruled the deaths as caused by "fentanyl and cocaine toxicity." As the case progressed, Willis moved out of the home and checked into rehab. A forensic analysis of Harrington’s phone uncovered text messages between Willis, McGeeney, Johnson, and others, linking Carson to the cocaine supply. DNA evidence identified Willis as a major contributor, and a second bag contained DNA matching Carson, confirming his role as the drug supplier.  Now a lawsuit have been filed by a victim's family.    Joining Nancy Grace today: Jonathan Price - Brother of Ricky Johnson Derek Smith - Criminal Defense Attorney, dwsmithlegal.com  Dr. Heidi Green - Clinical Psychologist, Trauma Specialist, and Author: ‘The Path to Self-Love and World Domination; IG: @drheidigreen Barry Hutchison -  Former 26-year Law Enforcement Veteran and Detective, Owner & Chief Investigator for Barry & Associates Investigative Services located in Kansas & Missouri Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), LAUNCHING April 7th, NEW Podcast "DOA - Dead On Arrival;" Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU [Texas Christian University] Eric Zahnd - Platte County Prosecutor in Missouri See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. After three longtime friends are all found dead on the porch and in the backyard of a fourth friend, repeat, all three dead, and the friend inside claiming he knew nothing about what was going on. More bad news for the scientist arrested over the deaths of the three Chiefs fans found frozen outside his home. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. In the last days, bad news for a scientist renowned for his research, busted over the desk of his three friends, found frozen outside his home. He has now been sued
Starting point is 00:00:55 by the father of one of the victims, David Harrington's dad, seeking $100,000 in damages in a negligence lawsuit. The suit is filed against both the homeowner, Jordan Willis, a scientist, 39, and his alleged drug dealer, Ivory Carson, age 42, according to reports. Now, the three friends, Harrington, Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGinney, last seen alive all watching the final regular season's Chiefs game in January, two days before their bodies were discovered in Willis and Carson, the homeowner, the scientist and the dope dealer, alleged dope dealer, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and delivery of a controlled substance, that being cocaine and deadly fentanyl. They both pled not guilty. But now a lawsuit. Let's refresh our recollection, as we say in court, two arrested, two arrested over the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans who apparently froze to death in their scientist friend's backyard and on his porch. And he didn't notice a thing for two days. A guy is dead. Your friend is dead
Starting point is 00:02:29 in a lounge chair on your porch and you go two days ignoring repeated calls, text messages, social media requests from family and friends. You don't see any of that. You show up at the front door in your underwear with a glass of wine and go, huh, what? Two people arrested. Listen. Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson have been charged with distribution of a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter. That's from our friends at KMBC 9 News. Joining me in All-Star Panel. But first, I want to go to a very special guest joining us.
Starting point is 00:03:09 It's Jonathan Price, the brother of one of those three victims, Ricky Johnson. Jonathan, thank you for being with us. Thank you for having me, Nancy. Jonathan, I wonder sometimes if this day would ever come. You said from the get go, something is wrong. Something is horribly wrong. It didn't happen this way. And you were right.
Starting point is 00:03:34 Yeah, just from the very beginning, it didn't make sense. And it still doesn't make sense that they were able to rule out foul play from day one. And then, you know, with these charges, I mean, I don't know the legal definition of foul play, but it definitely seems like they now believe that there was foul play. So just keeping us in the dark for this long is very troubling, but there is still a sense of relief among all of us that this is hopefully coming to a conclusion. You guys have been dragged through hell and back. And during the Super Bowl, when the Chiefs were playing, I thought about you and your
Starting point is 00:04:15 family. And I wondered, what's going through their minds tonight as everybody's celebrating and partying, and you still did not have answers in your brother's death? Yeah, I mean, I think about Ricky Daly, and even more so when the Chiefs are playing or KU's playing. He cared much about his family and his sports. And we, we shared that our entire lives and you know, those, those memories will always live on. And you know, like I said before,
Starting point is 00:04:57 it's there, there is a sense of relief that, you know, something is coming from all of this. Well, I was wondering, Jonathan, when everybody was celebrating and there was the big lead up to the Chiefs playing in the Super Bowl and everybody's, what's Taylor Swift going to wear? And are they going to get engaged?
Starting point is 00:05:16 Is she pregnant? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Were you thinking, what about my brother? What about my brother? Because I was thinking that the whole way through the Super Bowl. Absolutely. You know, every day we've been saying this and, you know, it kind of went radio silent for a very long time. And then, you know, we were still hearing that there was no foul play.
Starting point is 00:05:41 You know, there's just too much still out there. And it's all about what's going to come out of trial. But, you know, there's still lots of questions. Oh, yeah, you're right, Jonathan. There is absolutely going to be a trial. You guys kept in the dark for so long, which must have been agonizing, agonizing as you wanted so badly for your brother to get justice and to think that for all that time he sat in his house throwing back the booze, hanging around in his underwear. And this guy is no idiot. He's a scientist for Pete's sake. Ignoring the dead body in a lounge chair on the porch, ignoring his friend's cars parked directly in front of his house. How can you ignore that? How can you not hear the phone for two days,
Starting point is 00:06:33 not notice that you are being barraged on social media and texts and emails acting like nothing happened and then to pack up and leave town? Uh-uh. Well, this is how the whole thing started. January 7th is a football day for the Kansas City Chiefs as they will be playing the Los Angeles Chargers. So 38-year-old Jordan Willis invites a couple of buddies to come to his house and watch the game. David Harrington, Ricky Johnson, and Clayton McGinney
Starting point is 00:07:00 arrive at Willis' house just in time for the 325 kickoff. They enjoy the game as the Chiefs beat the Chargers 13-12, and Willis makes plans for them to get tickets to the next home game. So everything's fine. They're all there watching the game together. Then what happens? After the game, Jordan Willis waves the guys off and crashes on the couch. On Monday, January 8th, Jordan Willis claims he did not leave his home at all. He would normally have to take his dogs, Sadie and Daisy, outside to do their business.
Starting point is 00:07:31 But they're all staying at his dad's place. Okay, wait a minute. He had described his dogs as the, quote, loves of his life. How did they end up somewhere else? Okay, that's just a tangential question. But right there, something is way wrong. Joining me, Crime Stories investigative reporter, Dave Mack. Right there, Dave. Jordan Willis, and this is on a Sunday, the scientist, he waves away the friends and claims he crashes on the sofa for what, the next two or three days? I mean, if you take it from Sunday until finally the police were at the front door
Starting point is 00:08:11 after the girlfriend breaks in the window to find the dead body and starts screaming. I mean, that's his story, Dave? Seriously? And he's sticking to it, Nancy. He has always claimed that he crashed out, doesn't know what the guys did. He was sound asleep for the next 72 hours. And he missed all the messages. He didn't get any text messages, phone calls, because that phone was ringing off the hook. All those guys' family and friends were reaching out to him because they were always in contact.
Starting point is 00:08:42 But Jordan Willis claims he slept through the entire thing for three days and he only got up when they, you know, basically broke into his house to tell him there were dead guys on the backyard. Jonathan Price is with me. This is Ricky Johnson's brother who passed away. You know, when I think about what he went through, it was so cold out there. Do you let yourself, I mean, I try not to think about what my fiance went through when he was murdered. He was shot five times in the face, the neck, the head. And I try not to think about it because it will mess me up so badly. And I have children to raise. Do you ever let yourself think about what Ricky went through while their friend was inside in his underwear passed out? Yeah, I think about that all the time, you know, especially with, you know, these three gentlemen, you know, being inseparable for a very,
Starting point is 00:09:39 very long time and for all three of them to happen at the exact same time. And what some of them were going through in the final moments of seeing maybe one of their friends go down first. I don't, I just have so many questions still on how that would have happened. And I pray that all the facts, not just some of the facts, but that all the facts will come out and we will know. Is no idiot. Three days, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and I never knew my friend, my friend was dead on the front, on the back porch and my other friends were dead lying in my yard. How can he, how can he say that?
Starting point is 00:10:23 Oh yeah. And all the phone calls and all the texts and all the emails and all the social media. He said he was wearing noise canceling headphones for three days. Really? He was obsessed. He was wearing noise canceling earphones and he was in his house. He didn't notice the car in front and he didn't notice three of his friends. He wasn't texting them the day after. Hey guys, let's go get tickets for the next game because the chiefs had won. Completely acted like he was completely shut off from the whole world. And noise canceling headphones.
Starting point is 00:10:51 Sure, maybe you can't. Right. You maybe can't hear a little thing in the next room, but you're going to hear people beating on your door and you're going to see your phone blowing up for two days. So let me understand something, Dave Mack. How many days passed before the girlfriend, the fiance, has to come and literally break in? When did that happen? Just give me a number. Two days.
Starting point is 00:11:16 All right. Two days. What day was it? The game was on. Was it Tuesday? Yeah. The game was on Sunday, the 7th, and Tuesday,, the 9th is the day police are at the door. OK, you know what? They didn't teach me math in law school, but 7, 8, 9.
Starting point is 00:11:50 That's three days. Seven is Sunday, the day of the game finally Tuesday, when the fiance is beside herself. She can't find her fiance and goes looking for him. Listen. On January 8, friends and family are concerned they were headed to Jordan Willis' house to watch the game. But now, none of the guys, including Jordan Willis, are replying to messages on social media or by phone. On Tuesday, January 9th, 9.51 p.m., Clayton McGee's fiancee shows up at the house. She sees the cars in the driveway, and since nobody is answering the phone or replying to messages,
Starting point is 00:12:20 she breaks into the home and screams Willis' name. She walks through the house, then she looks on the back porch and sees a body. Oh my stars. Okay, Jonathan Price is joining me. This is Ricky's brother, beloved brother, I might add. They grew up together and they would argue about who's going to watch Power Rangers and who's going to watch ESPN. Very, very loving relationship their whole lives. In my mind, that's three days. You got the Chiefs game early afternoon Sunday. They're together.
Starting point is 00:12:59 Then Sunday night, all day Monday, Monday night, and then Tuesday, 9.51. That's nearly 10 o'clock at night. Clayton's fiance comes hysterical trying to find him. He has to break in and sees a dead body. Is my timing correct, Jonathan? I mean, it appears to be correct. You know, I'm not very good at math either um but you know there's there's a question in my mind that uh there's no possible way you can sleep that long and just not know what's going on I agree Jonathan no way what was
Starting point is 00:13:41 he doing in there joining me is a veteran defense attorney who has handled a number of high profile cases. Derek Smith is joining me out of Ohio. He's with the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans who were frozen to death and their buddy, the scientist's backyard. Derek Smith, can he really look at a jury and say, I slept for three days with noise canceling headsets on? I knew nothing. Yes and no. This is a terrible situation. His best friend, some of his friends he's with his whole entire life, like they said, they were very close. Utter, utter shock and disbelief and just manic depression will put somebody down.
Starting point is 00:14:39 Looking out your window and seeing your friends in the condition they were in, that's enough right there to send a person into deep shock disbelief and just pass right back out does not want to be okay that's a good one so he saw the bodies and then passed back out you know to dr heidi green joining me clinical psychologist trauma specialist author of the path to self love and world domination dr heidiGreen.com. Dr. Heidi, so now we're getting a spin on that and they're telling what it's going to morph into by the time this goes to trial. So Jonathan Price, brace yourself. So Derek Smith is spinning it out, like Rumpelstiltskin would take that nasty hay out of the barn and spin it into gold. He is now hypothesizing that the defendant,
Starting point is 00:15:27 one of the two arrested in the death of three people that were left to freeze out in the yard, one on his porch, is that he came to from his deep sleep, you know, I'll throw in sleeping beauty there. He came to, saw the dead body of his friend, and then passed out. Dr. Heidi Green, psychologically speaking, that seems very unlikely to me. So it is very unlikely that he fell unconscious for 72 hours as a result of a significant trauma. And we can say if your friends died accidentally,
Starting point is 00:16:06 if that's what we're going with, and you saw them in your home, it's obviously possible that you would have a significant trauma response. And that trauma response could include a freeze response. I could see somebody maybe being in their house, terrified to answer the phone, terrified to go and look at the bodies, wanting to essentially just pretend like nothing's going on. But to actually be unconscious for 72 hours, that seems far less likely as a trauma response. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Bad news for a scientist and so-called friend busted over the desk of three Chiefs fans found in his backyard and on his porch, frozen and OD'd on Coke and fentanyl. Some friend. Officers arrived to find Willis in his underwear with an empty glass of wine in hand, according to the victim's families.
Starting point is 00:17:10 The other two bodies were then found in the backyard. Jordan Willis tells police he has no idea what happened. John Pisserno, an attorney representing Willis, said his client had no idea his friends were dead until police knocked on his door. Haley Latir wrote, my husband banged on his door for 20 minutes. My friend banged on his door and then busted a window and yelled and announced her presence while she's inside and steal nothing from him. Then the cops come 10 minutes later and he comes out nonchalant in his boxers with an empty
Starting point is 00:17:46 wine glass in hand. Nothing is adding up. Dave, Clay and Ricky need and deserve justice. Yes, they do. And in the last hours, a bombshell, two people arrested in the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans found apparently frozen on his porch and backyard. Jonathan Price is with me. This is Ricky's brother. Jonathan, your brother is always described as a Kansas City Chief fan. That's really not doing him justice. He was so much more. Tell me.
Starting point is 00:18:24 Well, Ricky was very humble. He loved everybody he ever interacted with. He always saw the good in people. He helped out anybody in need, anytime, no matter if at one time they were seen as enemies or just not friends in general. but he was just such a kind person, loving father, brother, son, cousin. He was truly cherished by our entire family. Tell me about your family. Well, I mean, we grew up separated at some points, but we always came together for family events. We were always there at Christmas times, holding our own different Christmases to make sure that
Starting point is 00:19:11 all of our schedules matched up to where we could all see each other. And when I was in the military, anytime I came home, Ricky and my other brother, Rusty, they always made it a point. And my sister, Lisa, they always all made it a point to come home all to be together every time. So we, you know, we cherish each other. And there's very fond memories of Ricky growing up and everything he was to all of us. When you say the memories you had growing up, what memories? Well, my love for Well, my love for football, my love for all sports came from Ricky. You know, seeing my two oldest brothers, you know,
Starting point is 00:19:53 throwing the football farther than I could imagine when I was, you know, a small child. I just, I looked up to them. That's a picture of us right there with the X Factor at the Kansas City game. You know, we went to the very first game that Patrick Mahomes was playing in the preseason, and we, you know, he met my entire family. And, you know, even though we were states away, you know, we always talked about the sports of Kansas City and everything that we were accomplishing finally after so many years of being an up-and-down team. We shared a lot of memories together, and I just love them. We are learning more about the deaths of the so-called three Chiefs fans.
Starting point is 00:20:46 Listen. As news starts to spread of the three friends freezing to death in the backyard while their friend is asleep inside, the families of the victims begin to speak out and ask questions. The biggest question for Jordan Willis is what happened. Next was why didn't you answer calls, text messages, and social media messages from family and friends of the three men. The Daily Mail reports Willis insists he spent the next two days in his home not thinking anything of the fact that his friend's cars were still outside and only learned they died when the fiance of one of the men broke into the house on January 9th in the hopes of finding him. Jonathan Price, where were the victim's cars parked in relation to the friend's
Starting point is 00:21:28 home? I guess if you're based on what I've heard, if you look out the front door, they were just off to the right. And I guess there was potentially two out of the three cars because I think someone might have carpooled. But either way, my brother drove an F-150. So it was, you know, semi-large truck right there in the front. There's no way to miss it. So Barry Hutchinson joining me, former L.E., now chief investigator for Barry & Associates Investigative Services in Kansas and Missouri. Barry, let me understand. So this guy, the so-called friend, could find a wine glass and fill it up with wine and find his noise canceling headphones. He could find those. He could see those. But he couldn't see his dead friend on the porch and in the yard or their vehicles parked in front of his house. Nancy, this story, you know, his excuses for how everything happened,
Starting point is 00:22:26 it just makes no sense at all. You know, I've been thinking about this, and one of the things that I thought about, you know, the guy came to the door in his underwear, and he said that he had been asleep for 72 hours. We knew that he'd been drinking a lot, apparently. So, if he slept for a solid three hours, don't you think his body would have evacuated while he was asleep for three solid days if he never got up? He would have wet himself. Did he come to the door with soiled underwear or did he look like he urinated on himself? You know, when you arrest a drunk on the street most of the time and they're awake, they pee all over themselves. This guy, did he look like he urinated on himself?
Starting point is 00:23:03 Because if he didn't, that kind of shoots that story right in the hind end, if you ask me. Yeah, I mean, he had to get up and go to the bathroom. Dr. Kendall Crowns joining me and he's here for other reasons. But since we're on this topic, Dr. Kendall Crowns with me, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, that's Fort Worth, never a lack of business. Esteemed lecturer at Burnett School of Medicine, TCU, and launching a new podcast, DOA Dead on Arrival, March 7. Dr. Crowns, is that true? What Barry just told us. I mean, how could he go 72 hours drinking, let me add that in, and not getting up and finding his way to the bathroom? Oh, I agree with that.
Starting point is 00:23:49 He there's no way you could sleep for three days after consuming that much alcohol and also eating that your body wouldn't urinate on itself or defecate. So it's impossible to believe that he spent that entire time asleep and not getting up and at least going to the bathroom. Jordan Willis's attorney, John Pisserno, refuses to answer questions about whether the men were using drugs. Pisserno says there was a fifth man in the home on the night of January 7th. Willis says the man is a buddy
Starting point is 00:24:13 who left earlier than the other three men. As the investigation heated up, Jordan Willis moved out of the home and checked into rehab. A forensic data extraction found text messages on Harrington's phone between Willis, McGinney, Johnson and others that proved Carson was the person who supplied the group with cocaine. DNA evidence matched Willis, identifying him as a major contributor. And DNA evidence from the second bag matched Carson, confirming his role as the drug supplier.
Starting point is 00:24:41 Packs up and goes to rehab. So to Jonathan Price, when did you learn that the so-called best friend of your brother packs up, clears out the house, takes his dog and goes to rehab? I mean, the only time that we found out was whenever it was reported in the news, which is kind of the unfortunate part of all this. But if you have the mental capacity to know you have a problem after the fact and check yourself into rehab, then you know, you know more about what happened that night. And I don't know if he shared that or not with the authorities, but the fact that he was not detained, you know,
Starting point is 00:25:21 after that night or the past 14 months doesn't really make any sense to me. Yeah, you know, to Derek Smith, why is that the go-to with your clients and all the stars? It's only after they're busted for something that they suddenly realize they have a problem and they hide out in rehab. Unfortunately, it takes an event like that to really change a lifestyle or change a mindset or even in these cases, serious addiction. I mean, it's akin to being in a certain way of life, certain way of doing things. Everything's fine as long as everything's fine.
Starting point is 00:25:55 And then something tragic or something terrible or the law gets involved and you have to make a drastic change. And that's unfortunately just how it is sometimes. And joining me right now is a special guest just joining us. Eric Zand is with us. It is the Platts County prosecutor who was working on the case. And I know, Eric, number one, thank you for being with us. But I know what you can say is limited, having been a prosecutor for many years myself, but I want to thank you for being with us. The family questioned this from the get-go, and I know the prosecutors get the case once LA law enforcement finishes their investigation.
Starting point is 00:26:39 But I'm sure you know, having dealt with so many crime victims, how agonizing this has been for the family to be waving the banner. This isn't right. This isn't normal. This guy's not innocent. He won't say a word to us about what happened. This is the alleged best friend. They've been waiting all this time. Now, Eric, don't get me wrong. I'm glad we finally have bombshell arrests in the
Starting point is 00:27:08 deaths of the three Kansas City Chiefs fans. But what took so long? Please explain it. Yeah, you're absolutely right, Nancy. This was a long time coming and our hearts absolutely go out to these family members. I met with them shortly after these deaths, and it's just really tragic. It's honestly, it's another reminder of the dangers of street drugs, and these cases are tough to put together. Tracking down who's responsible for providing these drugs is no easy task, but I can't tell you how proud I am, Nancy, of the Kansas City Police Department and prosecutors in my office who, from day one, said that they weren't going to rest until we exhausted every possible resource to bring the people we believe responsible for these crimes to justice. And yesterday was the first step in that. As you know, these men are presumed innocent and less than until proven guilty. But we've charged them what we think happened, which was providing
Starting point is 00:28:10 cocaine and fentanyl and causing the deaths of these three men. As a matter of fact, this is what Platt County Prosecutor Eric Zand had to say. A doctor with Forensic Medical of Kansas found that Mr. McGeaney, Mr. Harrington, and Mr. Johnson all died of fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity. That's from our friends at KMBC 9 News. So, Eric, your assertion, what you're going to prove, I think, in trial is that the casual use of a little cocaine, although family says that at least one of the victims had never used cocaine before, but the casual use of cocaine turned deadly because it was cut with fentanyl. Yeah, in this case, what we allege is that there were two baggies found at the scene. One of those baggies contained cocaine. The other baggie, we allege, contained fentanyl. The ME found that it was a combination of those two drugs that caused these men's deaths.
Starting point is 00:29:16 And so we've charged both of the men, one of them who we believe provided the cocaine, the other who we allege sold the fentanyl that caused these deaths. And we allege, because we charged them with manslaughter, that they recklessly caused the deaths of these three men. As a matter of fact, listen to what Jonathan Price had to say. From the very beginning, he said that before the fifth person came out, he said that Jordan was there sporadically throughout the day. And then whenever and then he also did not mention a fifth person. But once the fifth person came out, then he changed it to saying that there was a fifth person and that he was asleep the entire time. So those were two very specific details that were specific in the
Starting point is 00:30:07 opening statement, but then changed over time. So Alexis Tereszczak joining us, crime stories, investigative reporter, the best friend now charged in a homicide case, changed his story. He never mentioned anybody else was there beside him and his three buddies, all dead, frozen dead in the backyard. And he goes three days and doesn't notice they're on his back porch. There's a mystery guy, a fifth person, Alexis. He changed his story. Why? Because the fifth person was a person that provided the drugs, according to police. This is somebody who they have all known for quite a while that Jordan has known. And he he was contacted and this man brought the drugs. This. So there's cocaine. Jordan Willis's DNA is on the cocaine. Ivory Carson's DNA is on the bag of fentanyl. And that
Starting point is 00:30:58 is the toxic combination that killed these men. So he was, he had come over and brought them the cocaine. And the way that the police found this out wasn't through Jordan Willis. He never mentioned any of these details. But David Harrington's phone is the one phone that they were able to extract evidence from. And they saw on there, there were group chats about buying the cocaine. Willis was the one that would always provide it for them. These other guys didn't have enough. Cocaine's expensive. It's not a cheap drug. And then you top that off with the fentanyl. And he was the one that did it. So there were group chat text messages that showed that these were how they got the drugs. To Eric Zahn joining me right now, Platts County prosecutor who is charged with lassoing all this evidence and presenting it to a jury,
Starting point is 00:31:46 did he really think we wouldn't find out about the fifth guy, the mystery man? And all of his statements at the get-go, that was never mentioned. Now we know why. He was the dope dealer. Well, Nancy, I can't comment on exactly what either of these defendants thought or said, but what I can tell you is that we allege that Mr. Willis provided cocaine and Mr. Carson sold fentanyl to these men, and we allege that resulted in the deaths of these three great people who were boyfriends, husbands, fathers, sons of people in Kansas City. It's truly tragic. And here's what folks have to understand. If you deal drugs and somebody dies as a result, we will do everything we can to make sure that you're held accountable
Starting point is 00:32:44 for the deaths of those people. That's exactly what we're trying to do in this case. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A $100,000 bombshell lawsuit filed by one of the three Kansas City Chiefs fans, Dad. His son freezes in the backyard of homeowner Jordan Willis. The lawsuit's against Willis, a so-called friend, and Willis' alleged drug dealer, Ivory Carson. What happened? If just one of them, even two of them passed out at the same time, which is
Starting point is 00:33:26 already like impossible, you know, the other man would have absolutely brought them inside and called for help. Something. So that's just insane. This is what Platt County Prosecutor Eric Zahn tells us. He saw a large plate of cocaine allegedly supplied by Mr. Willis that everyone was using. According to prosecutors, the defendant provided it. The friend, the friend, the scientist, the HIV researcher, Jordan Willis, age 39, the best friend supplied a plate of Coke, possibly laced with fentanyl, to his friends. You were just hearing from our friends at KMBC 9 News to Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us. Dr. Kendall Crowns, I want to understand how the use of these drugs, potentially cocaine cut with fentanyl, don't know if they knew it was cut with fentanyl,
Starting point is 00:34:25 what that would look like. I mean, it's hard for me to understand, although I've heard about it, I've prosecuted, I've seen it at crime scenes where you have a party and there's a plate of cocaine out. I mean, I would think there'd be sandwiches and chicken wings, right? Celery, carrots, ranch dip. There's a plate of cocaine and everybody's doing it. You know, how many times have you heard that? Mom, everybody's doing it. How are people supposed to know that cocaine can be laced with fentanyl and what fentanyl can do with you? Even a touch of fentanyl can kill you. So what would fentanyl look like? Can it be in a powder form?
Starting point is 00:35:10 Yes, it can. Actually, it'll be kind of in a white. It can be in a white powdery form. It can be in the form of a fake Percocet, which is a blue pill that has an M30 label on it. It can be a patch. It can even be on a lozenge type sucker is one of the ways it is distributed. But anyway, cocaine, if it's cut with something, fentanyl can be very deadly. And you don't know how much fentanyl has been put in there, how much fentanyl you're actually getting
Starting point is 00:35:39 with the amount of cocaine that's been cut with it. So that's why you could have a group of people sitting together and three of them die and two of them live because one got more fentanyl than the other, because it's really not regulated like a drug through the FDA. It's just widely all over the place. So that's why the street drugs are very dangerous is you never know what you're getting. And one thing we've had cocaine cut with a dog dewormer as well. So it's incredibly dangerous. Dr. Kendall Crowns, I have investigated cases, for instance, an infant at daycare. Little did the family know that the daycare provider was storing fentanyl there, also dealing, like I think the husband or the boyfriend was dealing. And they moved the fentanyl from one place to the next inside the daycare. And that movement
Starting point is 00:36:36 released particles of fentanyl. And the infant inhaled it or touched it, it killed the baby. So if you've got a plate of cocaine laced with any fentanyl at all, there's your OD right there. What started off as, I guess, a good time ends in death. I mean, you can die from even inhaling particles or touching particles of fentanyl. Yes, fentanyl is incredibly dangerous and even its friend or another derivative of it, carfentanil, is even more dangerous. It's come down to the fact that law enforcement and paramedics will now carry naloxone, which is a way to counteract the effects of the opioid on their rigs or in their cars to, if they get exposed to it and begin having symptoms, they can take it and try and save
Starting point is 00:37:25 themselves. So fentanyl is incredibly dangerous. It's not a drug you really should mess with. You know, I'm just thinking about these victims and how they ended up frozen in plain view of their so-called friend, Jordan Willis. You know, I'm trying to think about their families. Dave Mack, tell me about the victims' families. I know Jonathan is here speaking on behalf of his brother Ricky, who died that day, whose body sat out there freezing for so long. What about the other victims? You know, Nancy, Mr. Harrington's mom, Teresa,
Starting point is 00:38:09 claims she's been kept out of the loop since the bodies were found. She said that they wouldn't tell me anything. Now she is saying that the statements made it easy to think that they had already made up their minds and there wouldn't be any further investigation. And she's really pushing back on this. She said the arrest didn't really clear up any speculation about the death, saying, quote, I still don't know anything about how my son died or his last moments. That's pretty upsetting when you look at this over a year down the road that she doesn't know any more than you and I might know. Well, Kendall Crowns, what would someone go through if they literally sat outside in an accidental fentanyl stupor and froze dead? That would be horrible, but they couldn't get up and move.
Starting point is 00:38:56 So basically, fentanyl makes your respiratory drive decrease and makes your brain not think it needs enough oxygen. And so you slowly kind of drift off into a coma that eventually your brain not getting enough oxygen begins to die, which causes your lungs to fill with fluid and then you pass away. It wouldn't necessarily immobilize you to the point that you couldn't get up and get yourself out of an unsafe situation unless you've gone into a coma. So those individuals probably... Why would they sit there on the porch in a lounge chair and lay in the backyard if they could move? I mean, I'm certainly not a medical doctor, but certainly they would get up off the porch or get off the ground and come inside.
Starting point is 00:39:46 According to the defendant, the door was unlocked. I submit they couldn't. Well, that's if they're still conscious. If they've gotten enough fentanyl in and it's caused them to go into basically a coma, they can't move at that point. And then they will either more likely than not die from the fentanyl prior to dying from freezing to death. Because there are autopsy findings you'll find that will show that they died from hypothermia or freezing to death, which I haven't seen any reports of that being found. Alexis Tereshia, we keep referring to them as the Kansas City Chiefs fans, and they were so much more than that. Tell me about their families.
Starting point is 00:40:25 Well, Clayton McGinney was engaged. He was engaged to a woman named April Mahoney. And they were very happy together. They were very young. He worked in construction, small business construction, and he was going through a really rough time. There weren't a lot of jobs, but they were still together at the time. And she, in fact, started a GoFundMe to tell everybody he was so wonderful. And he was somebody that was her whole life. And the two of them had all these future plans together. And then it was abruptly cut short. And in fact, she was the one that found them. April was trying, trying, trying to reach him. Clayton calling him over and over again. She is the one that showed up at Jordan Willis' house.
Starting point is 00:41:05 She broke through the basement window. She got out. She found Clayton, and then the other two guys dead. Overnight, we learn two arrested in the horrific deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans watching a football game with their so-called best friend. Now, behind bars, arrested the so-called best friend, Jordan Willis, and a guy named Ivory J. Carson, a.k.a. Blade. Okay, straight back out to Jonathan Price.
Starting point is 00:41:38 This is Ricky's brother. Tell me your thoughts. Well, I mean, summing everything up, you know, I just, you know, he was my brother. Tell me your thoughts. Well, I mean, summing everything up, he was my brother. I cherished him a lot. And his three daughters. A couple of them are a little bit young to fully understand. It's very difficult to think about what they are going through and the answers that they've been neglected for all this time.
Starting point is 00:42:12 And it's just very, makes us very distraught. Jonathan Price, you want to set the record straight on certain issues. What? Well, one of the things that we've been told since the beginning, which did not make sense, is the ruling out of file play. And, you know, the amount of information that we've gotten since then, you know, since January 9th, it's been very disappointing. I'm glad I understand that it takes time. And I'm glad that we are finally getting some answers. But there's still a lot out there that we don't fully understand. And just three or four months ago, Jordan's lawyer was saying that he thinks that charges will come, but not to Jordan. And that's from talking to some prosecutor. So that part doesn't make sense to me either.
Starting point is 00:43:12 And I'm just, the more I get back into this, the more pain that's coming back, just like there was back then. And the more questions that are arising from all of this. A bombshell lawsuit filed, a civil lawsuit in the case of three Kansas City Chiefs fans frozen dead in a dude's backyard. And he says he slept for, what, three days and didn't notice them all dead? Really? You think a jury's going to believe that? We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.

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