Attorney: KC man had 'no knowledge' 3 friends were dead in his backyard after Chiefs game

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The attorney for a Missouri man questioned by police when the bodies of his three friends were found outside his home after they gathered to watch a football game says his client had nothing to do with their deaths.

"He had no knowledge they remained in his backyard or that they needed medical attention. Had he known, he certainly would have called for help," the man's Kansas City-based lawyer, John Picerno, told USA TODAY Tuesday.

Ricky Johnson, 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead Jan. 9 outside the man's house in a Kansas City suburb, the Kansas City Police Department reported.

USA TODAY is not naming the man who lives in the home because he has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Although police said foul play is not suspected in their deaths, officials from multiple agencies have been working to determine how the men died.

The attorney for a man questioned by police after the bodies of his three friends were found outside his home after they gathered to watch a football playoff game says his client had nothing to do with their deaths. Ricky Johnson, 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead on Jan. 9 outside the man's house in a Kansas City suburb, the Kansas City Police Department reported.

According to Picerno, the last time his client saw his friends − two of them who he had been friends with for nearly two decades − was when they left his house "before he went to bed."

"He does not know the timing or manner of their deaths, nor does he know how or when they exited his house," Picerno said.

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A body on a back porch and freezing temperatures

On the day they were found, police said the fiancé of one of the men visited the home to check on him, saw a body on the back porch and called police. Responding officers located the body and shortly after found the two other men dead in the backyard.

Harrington's mother, Jennifer Marquez, said her son went to the home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers game on Jan. 7 and she said the homeowner later told others "his friends froze to death."

The low temperature on game day was 29 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, and the temperature remained below freezing over the next two days.

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Five friends and a playoff game

According to his Picerno, his client, who rents the home, is a 38-year-old scientist who works remotely for a New York hospital.

Picerno said his client lives alone, attended high school with two of the victims, and has known the third victim for several years.

On Jan. 7, Picerno said, his client, his three friends and a fifth person "spent the day watching the game" and eventually the the fifth friend left the home.

"The others did not leave until the early morning hours on Monday," Picerno said.

He said his client slept "most of Monday," got up, worked from home and eventually went back to sleep. On Tuesday, he said, he woke up and worked again until police contacted him that evening.

A missed Facebook message and cars left behind

In a separate emailed statement, Picerno wrote his client did not receive calls or text messages from the victims' family or friends after they left his home. He said the wife of one of the victims reached out to him on Facebook but he did not see the message until after police contacted him.

Two of the victims' cars were parked on the street, according to the statement, but he did not see them. The attorney also said “It would not be unusual for his friends to have left their cars there overnight.”

"Two people came to his house; however, he did not hear them as he sleeps with air buds and a loud fan," Picerno wrote.

Picerno said his client is unaware of how his friends died and is "anxiously awaiting" to learn what caused their deaths.

Cause of death still under investigation

Last week, a medical examiner spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY autopsies and toxicology tests were conducted on all three men and the results were pending.

On Tuesday, police spokeswoman Alayna Gonzalez said the department was still waiting to learn the trio's cause of death from the medical examiner.

Gonzalez also said no arrests had been made and no charges had been filed in the case.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas City man: I didn't know my friends died in backyard after game