Parents of man found dead outside Kansas City home speak out on what they believe happened

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
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The parents of one of three Kansas City football fans found dead outside a friend's Missouri home last month are opening up about what they believe happened to their son.

Friday marks one month since police said they found the bodies of David Harrington, Ricky Johnson and Clayton McGeeney some 48 hours after the men gathered to watch a NFL game at a friend's suburban home in Platte County.

The case remains under investigation by police who said foul play was not suspected in the men's mysterious deaths.

Last week, one of the victim's family members told a local TV station the toxicology results had been released to police investigators. However, autopsy and toxicology results for the men − all in their mid to late 30s − have not yet been publicly released.

In an interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, posted on Cuomo's Facebook page Feb. 2, David Harrington’s stepmother Theresa Harrington and father John Harrington spoke about their son and if they thought drugs played a factor in his death.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1088703008940654

'He took them to get high'

If drugs were involved, Theresa Harrington said she believes "there is more to the story."

“David wasn’t a drug addict, or anything like that," she told Cuomo via a virtual video interview. "He didn't take the drugs to get dead. If he took the drugs on his own, he took them to get high."

Kansas City deaths timeline: What's happened since 3 football fans were found dead outside Kansas City home

On the night of the game, temperatures dipped to 29 degrees, the National Weather Service reported.

Harrington's stepmother speculated that her son and his two friends may have taken drugs, went outside and passed out.

"It's very consistent with fentanyl," Cuomo responded to Harrington's stepmother. "With fentanyl it slows down your breathing so much you can very easily pass out and be unaware of the cold."

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.

"Exactly,'" she responded. "Some of those drugs warm your body up and you don't feel cold as quickly and can succumb to hypothermia pretty quick," she responded.

Harrington's stepmother also said police have been in contact with their family about the case.

“We keep getting answers that they’re still investigating,” Harrington's mother said in the interview. “So there’s something there that they’re saying 'maybe that’s not right' as well, but they don't have enough to charge or interrogate someone a little deeper."

Autopsy results are under suppression

As of Tuesday, police Officer Alayna Gonzalez confirmed the death investigation remained active and ongoing and no new information had been publicly released in the case.

Forensic Medical in Kansas City where police said all three men had their postmortem exams conducted told USA TODAY the results are under suppression by order of the Platte County District Attorney.

"Until that suppression status is lifted no information or reports will be released," Lauren McDaniel with Forensic Medical wrote in an email.

Tanya Faherty, a spokesperson for the Platte County District Attorney's Office told USA TODAY Monday the reports "are closed records under Missouri law at this time."

Parents question where the drugs came from

The home where the men were found is rented by a 38-year-old scientist who lives alone and works remotely for a New York hospital, the man's Kansas City-based lawyer, John Picerno previously said.

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

When asked by Cuomo whether their son brought drugs to the home, Harrington's father said he did not know, but if he had to guess, he and his friends got drugs at the home.

"My thinking is they got them there," his father said. "Somebody gave him something that would kill him."

Harrington's stepmother said if drugs were tainted, other people who come into contact with that batch could die.

The homeowner's attorney has previously told USA TODAY his client had nothing to do with the 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," Picerno said in January.

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: Parents of 1 football fan found dead in Kansas City speak out