As their families await toxicology results to shed more light on the mysterious deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans, experts told Fox News Digital that a combination of drugs and cold weather could have dealt the trio a fatal blow.
The bodies of Ricky Johnson, 38, Clayton McGeeney, 36, and David Harrington, 37, were discovered. 9, two days after they gathered at friend Jordan Willis' house to watch the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Kansas City Police Department told Fox News Digital that no foul play is suspected and “this case is not being investigated 100% as a homicide.”
The men's families accused Willis of playing an active role in the deaths, including allegations of drugging them.
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David Harrington, far left; Clayton McGeeney, second from right; and Ricky Johnson, right, were found dead in their friend's backyard two days after they gathered to watch a Kansas City Chiefs game. (Ricky Johnson/Facebook)
The families cite Willis' attorney's shifting narrative about his friends' final hours, his claims that his client slept on his couch for most of the 48 hours his friends died in his backyard, and his role as a “brilliant scientist” with a Ph.D. Dr.. Working in a non-profit organization that develops immunizations.
However, experts who spoke to Fox News Digital theorized that the deaths were likely accidental and caused by horrific recreational drug use.
Forensic pathologist Dr Michael Baden said: “If they had all consumed alcohol, they would not have collapsed at around the same time. People react differently to large doses of alcohol, and metabolize it at different speeds.” “They react to it, but they don't react immediately; [and] They are conscious enough to go inside if they feel they are going to pass out.
“It's the type of drug that makes a person disoriented,” Baden said, ruling out the use of carbon monoxide because the bodies of the two men were found outside. “Fentanyl-type medications can cause confusion and can cause a rapid, sleep-like loss of consciousness.
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“If these four people got together, the man sitting on the sofa would sleep on it for a long time, while the three who came out were confused, probably not wearing their coats. And because of the freezing weather, [could be] “It was a combination of medications and hypothermia that caused their death.”
Death from an overdose of fentanyl or fentanyl analogues, which are versions of the drug with a similar but slightly different chemical structure, is not immediate and can take about an hour, Baden said. In an overdose of fentanyl, naloxone can prevent users from slipping into a coma after they lose consciousness.
“It's not a sudden death in minutes,” he said.
Family and friends (LR) Clayton McGeeney, David Harrington and Ricky Johnson are demanding answers after the three men died inexplicably in freezing temperatures outside their friend's Kansas City home. (Facebook)
But hypothermia occurs when the body's internal temperature drops to 95 degrees or lower. Although temperatures weren't particularly low on the evening of Jan. 7 in Kansas City, reaching around 29 degrees, Baden said an extended period in the snow in any weather below 32 degrees would be “cold enough” to kill… man. .
“Maybe they don't die when they collapse in the snow, but because of the cold they go into a deeper coma and die of hypothermia,” Baden said. “They wouldn't have died if they had gone home OK. But if they're in the snow, they die in the snow. They don't feel any pain or anything. They can't wake up in time.”
Baden noted that the theory that the four men took a drug laced with fentanyl would support Willis' claim that he slept for all or most of the two days after his friends visited his home.
“Because of the freezing weather [could be] “It was a combination of medications and hypothermia that caused their death.”
Powdered fentanyl can be mixed with drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine or compressed into tablets that resemble prescription opioids. Police in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana and New York have reported finding synthetic opioids in marijuana.
Two of the three grieving families told Fox News that digital detectives contacted them and asked for passcodes to their children's phones. In all likelihood, the Kansas City Police Department is trying to determine whether drugs were sold or given to any of the men and establish a chain of custody, said attorney and retired NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro. This process may further delay the investigation.
Although Willis does not face criminal charges and police have not charged him with any wrongdoing, he could be charged with DUI or manslaughter if he is found to be the supplier of the deadly drugs, experts all said.
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Clayton McGeeney, Ricky Johnson and David Harrington were found dead on Northwest 83rd Terrace, pictured, two days after they watched a Kansas City Chiefs game there. (FOX 4KC)
“I think they should now try jailbreaking the phones [if they can’t get passwords] “Which is very difficult to do these days,” Mauro said. “Most of these phones…a lot of the data is virtual in the cloud. You can get a cloud search warrant. Instead of getting the password, you won't be able to get in with a thumbprint.”
“The person has to be alive. If you're not alive, you won't have the heat or electricity needed. There are some workarounds, but the bottom line is, if they don't have a password, they'll do it. I had a good time getting in there.” “
Although the deaths of McGeeney, Johnson and Harrington have received national attention, the phenomenon of mass overdose deaths is more common than one might realize, said retired DEA Special Agent Derek Maltz.
“If I had to bet my pension, they were drinking, smoking weed, the weed was mixed with K2, they got feverish and threw themselves in the snow.”
In a presentation before the House Homeland Security Committee in 2023, Maltz was able to compile 70 pages of news articles from 2023 about the deaths of three or more victims, some of whom had more than 10 or even 20, dead at one time. From drugs – sometimes thinking it's a 'safer' substance, other times through harmless objects like a lollipop.
“This is happening in every state,” Maltz told Fox News Digital. “Everyone is so focused on three people who died, they froze to death in the backyard.” But they don't know that this happens all the time in multiple states across the country every day. People don't have this together. News is just reacting to things rather than understanding what is actually happening. And that's where it gets really sad. “For me, the more we talk about it, it's just people keep dying.”
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Ricky Johnson, right, was a “responsible” man who “would not have gone out and frozen to death,” his parents told Fox News Digital. (Norma Chester)
Although he stressed it was just a theory, Maltz said he believed the Kansas City tragedy was “a clear case of cocaine mixed with fentanyl.”
However, he said other drugs can cause a fast-acting and confusing effect, including synthetic opioids such as nitazine and the horse tranquilizer xylazine, which he said are produced in Chinese laboratories.
“This happens in every state.”
But Baden, Mauro and Maltz all expressed that if the substance was derived from fentanyl or a synthetic substance, it could be difficult for less-equipped labs to detect in an autopsy report, which could require Frontier Forensics Midwest LLC in Kansas City to outsource testing and delay Results. additional.
“They may not have the capacity,” Mauro said. “And I hope they have enough to say: ‘Our lab can’t do this.’” “I hope the cops think that way. If they just test for heroin, and it's synthetic, it won't show up. I hope they know how to test for it.”
Mauro also theorized that K2 or “spice,” which is synthetic marijuana sometimes presented as the real thing or used by those who want to avoid positive marijuana results on drug tests, could be the offending substance.
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K2 often causes hyperthermia, which is a significant increase in body temperature. MDMA, cocaine, and amphetamines can also cause users to overheat.
“If I had to bet my pension, they were drinking. They were smoking pot. The pot was contaminated with K2. They overheated and threw themselves in the snow,” Mauro said. “Let's say he went out for a cigarette or something. It doesn't matter how drunk you are — that's where it hits you.”
