They call them the mysterious deaths of the Super Bowl. The alleged triple crime in question occurred on January 7th (even though the bodies were only discovered two days later), when it was still far from knowing who would make it to the final. But the three victims, Clayton McGeeney (36 years old), David Harrington (37 years old), and Ricky Johnson (38 years old), were fans of the Chiefs, who are set to play in the Super Bowl, hence the nickname.
A presumed crime is assumed, but the methods of death and the motive are still not clear. Moving from left to right, David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney, and Ricky Johnson, the three Chiefs fans whose bodies were found frozen at the home of a friend. They call them the mysterious deaths of the Super Bowl, even though the Super Bowl 2024, the final act of the NFL American football championship.
It all started on the evening of January 7th in Kansas City when five Chiefs fans, the three victims, the homeowner Jordan Willis, and a fifth man whose name has not been made public but is known to the investigators, stopped to celebrate their team’s away victory against the Los Angeles Chargers (12-13). It was the last time three of them would be seen alive. Two days later, McGeeney’s girlfriend showed up at Willis’s house, knocked, got no response, presumably forced or climbed the outer gate, but then came across an unexpected scene: there was a corpse on the porch.
The police later found two more in a backyard courtyard. They all had something in common: their bodies were all frozen. This detail quickly caught the attention of the entire country.
Because everything in the case of Kansas City closely resembles a highly successful TV series that is currently airing in the US and Italy: “True Detective 4”, starring detectives Liz Danvers (actress Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (actress Kali Reis), which starts with the discovery of the bodies of 6 scientists in the Alaskan ice. Coincidence, imitation? Certainly, the series premiered only the following week after the death of the 3, on January 14th, but the plot was partly known beforehand.
As in the TV series, in real life, the police of course intervene to understand first of all what caused the deaths of the three fans. The temperatures in Kansas City at night during those days were often below 10 degrees Celsius, temperatures that could freeze a body, but was freezing the cause of death, or did it occur after the death of the three? The results of the autopsy are awaited.
However, many, too many things don’t add up. First of all, Jordan Williams, the homeowner, was found alive. He will be arrested a few days later, but as of yet, there is no suspicion of murder against him.
His lawyer, John Picierno, tells the media several different and conflicting versions from his client. At first, he claims to have gone to sleep, leaving everyone else in his house, then that on the evening of the 7th, he had first said farewell to the fifth man and then would have walked the other three to the door before going to sleep. And finally, the next day, he would have left the house without noticing anything, returning only “sporadically”.
But how could he not have noticed the bodies? Perhaps because they were not there and were brought to the front of his house afterward? Or is he lying?
The fifth man’s lawyer, Andrew Talge, claims that his client had left around midnight, and the other four were watching TV together. These conflicting versions raise the possibility that it was not an accident but a crime. To support the theory of an accident, the defense suggests that the three were using drugs and that their deaths were due to an overdose, and that their bodies then froze at the location where each of them collapsed.
However, it would still need to be understood why Willis did not see three bodies in front and behind his house the next day. Here, a further change in his lawyer’s version intervenes, as once he learned of Talge’s version, he explains how his client actually never left the house until the 9th. However, the families of the three deny that their loved ones were using drugs.
The presumed crime theory gains momentum again. The police arrest Willis, convinced that he is not telling the whole truth. But under pressure, he does not confess.
After all, if it was a crime, how were the three killed, since there are no apparent signs on their bodies? But most importantly, why kill them? The days pass without certain answers, awaiting a twist as in True Detective.
It’s a pity that in reality, Denvers and Navarro are not investigating the case. *Corriere della Sera is also on Whatsapp. Just click here to subscribe to the channel and stay updated.
* January 31, 2024 (edited on January 31, 2024 | 14:31) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED