Three men were found dead outside a home in Kansas City, Missouri, exposed to freezing temperatures for two days, after watching a football game at the home of a friend who, according to their lawyer, was "asleep on the couch." all that time.
According to Willis John Picerno, who represents Jordan Willis, the deceased – David Harrington, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and Clayton McGeeney, 36 – had met at the house that Willis was renting on the afternoon of Sunday the 7th. January, to watch the last game of the regular season of the Kansas City Chiefs, his favorite team, the New York Post reported.
However, two days later, the three men were found dead outside the house, when the fiancée of one of them appeared at the scene and
found the bodies
, according to a message posted by a person on Facebook cited by the weekly. .
The Kansas City Chiefs (right) play the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, California, on January 7, 2004.Getty Images / Getty Images
"He was asleep. He was asleep on the couch. The last memory he has is of them leaving [through] the front door, he doesn't know what happened to them, until the police came to his house on Tuesday night," Picerno told the New York Post.
The lawyer stressed that authorities do not suspect anything illegal took place in the men's deaths, and that authorities were not investigating his client.
"They have said that there is no 'foul play', there are no suspicions and [the incident] is not treated as
a homicide investigation
," he stressed to the newspaper.
[One migrant dies and two others are injured after falling from the border barrier]
Authorities confirmed Picerno's statements: "This case, 100%, is not being investigated as a homicide," Kansas City Police Captain Jake Becchina told Fox News Digital.
As part of the investigation, toxicological tests will be performed during autopsies, police said.
"It was very cold. They could have gone out to get some air, to smoke a cigarette [...] Maybe the bathroom was busy, they could have gone out to go to the bathroom, after a whole day watching football, it was late at night "said the lawyer to the New York Post.
However, when asked if there was a possibility that the men had consumed drugs and died as a result of an overdose, Picerno did not dismiss that explanation for the tragedy: "Anything is possible," he stated.
The lawyer insisted that
the deceased were friends of his client
and that Willis would have done anything to save their lives.
[State of emergency declared in San Diego due to damage from historic floods]
"If I could have helped them, I would have if they needed it. I had no idea they were there," he said.
However, friends of the victims said Willis was partially responsible for the deaths.
"This man was inside his house alive while my friends were dead in his yard for God knows how long," a woman who identifies herself as Kaylee La Tier wrote in a Facebook message earlier this month, which was quoted by the New York Post.
"They were all hanging out after Sunday's game. He
knew there were people looking for them
. On Tuesday he read messages from people looking for him," he said.
"My husband banged on his door for 20 minutes."
"My friend banged on his door and then broke a window and screamed and announced that he was inside and still nothing [...] Then the police arrive 10 [minutes] later and he comes out nonchalantly in his boxers with an empty wine glass in hand," he said on the website.
"Nothing makes sense. Dave, Clay and Ricky need and deserve justice."
Willis could not be reached for comment.
His social media accounts have been deleted, according to the Daily Mail.
According to Weather Underground, temperatures on Sunday, January 7 and Monday, January 8 stayed around 30ºF (-1ºC) and dropped below
20ºF (-6ºC)
on the afternoon of Monday, January 9.