The parents of one of the three Kansas City Chiefs fans who were found frozen to death have spoken out after early toxicology results were revealed.
On January 9, the bodies of David Harrington, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found in the backyard of Jordan Willis' rental residence by authorities.
The three friends arrived at Willis' rental home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers two days earlier (January 7) but never returned home.
The fiancée of one of the victims initiated a welfare check, leading authorities to the NW 83rd Terrace residence, where the shocking discovery was made. One body was found on the back porch, while the other two were discovered in the backyard, believed to have succumbed to the extreme cold temperatures
Willis' attorney, John Picerno, has claimed that his client had been sleeping for much of 48 hours after the game and did not know that the three men died until cops showed up at his door on January 9.
In addition to this, Alex Waemer-Lee - another friend who attended the evening - had left the gathering around 11:00PM that night, allegedly leaving the four others behind watching Jeopardy, according to the New York Post.
The lawyer claimed in a statement that Willis "had absolutely nothing to do with their deaths," adding: "He does not know the timing or manner of their deaths, nor does he know how or when they exited his house. He had no knowledge that they remained in his back yard, or that they needed medical attention."
Following the news of the deaths, Fox News Digital detailed that Willis - who has faced accusations without any supporting evidence or charges - had reportedly checked into rehab, calling the deaths of his friends an "enormous wakeup call", according to a source close to him.
"After the shocking loss of three of his close friends under extremely tragic circumstances, Jordan recognized that he had a problem with addiction," they said. "He immediately checked himself into rehab after vacating his home and putting his things into storage."
According to FOX 4 Kansas City, The Kansas City Police Department obtained the toxicology report for the three victims, and it showed that there were "several" substances in their bodies. TMZ also reported that the results disclosed that traces of cocaine and fentanyl were found, citing sources close to the case.
Harrington’s parents have now spoken out on the reports to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, with stepmother Theresa saying: "What matters is that he didn’t take that to die. It just means that there’s more to the story, there’s more to it than just that... If he took the drugs on his own, he took them to get high."
The grieving parent added that her stepson "wasn’t a drug addict or anything like that," and suggested that David may have taken the substance under "peer pressure".
Her husband, Jon, also remarked that the toxicology does not explain how their loved one and his friends were discovered frozen after visiting Willis' residence. "Somebody gave them something that would kill them," he claimed.
Theresa shared that she believes it’s telling that the authorities said that the investigation is ongoing after initially ruling out anything suspicious. "We keep getting answers that [police] are still investigating, so there’s something there that they’re saying, 'Maybe that’s not right,'" she remarked.
While the parents of the deceased have raised concerns about Willis' involvement, Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, confirmed to PEOPLE: "The case remains an ongoing death investigation."
"Both KCPD Detectives and the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office have been in touch with the deceased men’s families and remain in contact with them as the investigation unfolds," she added.
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