The families of three men whose bodies were found Jan. 9 in a friend’s backyard in Kansas City, Missouri, are distraught over what happened to their loved ones.
“Just the thought of him dying and him sitting out in the cold for two days,” said Caleb McGeeney, the cousin of victim Clayton McGeeney, according to Fox affiliate WDAF. “It is extremely devastating. The whole family is in chaos. He was such a good person.”
In addition to Clayton, Ricky Johnson and David Harrington were also found dead in their friend Jordan Willis’ backyard two days after the group watched a Kansas City Chiefs game at Willis’ home on Jan. 7. Inside Edition reported.
Through his attorney, Willis denied any guilt or knowledge of what happened to the men. Willis has not been charged in the case, which authorities are characterizing as a “death investigation.”
Meanwhile, questions abound about the mysterious deaths.
WDAF reported that a woman who went looking for her fiancé on Jan. 9 found the body on Willis’ porch. Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) told PEOPLE they located the dead body after responding to a woman’s call.
“Upon further investigation, officers found two more dead bodies in the yard,” a KCPD spokesperson said.
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“There were no obvious signs of foul play observed at or near the crime scene,” the spokesman said, adding that “it remains the case that no foul play was observed or suspected.”
“The cause of death will be determined by an expert examination [and that an] their investigation is ongoing,” Kansas City police added.
Alan McGeeney, also one of Clayton’s relatives, described the situation to CBS affiliate KCTV as “weird.”
“It just hasn’t really set in; I don’t think it will,” Alan told the newspaper.
“I’m not looking for anyone’s head or anything, but my cousin was frozen to the ground for two days,” he added. “It got a lot of attention from everyone who had questions, but little from those who took action; it just seems strange.”
In an interview with Kansas City Star, Alan said his late cousin enjoyed riding motorcycles and traveling the country. He also told the paper that Clayton had turned his life around after problems with traffic offenses and child support, saying: “He was on the right track. He cares about that.”
A GoFundMe was set up on behalf of Clayton’s fiance. “April now has funeral expenses as well as the stress of transitioning from a dual-income household to a single-income household,” the fundraiser’s description reads. “Clayton was a subcontractor for a small construction company and work was slow at the time of his death. Please help us show her love and support during this difficult and sad time in her life.”
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Jennifer Marquez, mother of David Harrington, told WDAF that learning of her son’s death was the most devastating moment of her life.
“It’s a huge loss. He is everything,” Marquez said. “He is a brother, he has a sister, Carmen, and a brother, Sebastian. They miss him and are heartbroken that they will never see their brother again.”
Marquez described Harrington Kansas City Star as someone who made people laugh and was a good friend who could be counted on. She also organized a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for Harrington’s funeral expenses, writing: “I miss my son so much. I have no words for how much he meant to everyone, to me, to his sister. To his brother and all his many friends. And I pray for those people out there.”
The third victim, Ricky Johnson, was described by his niece Stephanie Walling as a “cherished son, brother, uncle and friend”. In a GoFundMe for her uncle, Walling wrote: “This tragedy has left our family completely devastated and mourning a tremendous loss.” She added that Johnson was the father of three “beautiful daughters”.
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“You’re grieving, but you’re also angry, because you don’t know all the circumstances,” said Linda Johnson, Ricky’s stepmother, via NBC affiliate KSHB. “You heard bits and pieces and it’s not good that they had to wait in the cold and that their bodies had to melt after the autopsy.”
PEOPLE has reached out to all three GoFundMe organizers for comment.
John Picerno, the attorney representing Jordan Willis, told PEOPLE in a statement Tuesday that his client is “not aware of how his friends died” and is “anxiously awaiting the results of the autopsy and toxicology report.”
Picerno added that his client “does not know the time or manner of their death, nor does he know how or when they left his house.” He didn’t know they were left in his yard.”
Picerno claimed the last time Willis saw the men “was when they left his house and he went to bed.” According to the lawyer, his client was unaware that friends and family were trying to find the men “before they were contacted by the police”.
In an email to PEOPLE, Picerno confirmed WDAF’s report that a fifth man was at the home that night, but said he “left maybe an hour or two before the other three,” adding, “Jordan’s not really sure about that time period .”
However, WDAF reported that Picerno has since said Willis went to sleep before the three men left.
“If you had people in your house, yeah, sometimes like people, they get tired, these are people who are very close to you and you feel comfortable when you go to bed and let them go when they want to go,” Picerno said, according to to WDAF.
PEOPLE reached out to Picerno to clarify the timeline.
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The attorney said that upon arriving at the rental property, police spoke with Willis and that he “let them into the house, told them everything he knew and voluntarily consented to a search of his home.”
Police said “no arrests have been made [or] of the indictment, and no one is in custody.”
In an email to PEOPLE on Tuesday, a Kansas City police spokesman said there were no new updates in the case and that the department was still awaiting the medical examiner’s decision.
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