DAVID HARRINGTON WAS ONE OF THREE FOUND DEAD
A man whose death is part of a Platte County mystery that has been drawing media attention across the nation is described as a person who “enjoyed life and loved to laugh” by his father and stepmom.
David Harrington, 37, was one of three men who died in the back yard of a home in The Coves, a residential neighborhood off of Barry Road, Kansas City in Platte County, last month.
The deaths of Harrington and friends Clayton McGeeney, 36, and Ricky Johnson, 38, remain shrouded in mystery. Kansas City police initially classified the deaths as “suspicious,” but said they found no evidence of “foul play.”
Family members say the bodies of the three men were found frozen in the back yard of the home in the 5200 block of NW 83rd Terrace on Tuesday night, Jan. 9. The man who rented the home, Jordan Willis, was alive inside the home and reportedly told authorities he had been asleep and had no idea his friends were dead in the back yard.
The friends had gathered at the house on the afternoon/evening of Sunday, Jan. 7, to watch the Chiefs game on television and hang out.
They were not discovered until after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. They were found by the fiancé of Clayton McGeeney, who in a desperate act to locate her boyfriend broke into the home though a basement window. She reportedly had pounded on the door for 10 minutes with no answer prior to gaining entry into the basement. According to a report in the New York Post, when she walked upstairs she looked out the large back windows of the home to see the body of one man, David Harrington, seated upright in a lawn chair. Shaken by the sight, she didn’t immediately see that her fiancé was also dead on the ground beside a third man, Ricky Johnson, who was also dead.
Since the discovery, the mystery remains of how the men died seemingly simultaneously in the snowy backyard while their host, Jordan Willis, initially said he had been sleeping for nearly 48 hours and had no idea his buddies had died in full view from the house.
The outdoor temperature in the backyard in the early morning hours of Jan. 8 when the men are believed to have died was around 30 degrees.
Police have indicated to families that the toxicology report shows the men likely died from the effects of cocaine and fentanyl.
“Yes, that’s what they told me,” says Jon Harrington, David’s father, who resides on farm ground near Dearborn, when asked if police had told him that cocaine and fentanyl were found in the toxicology reports on the bodies.
Jon Harrington says he cannot confirm the report in the New York Post that David’s body was found sitting upright in the lawn chair. “They (police) didn’t tell me that,” Jon said in a conversation with The Landmark last week.
Police have said they are still investigating the deaths. No charges have been filed against Willis, who reportedly has moved out of the rented home and has checked himself into a drug rehabilitation facility. Jon confirmed that’s what authorities told him in a recent meeting.
As far as the cocaine and fentanyl being reported in his system, David’s parents say the deceased men may have been recreational drug users but that David “wasn’t a drug addict or anything like that,” and suggested he may have taken the lethal combination of drugs under peer pressure.
“None of them (of the three who died) were addicts,” said Theresa Harrington, Jon’s wife and David’s stepmom.
“He was a grown man when I married his dad but he always called me his stepmom. He said ‘I’m not too old to have a step mom,’” Theresa said last week.
Many details surrounding the deaths remain unknown. The answers to many questions will likely continue to go unanswered, the Harringtons acknowledged.
“The only thing they (Kansas City police) told me is the investigation is ongoing,” Jon said.
He said he doesn’t know if autopsies were able to determine the time of death on the three men. “Maybe, but if so they haven’t told me,” Jon explained.
He said the three guys had gathered with Willis at the home on that Sunday. Another friend was present for part of the evening, from about 7 p.m. until midnight, but left a few moments after midnight while the others were awake and watching the television game show Jeopardy.
The Harringtons do think it’s interesting that police made clear that an investigation is ongoing after initially ruling out any “foul play.”
As for David, his father and step-mom describe him as a person who cared for people and cared for animals, among other positive traits.
“He liked to be outside. He was very personable. He had a gift of gab. He liked to make people laugh. He could sing and he could dance. He wasn’t shy by any means. He was a good kid, he really was. He enjoyed life. He was smart, he enjoyed Jeopardy,” says his step-mom.
David had a longtime girlfriend, with whom he had an on-and-off relationship that spanned 17 years. His parents say David helped coach Little League baseball for his girlfriend’s son.
David was a 2004 graduate of Park Hill High School. His family says he was an avid sports fan, especially of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Texas Longhorns.
His dad and stepmom proudly recall the story from a few years back when David saw a pickup on fire along I-35 north of Liberty. David stopped at the scene and was able to pull an elderly man and his dog safely out of the burning truck. The story landed a spot on the television news in Kansas City.
The Harringtons say David worked multiple occupations in his life, including time as a car salesman and a flooring contractor.
The mysterious deaths and the circumstances surrounding the situation continue to draw online speculation and chatter.
Meanwhile, Kansas City police simply tell Jon the investigation is continuing.
So what will it take for closure and where does he hope the investigation leads?
“The further we go along, honestly, the less interest I have in it. Because nothing’s really gonna change,” he said. “I’ve already said my goodbyes to David.”
Then he paused a moment before repeating himself: “Nothing’s gonna change. And I really don’t care what they (investigators) do anymore. And you can quote me on that.”