MO - Furious Friends Demand Answers After 3 Men Found Dead at Kansas City Home Days After Watching Football Game, January 2024 #4

[iridized]

Hmm. Interesting. But I believe the person was not DH's wife but his father's current wife, DH's stepmom.

After a death, unfortunately families do fight over things that can seem weird to "outsiders." And that can happen even in families that swear it won't (especially with sentimental items or items that had been given to the deceased by a surviving family member.)
MOO

You're absolutely correct. That is his stepmother. Thanks for the correction.

As far as watching a football game during a memorial service for a loved one - now that's a first for me and perplexing.

 

[iridized]

I really feel for the families and understand the human nature need to place blame somewhere. I just don’t see this being a successful wrongful death suit. They admit the 3 may have been casual drug users. At least one had some criminal drug history. The idea that the drugs were consumed due to peer pressure seems like a stretch and difficult to prove. Without knowing who made this specific purchase, I suspect this wasn’t the first time they purchased and used drugs from the same dealer. I think their phones will prove that. The only person who may be “at fault” is the dealer IMO. If they can find him.

This appears to me that the 3 deceased were victims of their decision to partake in a bad batch of uncontrolled substances.

“I believe he intended to get drunk," he says. "And particularly at his age, I couldn’t blame him." Wasn't he over the age of 35?

 

[Peppery]

“I believe he intended to get drunk," he says. "And particularly at his age, I couldn’t blame him." Wasn't he over the age of 35?

Yeah, it’s a weird comment for sure.

 

[LadyL]

As far as watching a football game during a memorial service for a loved one - now that's a first for me and perplexing.

“I believe he intended to get drunk," he says. "And particularly at his age, I couldn’t blame him." Wasn't he over the age of 35?

what article were those two comments in?

 

[iridized]

what article were those two comments in?

Posted by grannygates yesterday. Father of Chiefs Fan Found Dead in Yard Speaks Out: 'There Will Be a Wrongful Death Lawsuit'

 

[Sundog]

You're absolutely correct. That is his stepmother. Thanks for the correction.

As far as watching a football game during a memorial service for a loved one - now that's a first for me and perplexing.

They likely planned the memorial service around DH's passion for the Chiefs and this game. Sounds like those in attendance understood his passion and honored him when the Chiefs scored a point. It also sounds like it was a very meaningful experience for DH's father.

Memorial services take many shapes and are held at various venues, depending on the wishes of the family and/or loved ones.

I don't find it perplexing. Perhaps they rented a hall and had a potluck or dinner with speeches, etc. and a large tv monitor where after the speeches and dinner they could all watch the Chiefs game in honor of DH. Or maybe it was just a reception and people gathered to share memories about DH and be together and the game served as a focal point for them to remember DH's passion about the team.

 

[LadyL]

Posted by grannygates yesterday. Father of Chiefs Fan Found Dead in Yard Speaks Out: 'There Will Be a Wrongful Death Lawsuit'

yeah that's odd IMO but I guess football is really important to these people

 

[neesaki]

You're absolutely correct. That is his stepmother. Thanks for the correction.

As far as watching a football game during a memorial service for a loved one - now that's a first for me and perplexing.

It is a bit odd to be so obsessed with a football team, or football period... It’s a mystery to me, but that’s just me. They’re all around us.

 

[browneyes]

It is a bit odd to be so obsessed with a football team, or football period... It’s a mystery to me, but that’s just me. They’re all around us.

I don’t find it odd, since admittedly I am obsessed with my favorite NFL team, and a college women’s basketball team. To me, having the game on during the memorial service isn’t much different than people taking their loved one’s ashes to their favorite hobby or travel spot and memorializing them there. I can think of several places my late husband would love to have his ashes spread, anywhere outdoors that’s beautiful. Right now his ashes are with me, since Covid restrictions made it impossible to have a funeral, but when I die, our ashes will be scattered together in a beautiful natural setting.

As a parent, I would obsess horribly over these deaths. Only one person may know how it unfolded and that person may have no memory to offer. I would never get over not knowing if some person selling drugs to these five friends, purposely laced them with Fentanyl. The brutality of it all is so sad. The two surviving friends will never get over this either. I hope all left behind may find peace.

 

[tlcya]

Yeah, it’s a weird comment for sure.

I think his father meant, yeah, he was probably intending to get drunk and have a good time with his buddies, I mean, he's a grown man (at his age) but I don't believe he willingly did drugs.

I feel for his father and all the family members of the dead men. But I think there is a lot of denial going on among them. I think the dead men intended to drink and to party (coke) but ended up with something unexpected (the fent). It's tragic. JMO

 

[Countem]

Kansas City Chiefs fans' deaths: Families threatening to sue each other face 'hell of a hurdle,' lawyer says

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by family members of three dead Kansas City Chiefs fans or a threatened defamation suit by Jordan Willis would be uphill battles in court, lawyers say.

www.foxnews.com

This article has good analyses of the potential civil cases on all sides.

As the men's families await answers about their loved ones' deaths, Harrington's family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit. […] McGeeney's mother and fiancée […] are also "exploring civil lawsuit options."

A source close to Willis told Fox News Digital that Willis "has been left with no choice but to consider slander and defamation suits against these families, friends and significant others who have baselessly accused him in a smear campaign on every public forum willing to give them a platform to blame and point fingers."

 

[CrimeDawg123]

Kansas City Chiefs fans' deaths: Families threatening to sue each other face 'hell of a hurdle,' lawyer says

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by family members of three dead Kansas City Chiefs fans or a threatened defamation suit by Jordan Willis would be uphill battles in court, lawyers say.

www.foxnews.com

This article has good analyses of the potential civil cases on all sides.

Wow, what a mess. So many people made mistakes and paid the price and then there'd be lawsuits on top? There's no good outcome here for anyone. I'll keep an open mind but my JW sympathy meter not running very high.

 

[grannygates]

I understand the desire for the family to blame someone for what happened but I don’t see how it could be proven that it was JWs fault. All he did was go to bed when everyone else stayed up and kept the party going ?

I don’t understand how the families are allowed to do these interviews saying that JW is a “chemist” who purposely poisoned/murdered the men as a science experiment. He’s an HIV scientist. That would be damaging to his professional reputation. It wasnt an obscure chemical compound. It was coke. You don’t make this in your basement lab like meth.

There would be a record of the men calling and meeting with a coke dealer. Maybe their usual dealer wasn’t answering so they went with a different dealer and that’s how they ended up with the bad drugs.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Assuming JW can prove the allegations made by the victims' family members are untrue, and the LE investigation *doesn't* place the blame on him, I think his defamation suit (which I hope he would also bring against the snot reporter who first published the allegations) would be more likely to succeed than any wrongful death lawsuit against him.

 

[PrairieWind]

I understand the desire for the family to blame someone for what happened but I don’t see how it could be proven that it was JWs fault. All he did was go to bed when everyone else stayed up and kept the party going ?

I don’t understand how the families are allowed to do these interviews saying that JW is a “chemist” who purposely poisoned/murdered the men as a science experiment. He’s an HIV scientist. That would be damaging to his professional reputation. It wasnt an obscure chemical compound. It was coke. You don’t make this in your basement lab like meth.

There would be a record of the men calling and meeting with a coke dealer. Maybe their usual dealer wasn’t answering so they went with a different dealer and that’s how they ended up with the bad drugs.

I agree these families need to calm down a bit. If they walked into my firm and wanted to sue, I would say, ok, you can pay us a retainer and we will get started investigating the claim and compiling information. I am not going to file a suit or even threaten it at this point. That is irresponsible. They are free to say what they want, but the need to understand that there can be repercussions for things that they say publicly. If they have information to show what happened, they need to bring that forward.

 

[NCWatcher]

Assuming JW can prove the allegations made by the victims' family members are untrue, and the LE investigation *doesn't* place the blame on him, I think his defamation suit (which I hope he would also bring against the snot reporter who first published the allegations) would be more likely to succeed than any wrongful death lawsuit against him.

BBM

I'm not sure how JW could possibly "prove" the families' allegations against him are untrue. Personally I do not believe he drugged his friends with knowingly tainted drugs, dragged their dying bodies outside into his fenced yard, posed one body in a chair, posed the other two bodies on the ground, and then went back inside and went to bed. I doubt there is any evidence he did any of those things. But how can he prove he didn't?

And I think the accusations are ridiculous that as "the chemist" he created custom drugs for friends in a lab during high school. He probably had one high school chemistry class. Maybe two. And he was supposed to be creating custom drugs in a secret lab before he continued his education at a small regional branch of the state university? (School choice suggests he probably wasn't a high school prodigy.) But how could he possibly prove those things didn't happen over 20 years ago? It's pretty difficult, if not impossible, to prove any negative, even one that supposedly happened a few months ago, but one from a few decades ago? .

Given what we know now, I can't imagine wrongful death suits against JW succeeding (assuming the civil trials were fair.) First the families denied the dead men ever did drugs. And then said the men may have taken drugs but they didn't "intend" to take drugs. (I can believe they didn't intend to take fentanyl although I don't see why they wouldn't know that could be in other drugs. And I do understand the families' denial but not their harsh and public blame of JW.) But with a wrongful death suit, we are apparently supposed to believe JW knowingly supplied tainted drugs and pressured the men to take them? And according to some family members, when it became apparent the drugs were bad, then dragged the fairly large dead or dying men outside to add hypothermia to the mix? Maybe he even planned to murder them because they saw something they shouldn't have? At least that's the way the harm has been spoken about by some of the families.

I'm also not sure anything goes for families to say because it's their opinion. I know opinions are shielded from defamation. But I always thought saying "I think he killed his wife" was an opinion whereas "He killed his wife" was a statement of fact & therefore possibly defamatory. Most of the families' statements appear to be statements of fact, at least the ones I've seen (unless the family members were misquoted.)

Of course, we've not heard directly from JW about a possible defamation lawsuit - we've heard from a purported "friend" of JW's. In contrast, we have heard allegations of murder and intentional killing aimed at JW directly by some family members and girlfriends.
MOO

Kansas City Chiefs fan found dead did not use drugs, was ‘murdered,’ longtime girlfriend says

“David was murdered,” Lorie Kruse said of her boyfriend of 17 years. “David wasn’t a drug addict like they’re talking about.”

nypost.com

Parents of Chiefs fan found frozen to death alongside 2 friends in yard think trio was drugged, ‘dragged’ outside by scientist pal: ‘He concocted something’

Jordan Willis has denied through his attorney having anything to do with the mystery deaths.

nypost.com

'He's the chemist' Cousin of Chiefs fan found dead in backyard accuses Willis

Jordan Willis claims he slept for two days and was unaware that his three friends had frozen to death in his backyard.

www.the-express.com

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

BBM

I'm not sure how JW could possibly "prove" the families' allegations against him are untrue. Personally I do not believe he drugged his friends with knowingly tainted drugs, dragged their dying bodies outside into his fenced yard, posed one body in a chair, posed the other two bodies on the ground, and then went back inside and went to bed. I doubt there is any evidence he did any of those things. But how can he prove he didn't?

And I think the accusations are ridiculous that as "the chemist" he created custom drugs for friends in a lab during high school. He probably had one high school chemistry class. Maybe two. And he was supposed to be creating custom drugs in a secret lab before he continued his education at a small regional branch of the state university? (School choice suggests he probably wasn't a high school prodigy.) But how could he possibly prove those things didn't happen over 20 years ago? It's pretty difficult, if not impossible, to prove any negative, even one that supposedly happened a few months ago, but one from a few decades ago? .

Given what we know now, I can't imagine wrongful death suits against JW succeeding (assuming the civil trials were fair.) First the families denied the dead men ever did drugs. And then said the men may have taken drugs but they didn't "intend" to take drugs. (I can believe they didn't intend to take fentanyl although I don't see why they wouldn't know that could be in other drugs. And I do understand the families' denial but not their harsh and public blame of JW.) But with a wrongful death suit, we are apparently supposed to believe JW knowingly supplied tainted drugs and pressured the men to take them? And according to some family members, when it became apparent the drugs were bad, then dragged the fairly large dead or dying men outside to add hypothermia to the mix? Maybe he even planned to murder them because they saw something they shouldn't have? At least that's the way the harm has been spoken about by some of the families.

I'm also not sure anything goes for families to say because it's their opinion. I know opinions are shielded from defamation. But I always thought saying "I think he killed his wife" was an opinion whereas "He killed his wife" was a statement of fact & therefore possibly defamatory. Most of the families' statements appear to be statements of fact, at least the ones I've seen (unless the family members were misquoted.)

Of course, we've not heard directly from JW about a possible defamation lawsuit - we've heard from a purported "friend" of JW's. In contrast, we have heard allegations of murder and intentional killing aimed at JW directly by some family members and girlfriends.
MOO

Kansas City Chiefs fan found dead did not use drugs, was ‘murdered,’ longtime girlfriend says

“David was murdered,” Lorie Kruse said of her boyfriend of 17 years. “David wasn’t a drug addict like they’re talking about.”

nypost.com

Parents of Chiefs fan found frozen to death alongside 2 friends in yard think trio was drugged, ‘dragged’ outside by scientist pal: ‘He concocted something’

Jordan Willis has denied through his attorney having anything to do with the mystery deaths.

nypost.com

'He's the chemist' Cousin of Chiefs fan found dead in backyard accuses Willis

Jordan Willis claims he slept for two days and was unaware that his three friends had frozen to death in his backyard.

www.the-express.com

I agree with you 100% on all of this.

The reason I said "If JW can prove it" is because it's my understanding that in many parts of the US, for a defamation case to succeed, the plaintiff has to prove the accusations are untrue. It can be hard to prove that, as you say.

Here in the UK defamation cases are somewhat easier to win (that's why celebrities often bring cases in the UK) because the defendant has to prove their accusations are true, rather than the plaintiff having to prove they're untrue.

 

[NCWatcher]

I agree with you 100% on all of this.

The reason I said "If JW can prove it" is because it's my understanding that in many parts of the US, for a defamation case to succeed, the plaintiff has to prove the accusations are untrue. It can be hard to prove that, as you say.

Here in the UK defamation cases are somewhat easier to win (that's why celebrities often bring cases in the UK) because the defendant has to prove their accusations are true, rather than the plaintiff having to prove they're untrue.

I'm not an attorney but I think you are right that in the US the plaintiff generally carries the burden in a defamation lawsuit. So they can be hard to win. And I don't see how JW could prove all the things the families and girlfriends have said are untrue. Fortunately (in this case anyway) so are wrongful death suits. Sometimes people seem to think because civil suits require a "preponderance of the evidence" vs "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" wrongful death suits are a walk in the park and all that's required is a premature death. But I don't think that's really true (& the link in @Countem's post documents that.)

MOO

 

[Cedars]

I'm not an attorney but I think you are right that in the US the plaintiff generally carries the burden in a defamation lawsuit. So they can be hard to win. And I don't see how JW could prove all the things the families and girlfriends have said are untrue. Fortunately (in this case anyway) so are wrongful death suits. Sometimes people seem to think because civil suits require a "preponderance of the evidence" vs "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" wrongful death suits are a walk in the park and all that's required is a premature death. But I don't think that's really true (& the link in @Countem's post documents that.)

MOO

I wonder whether it's even possible to allege defamation, when the defamatory claims are made in a lawsuit.

For eg, Amber Heard could be sued because her claims were published in an article she wrote. She didn't make her claims as part of a lawsuit against Depp.

I know of a few cases where civil suits have, IMO, been filed specifically for the reason that news media can report allegations made in lawsuits because they form part of court documents. Where otherwise MMM would not publish the same allegations if they came from the same person just talking to the media in their living room. (Tho devious outlets like the Daily Mail put them in headlines only, or publish them as part of an opinion column/show, or 'interview' that's allegedly 'not news'.

JMO

 

[ch_13]

I'm not sure how JW could possibly "prove" the families' allegations against him are untrue. Personally I do not believe he drugged his friends with knowingly tainted drugs, dragged their dying bodies outside into his fenced yard, posed one body in a chair, posed the other two bodies on the ground, and then went back inside and went to bed. I doubt there is any evidence he did any of those things. But how can he prove he didn't?

RSBM.

I would think by now the police know who supplied the drugs. There must be phone/text evidence, prior history of purchases, etc. All of which would presumably prove that JW wasn't the source.

The medical examiner's report would show if the bodies had been disturbed in any way after their death.

There could also be testimony from friends, etc. if the three had a history of prior drug use. As well as testimony as from classmates to whether JW ever created designer drugs in high school.

It may not be worthwhile to pursue a defamation suit, but I think that JW could prove that many of the more sensational allegations lodged against him are untrue.