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

[10ofRods]

That doesn't answer why they didn't answer calls from concerned family members or even answer the door when the girlfriend went to the house to find out where her boyfriend was. She literally trespassed on his property to find her boyfriend dead.

Very good points. Although if elderly enough (like my dad was), there can be hearing loss. It was really hard to rouse him by phone (he'd call me and then get frustrated and hang up, thinking it was a wrong number although I was shouting - absolutely refused any devices to help him out, and even downsized his hearing aids because they were squealing in his ears, blaming the devices rather than his volume control - it was impossible to truly explain how to use them to him, and he was a smart man - completely deaf at 80.

I don't know what the laws are in MO, but where I live (CA), it's not trespassing to go up to an unfenced back door unless signs are posted. In fact, we were told that signs alone were not enough and we had to have some kind of visible barrier - and that unless we gated off the driveway, which we have done, it would not be trespassing if someone walked up the driveway to our front door. We were told we either gated the driveway OR we put a little gate on the walkway with a No Trespassing sign. We were having issues with a trespasser. They were told not to set foot on our property again and we were told that we could not expect much help from LE unless we did the above.

It's legal for people to come to the front door, IOW (unless plainly signed) but I do wonder about the back yard (that's why I was asking about fencing). At any rate, if it were my boyfriend, I'd have trespassed and I doubt I'd prosecuted, since what I would have found is potentially criminal and certainly could be seen to be negligence - it's such a bigger deal to find three dead men in the backyard than to have decided to go into the backyard.

I can't imagine any DA would prosecute that woman.

IMO. ETA: she apparently removed the screen to a basement window and entered the house that way. Was the homeowner even there? It's very curious. Surely the homeowner had departed? She then must have gone through the house and then exited into the backyard area. I presume she found no one home.

That's quite odd, IMO.

Police identify 3 men found dead outside of Northland Kansas City home

Police have identified the three men who were found dead earlier this week outside of a Northland Kansas City home as an investigation into their deaths continues.

www.kshb.com

(I still think she's unlikely to be prosecuted given the lack of response at the house and three dead people on the property...)

 

[OddOneOut]

That doesn't answer why they didn't answer calls from concerned family members or even answer the door when the girlfriend went to the house to find out where her boyfriend was. She literally trespassed on his property to find her boyfriend dead.

Just an opinion, that the resident and his friends could have gotten drunk watching football. The visitors went outside thinking the cold would clear their heads and intended to drive home afterwards. They passed out and froze. After they went out, the resident went on a "bender" until the time when the bodies were found. The same could apply if they were using drugs. We won't know anything until the COD is released.

 

[10ofRods]

I am going to bet it was drugs laced with fentanyl. Guy who lives there probably was scared of getting into trouble. Not sure how you can have three people dead in your yard, their vehicles still there and you're getting messages from their friends and family and you hide.

Do we know that there were multiple vehicles left at the house? They could have all come in one. If other households were hosting football (as is the case in my neighborhood) there are often no spots in front of the host's house and the cars stretch out through the neighborhood.

It's the messages to the homeowner/homerenter in this case that are really puzzling. If the homeowner is very elderly, I can understand it, but if the homeowner has a regular social life and organizes football parties, that's different. OTOH, if the three dead men were using street drugs, that's the most logical explanation to me - and should easily be discerned upon autopsy.

The game was on SUNDAY, January 7.
Did no one go looking for them until TUESDAY January 9?
why?
not found until almost 10pm on TUESDAY - the game was SUNDAY. Did they lay there for over 48 hours with no one seeing them, no one looking for them? Surely if anyone had looked for them at this house, they would have been found, come on. Why the delay?

ETA: Have to look at the theory that the men were not dead on January 7 and there is lots more going on here. Also, were they 80 year old men, or if they were women, would we entertain the same theories that this is drug related?

I wouldn't put that theory as high as drug use, because I use probabilities derived from cause of death research as a framework. 80-somethings are rarely found in trios in backyards dead of any cause. As others have pointed out, similar cases (like the West Point cadets referenced on the previous page) involve young men.

I do think hypotheses should be shaped by what's more probable - but in this case, we obviously don't know. I'm ruling out shooting or stabbing or death by severe beating, as LE has said "no obvious signs of foul play."

That doesn't leave much on the table. There were apparently no nearby thunderstorms that day (and lightening deaths are easily figured out, so I can't entertain that).
,
I find it preposterous that three 30-somethings would all have heart attacks the same day, personally. It appears there is a gate leading into the backyard (and it must be locked or the girlfriend would have used it for entry, I"d think). I can envision a scenario where they went outside late at night (perhaps after homeowner was asleep) and somehow couldn't exit. Still not very plausible, but possible.

Anyway, it's either drugs OR something much more nefarious (somewhere there's a WS thread on a person who died of hypothermia in someone's backyard, apparently the person in the house ignored their efforts to get back in - I can't remember which states). Three grown men not figuring out how to scale that visible gate, though, is interesting. If they were very drunk, and becoming colder and colder and the whole thing seemed fun/funny at first, then I guess alcohol-related hypothermia is on the table.

Autopsy should help pin down time of death (I'm predicting it may be after the game was over) and alcohol levels at time of death or other toxicology. But there are still many other questions that have to be answered. None of the three men has the same last name, so I assume this was a friend group?

IMO.

 

[cocomod]

I am going with Fentanyl deaths after doing drugs. Home owner was likely drugged up too and that is why he didn't answer for a couple of days. Maybe his tolerance was higher than theirs, or maybe he took drugs but didn't get any fentanyl. I personally think this is horribly sad! The drug epidemic is horrible.

 

[arielilane]

Alcohol and IF mixed with drugs is deadly. Some people drink and dont realize how much they’re drinking and/or how fast their adult beverages are going down. And then to walk out in the cold. People like to celebrate and drink hardy. Some will not even eat while drinking heavily.

This case reminds me of Tamla Horsford. It too such a mystery. However, I believe it was the Prosecutors Podcast who provided a comprehensive conclusion to explain TH death being an accident. It made so much sense the way they laid it all out.

The medical examiner's report will be invaluable. jmo

 

[KellySleuth]

Do we know that there were multiple vehicles left at the house? They could have all come in one. If other households were hosting football (as is the case in my neighborhood) there are often no spots in front of the host's house and the cars stretch out through the neighborhood.

It's the messages to the homeowner/homerenter in this case that are really puzzling. If the homeowner is very elderly, I can understand it, but if the homeowner has a regular social life and organizes football parties, that's different. OTOH, if the three dead men were using street drugs, that's the most logical explanation to me - and should easily be discerned upon autopsy.


I wouldn't put that theory as high as drug use, because I use probabilities derived from cause of death research as a framework. 80-somethings are rarely found in trios in backyards dead of any cause. As others have pointed out, similar cases (like the West Point cadets referenced on the previous page) involve young men.

I do think hypotheses should be shaped by what's more probable - but in this case, we obviously don't know. I'm ruling out shooting or stabbing or death by severe beating, as LE has said "no obvious signs of foul play."

That doesn't leave much on the table. There were apparently no nearby thunderstorms that day (and lightening deaths are easily figured out, so I can't entertain that).
,
I find it preposterous that three 30-somethings would all have heart attacks the same day, personally. It appears there is a gate leading into the backyard (and it must be locked or the girlfriend would have used it for entry, I"d think). I can envision a scenario where they went outside late at night (perhaps after homeowner was asleep) and somehow couldn't exit. Still not very plausible, but possible.

Anyway, it's either drugs OR something much more nefarious (somewhere there's a WS thread on a person who died of hypothermia in someone's backyard, apparently the person in the house ignored their efforts to get back in - I can't remember which states). Three grown men not figuring out how to scale that visible gate, though, is interesting. If they were very drunk, and becoming colder and colder and the whole thing seemed fun/funny at first, then I guess alcohol-related hypothermia is on the table.

Autopsy should help pin down time of death (I'm predicting it may be after the game was over) and alcohol levels at time of death or other toxicology. But there are still many other questions that have to be answered. None of the three men has the same last name, so I assume this was a friend group?

IMO.

To me the most likely scenario is drugs laced with something but I can’t figure out why the three were outside? The police spokesman said they are 100% not treating these as homicides so that makes me think the police have an idea of what happened and are in the process of confirming it. What a strange situation!

 

[louvillian08]

Do we know that there were multiple vehicles left at the house? They could have all come in one. If other households were hosting football (as is the case in my neighborhood) there are often no spots in front of the host's house and the cars stretch out through the neighborhood.

It's the messages to the homeowner/homerenter in this case that are really puzzling. If the homeowner is very elderly, I can understand it, but if the homeowner has a regular social life and organizes football parties, that's different. OTOH, if the three dead men were using street drugs, that's the most logical explanation to me - and should easily be discerned upon autopsy.


I wouldn't put that theory as high as drug use, because I use probabilities derived from cause of death research as a framework. 80-somethings are rarely found in trios in backyards dead of any cause. As others have pointed out, similar cases (like the West Point cadets referenced on the previous page) involve young men.

I do think hypotheses should be shaped by what's more probable - but in this case, we obviously don't know. I'm ruling out shooting or stabbing or death by severe beating, as LE has said "no obvious signs of foul play."

That doesn't leave much on the table. There were apparently no nearby thunderstorms that day (and lightening deaths are easily figured out, so I can't entertain that).
,
I find it preposterous that three 30-somethings would all have heart attacks the same day, personally. It appears there is a gate leading into the backyard (and it must be locked or the girlfriend would have used it for entry, I"d think). I can envision a scenario where they went outside late at night (perhaps after homeowner was asleep) and somehow couldn't exit. Still not very plausible, but possible.

Anyway, it's either drugs OR something much more nefarious (somewhere there's a WS thread on a person who died of hypothermia in someone's backyard, apparently the person in the house ignored their efforts to get back in - I can't remember which states). Three grown men not figuring out how to scale that visible gate, though, is interesting. If they were very drunk, and becoming colder and colder and the whole thing seemed fun/funny at first, then I guess alcohol-related hypothermia is on the table.

Autopsy should help pin down time of death (I'm predicting it may be after the game was over) and alcohol levels at time of death or other toxicology. But there are still many other questions that have to be answered. None of the three men has the same last name, so I assume this was a friend group?

IMO.

From the Inside Edition article quoting a social media post from friends of the victims: "He read messages of people searching for him on Tuesday. My husband banged on his door for 20 min. My friend banged on his door and then busted a window and yelled and announced her presence while she’s inside and still nothing from him?? Then the cops come 10 min later and he comes out nonchalant in his boxers with an empty wine glass in hand??!"

I don't know what to make of that besides the assumption that the woman who broke in went from the basement, throughout the main floor, to the porch, found a body and called the police. Which seems to mean the homeowner/renter (unclear) was either on another floor or in a room she didn't go through. They clearly think he was home.

<modsnip - off limits>

 

[ttcRider]

If people could die by just going outside while drunk to clear their heads for a few minutes there would be dead people everywhere. Just doesnt happen that way. JMO

 

[10ofRods]

From the Inside Edition article quoting a social media post from friends of the victims: "He read messages of people searching for him on Tuesday. My husband banged on his door for 20 min. My friend banged on his door and then busted a window and yelled and announced her presence while she’s inside and still nothing from him?? Then the cops come 10 min later and he comes out nonchalant in his boxers with an empty wine glass in hand??!"

I don't know what to make of that besides the assumption that the woman who broke in went from the basement, throughout the main floor, to the porch, found a body and called the police. Which seems to mean the homeowner/renter (unclear) was either on another floor or in a room she didn't go through. They clearly think he was home.

<modsnip - off limits>

Edited after reading Inside Edition.

I'm going to wait for LE to weigh in on what happened. It does imply the homeowner was on another floor. He was found to be home on Tuesday (according to a highly interested party in the case). But was he home on Sunday and Monday? The details given by the distraught girlfriend may or may not be accurate. How does she know it's wine in his glass? Did she test it? It's possible he was sleeping upstairs (day or night) and heard someone break in. She makes it sound as if he's quite nonchalant, but I wonder if he wasn't surprised in his sleeping outfit. Maybe she knows him well - it's not clear. It sounds like three people went over and pounded on the door. Then one broke a window and entered the house (for good reason, IMO).

I will say that it makes for a very suspicious story, regarding the homeowner.

IMO.

 

[Lamima]

Maybe the were sitting outside around a fire pit. Home owner had enough and went to bed. Maybe they were drinking so heavily the 3 passed out or blacked out. Maybe the 2 in backyard passed out but the 3rd was blackout and wandering and trying to get back inside. And they died of hypothermia. Fire would have died out without them tending it. Just a possibility. And maybe the home owner just thought they all went somewhere and left their cars. Not sure why he wouldn't answer his phone or door. Or hear the messages about missing friends and investigate a bit.

 

[Lamima]

Another thought, could the home have been divided into 2 apartments and the home owner lived upstairs with a renter downstairs? And one of the 3 who died was the renter?

 

[iamshadow21]

Maybe the were sitting outside around a fire pit. Home owner had enough and went to bed. Maybe they were drinking so heavily the 3 passed out or blacked out. Maybe the 2 in backyard passed out but the 3rd was blackout and wandering and trying to get back inside. And they died of hypothermia. Fire would have died out without them tending it. Just a possibility. And maybe the home owner just thought they all went somewhere and left their cars. Not sure why he wouldn't answer his phone or door. Or hear the messages about missing friends and investigate a bit.

But with a game on, you'd think they'd be all set up inside. It's one thing to sit round a fire if you're camping, or having a beach party, but with a game on, when it's freezing outside? Central heating all the way.

MOO

 

[Lamima]

But with a game on, you'd think they'd be all set up inside. It's one thing to sit round a fire if you're camping, or having a beach party, but with a game on, when it's freezing outside? Central heating all the way.

MOO

Maybe after game.

And looks like the house was sold to LLC in 2021 and is 1 whole house. So probably being rented to someone (guy they call the homeowner in the articles).

 

[charminglane]

Were they outside smoking?
Was there a den in the garage to watch the game?
Did the 3 men go somewhere else together before game time at this home, where they ingested the same thing?
Lots of questions.
And certainly questionable behavior of host.

 

[10ofRods]

If people could die by just going outside while drunk to clear their heads for a few minutes there would be dead people everywhere. Just doesnt happen that way. JMO

In areas with high rates of alcohol use, it does happen, though. Every year. And onset of hypothermia brings strange mental states - and we don't know that they were only outside for "a few minutes." But almost never three people at once.

It appears that the girlfriend noticed the homeowner checking frantic messages on FB (that's in the Inside Edition article, so it's MSM via their interview with the girlfriend). She appears to have enlisted the aid of a good friend and that friend's husband to go over there. It was 10 pm, so it's not odd for the homeowner to be in boxers, IMO. Or enjoying an adult beverage.

The really odd thing is that he checked FB messages (according to the girlfriend and her friend - per the Inside Edition article) and knew the three "friends" of his were missing and apparently did not check his back yard or the front yard (IE confirms the vehicles were there - no reason to suppose the girlfriend is lying about that, in fact it seems to have motivated her to break into the house).

I agree it's unlikely to be purely hypothermia, but I do wonder if there was an easy way out of the backyard (I can't see the height of the fence in the pictures available to us via MSM nor on Google Maps. There's definitely an approximate six foot fence visible on google maps.

To me, another problem with the hypothermia situation is that the overnight low (according to NWS records for Kansas City, MO) was about 32-33F that night. That's survivable with lots of movement - and yelling for help should have attracted one of the neighbors nearby - there were two houses immediately adjacent (and a second house down, a neighbor has spoken to 4NBC and said she heard nothing). The gate on the fence looks like it's climbable to me ( or even possible to break down if three men worked together).

I was thinking it was much colder. Very bizarre case. IE also says the three men were hanging out with the homeowner "after the game" on Sunday. Any guesses on what game it could have been and when it might have been over?

JMO

 

[Shamrock1]

Some people simply will not take a call from an unknown number and are loathe to even check a voicemail from a number. I’ve learned this when notifying of a death. Even repeated calls go unanswered. It may be several days later that I get a return call (well, typically a return text) apologizing and sometimes mentioning that the person assumed I was a scammer/spammer. I’m not saying this is exemplary or even average behavior - but it is not uncommon.

That doesn't answer why they didn't answer calls from concerned family members or even answer the door when the girlfriend went to the house to find out where her boyfriend was. She literally trespassed on his property to find her boyfriend dead.

o

 

[Keane]

IE also says the three men were hanging out with the homeowner "after the game" on Sunday. Any guesses on what game it could have been and when it might have been over?

The Chiefs / Chargers game was in LA on January 7. It started at 3:25 pm CT (Kansas City time) and ended approximately 3 hours later at 6:25 pm CT.

 

[ElizB]

Some people simply will not take a call from an unknown number and are loathe to even check a voicemail from a number. I’ve learned this when notifying of a death. Even repeated calls go unanswered. It may be several days later that I get a return call (well, typically a return text) apologizing and sometimes mentioning that the person assumed I was a scammer/spammer. I’m not saying this is exemplary or even average behavior - but it is not uncommon.

o

Sounds like the Inside Edition piece is implying the homeowner’s read receipt was on. They specifically say messages. I think they were calling and texting.

There’s just too much going on here.

 

[10ofRods]

But with a game on, you'd think they'd be all set up inside. It's one thing to sit round a fire if you're camping, or having a beach party, but with a game on, when it's freezing outside? Central heating all the way.

MOO

The IE article states (via the friend who went with the girlfriend to look for the men) that it was after the game and they were hanging out. Here's a quote from the IE article:

"They were all hanging out since after the game Sunday..."

That's pretty specific. IE says a football watching party was organized, but the friend doesn't say that specifically, that I can find. It's probably implied (they watched the game and then hung out afterwards). Where did they hang out?

The mother of one victim spoke to local Fox 4 and does confirm that her son, at least, went over to watch the game. There are at least two local Fox4 articles, that information is in this one:

Family furious with lack of answers after 3 men found dead in KC’s Northland

Days after three bodies were found behind a home in Kansas City’s Northland, family of one victim say they’re furious with the lack of answers.

fox4kc.com

This mother says learned from what the person "living in the house" said (allegedly - although I do wonder if Fox4 added "allegedly" as it seems like an odd thing for the mother to say in her own words:

The mother of David Harrington...told Fox 4 that the person living in the home allegedly told police that his friends froze to death.

Speculation and opinion.

 

[10ofRods]

Sounds like the Inside Edition piece is implying the homeowner’s read receipt was on. They specifically say messages. I think they were calling and texting.

There’s just too much going on here.

I believe the IE article says the info comes from two women who say they could see, on FB (as one can) who has looked at their posts. So I think it was FB-based.

And I agree - there's a lot going on here and there are three grieving and outraged families.