‘We don’t know anything:’ Families want answers after three men found dead at KC home

More than a week after her son and two of his friends were found dead at a Northland home, Jennifer Marquez has had to avoid social media and ignore TikToks sent her way.

The internet rumor mill has run amok with speculation after Marquez’s son, David Harrington, 37, was found dead along with his friends Clayton McGeeney, 36, and Ricky Johnson, 38, at the home in the 5200 block of Northwest 83rd Terrace.

Some accounts have speculated foul play.

Strangers have made negative assumptions about her son and his friends.

There were so many posts sent to Marquez that she needed to step back, allowing her the space to focus on caring for herself and her family and honoring her son’s life.

“At this point, I can’t even guess what happened,” Marquez said.

“We don’t have answers from the police yet. We don’t know anything yet. All I want to happen is to find out why, and if there’s a reason, I want there to be justice.”

Harrington, her first-born son, was someone friends and loved ones could count on, Marquez said.

If a friend’s dog was dying, he would gather a group, bring dog treats and sit with them through the night so they didn’t have to do it alone. When some of his friends passed away, he would help care for their families and watch their kids.

Her son also loved to make people laugh, Marquez said. At a wedding, he once walked down the aisle throwing petals like a flower girl.

“If something bad was happening, he could make you smile or make you feel like everything would be OK, no matter what,” Marquez said. “And that’s all gone.”

Since his passing, Marquez said hundreds of people have reached out to say how much Harrington meant to them. She bought more storage on her phone to save all the photos and videos they’ve sent, filled with memories with her son.

Harrington, McGeeney and Johnson grew up together and graduated from Park Hill High School. All the men, Marquez said, were active members of their community who had hundreds of people come out to honor their lives at memorial services.

Alan McGeeney, Clayton’s cousin, grew up with the men and had known Harrington and Johnson for around 20 years. Clayton McGeeney was both his cousin and his closest friend, he said.

When the two were younger, the McGeeney cousins had a carpet van they’d load with bikes, snowboards or skateboards, so they could ride every day.

As an adult, Clayton McGeeney got into motorcycles and traveled the country, taking three-month trips to the West Coast with just a backpack and his Harley, his cousin said. On his last trip, he rode across Colorado into California and traveled down the coast through Arizona and New Mexico before returning home.

Since having kids, Alan McGeeney hadn’t been able to adventure with his cousin as much, but they worked on bikes and trucks together and talked about trips they might have in the future.

Clayton McGeeney had made some poor decisions that led to him losing his license because of traffic violations, and had fallen behind at times on child support payments. But Alan McGeeney said his cousin had worked hard to better himself for the last decade, and no longer had lingering court dates or money owed.

“He was on a good path,” Alan McGeeney said. “He cared about that.”

“It’s not fair”

On the day the men were found dead, police received a call from Clayton McGeeney’s fiancée, who was searching for him at the Northland home where he, Harrington and Johnson met another friend to watch the Chiefs game two days prior. No one had heard from the men after that Sunday night.

When there was no answer at the door, his fiancée broke into the basement and found a dead body on the back porch.

Officers arrived and found two other men deceased in the backyard.

Police said there were no obvious signs of foul play at or near the crime scene, and are awaiting the results of a medical examination to learn the causes of death for the three men.

Alan McGeeney had seen his cousin earlier that day. The men did a flooring job that morning and talked again around 7:30 p.m. that Sunday night.

Clayton McGeeney offered to have him and Johnson take over a job the following day, so that his cousin could rest his injured back.

Monday rolled around, but Alan McGeeney never heard from his cousin. He was annoyed at first, thinking he might have overslept after spending the night with friends. But after reaching out to his cousin’s fiancée and anyone else he could think of, Alan McGeeney learned no one had talked to his cousin since Sunday.

Other loved ones tried banging on the house’s door multiple times, but no one answered, he said.

On Wednesday morning, he learned his cousin and two of their childhood friends had died.

Like Marquez, Alan McGeeney doesn’t know what happened. He hopes authorities, who previously said they were obtaining a search warrant for the home, will investigate the friend the three men had gone to see that night.

It’s hard for Marquez to believe that her son just froze to death outside. His car was parked in front of the home, and he lived about a mile from where his body was found, she said.

Now, all three families are focused on honoring their loved ones. GoFundMe fundraisers were created to help pay for funeral costs and other expenses for McGeeney, Harrington and Johnson.

Alan McGeeney said he hopes the fundraiser will help his cousin’s fiancée get by as she deals with the stress of his passing.

Marquez will travel to Kansas City from Arkansas this weekend to have a celebration of life for her son with as many loved ones as possible. Later, they’ll plan a more formal funeral to honor Harrington.

“This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my whole life,” Marquez said.

“I never thought I would have to say goodbye. No parent ever does. It’s not fair, and I just don’t know how I’m going to get through it, but I have to because that’s what parents do.”