A man whose brother was one of three menfound dead in a friend’s backyardafter a Kansas City Chiefs game says he believes that “something had to have been in their system” that wasn’t alcohol.
“If I were to give a hypothesis… for the three men to die in the way that they did, something had to have been in their system," Jonathan Price, who shares a mom with Ricky Johnson, tells PEOPLE on Wednesday. “Whether or not it was taken knowingly, I wouldn’t answer that.”
He adds, “But something was taken because three grown men do not freeze to death at the temperatures that were there at the time with just alcohol involved."
There have been no arrests or charges and the Kansas City Police Department has said “no foul play” has been “observed or suspected.”
David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson.Ricky Johnson;Facebook
Ricky Johnson;Facebook
Price tells PEOPLE that his 38-year-old sports-loving brother and his friends were “inseparable” — and that they looked after one another.
“There’s no way that a coincidence of three grown men who all are fairly smart individuals would die in that way on the same night without something else being involved,” Price says. “Even if one of them was not inebriated, they would’ve brought the other two inside."
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John Picerno, an attorney representing Willis, told PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday that his client is “anxiously awaiting the results of the autopsy and toxicology report.”
Picerno said that his client “does not know the timing or manner of their deaths, nor does he know how or when they exited his house. He had no knowledge that they remained in his backyard.”
Clayton McGeeney, David Harrington and Ricky Johnson.Facebook (2)
Facebook (2)
Via an email to PEOPLE on Tuesday, Picerno acknowledged the report and said that individual “left maybe an hour or two before the other three,” adding that “Jordan is not exactly sure of that time period.”
However, WDAF reported that the attorney has since told them he misspoke and that his client escorted the trio to the door before falling asleep on the couch.
The fifth individual, whom WDAF did not name, offered a different account. The person — who remains anonymous — reportedly told the outlet that Willis and the three men were awake when he left the home that evening. Andrew Talge, the individual’s attorney, told the station that Willis and the three victims were watchingJeopardy!when his client left around midnight.
Neither Picerno nor Talge immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In addition to getting answers, Price hopes he can highlight how special his brother, a father of three who also ran his father’s business, Johnson’s Construction, was to loved ones.
“I’m not really a person that typically likes attention, basically, but I want my brother’s story to be heard,” he tells PEOPLE. “I admired my brother. I looked up to him and I modeled myself after him growing up because he was all I had in the house as that example. So it’s just been very difficult.”
He concludes, “I want everybody to know that he was a great father. He was an amazing brother and uncle, cousin, a great friend with a huge heart that would help anybody no matter what, no questions asked. He was a truly selfless person, and I want him to always be remembered as that.”
AGoFundMe campaignset up on behalf of Johnson’s family has raised nearly $16,000 in donations as of Wednesday.
source: people.com
