The Kansas City Chiefs fan, whose three friends froze to death in his backyard while he slept for two days, has reportedly entered a rehab facility. Jordan Willis, 38, is "facing his addiction head-on", a source close to the family told Fox News Digital, describing the tragic deaths of his friends as a significant wake-up call.
The source said that recognizing the impact of his friends' deaths, Willis acknowledged his struggle with addiction and decided to seek professional help. David Harrington, 37, Ricky Johnson, 38, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead on January 9 in Willis' backyard in Kansas City, Missouri. However, results from toxicology reports are still pending.
Wake-Up Call After Friends' Deaths
No arrests have been made by the police, and the cause of death is still unclear as medical examiners continue their investigation. "After the shocking loss of three of his close friends under extremely tragic circumstances, Jordan recognized that he had a problem with addiction," the source said, without elaborating on the exact nature.
"He immediately checked himself into rehab after vacating his home and putting his things into storage."
The three men were last seen alive two days earlier on January 7, during a small gathering to watch the Kansas City Chiefs' playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Alex Waemer-Lee, a fifth friend, left the party around 11 p.m. on January 7, while the remaining four men, including Willis, were watching "Jeopardy!", according to Willis' attorney Andrew Talge.
The grim discovery of the bodies was made nearly two days later, prompted by the concerned fiancée of McGeeney, who broke into Willis' property and saw one of them frozen in the yard.
Willis was in his underwear and holding a wine glass when the police arrived at the scene. He claimed that he had been asleep for almost two days and was unaware of his friends' deaths outside.
Toxicology reports for the deceased men are still pending, but according to a neighbor who spoke to Fox News Digital, two of them were reportedly seen arriving at Willis' home with two 30-packs of beer.
Unsolved Puzzle
Waemer-Lee is claimed to have sent text messages to other friends discussing drug use at Willis' residence during the watch party, as reported by the outlet. Willis, an HIV scientist, vacated his home within days of the police inquiry into the bodies, expressing concerns about potential retaliation.
Since then, he has not been sighted. Over the course of two days, the families of the victims attempted to contact Willis through visits, calls, and Facebook messages, but received no response.
It was only when one of the victims' fiancées broke into the house through the basement that the first body was discovered in the backyard.
Experts are coming up with theories that involve the possibility of the men consuming a lethal combination of fentanyl and alcohol, leading them to lose consciousness after leaving the house and succumbing to freezing temperatures.
Willis claims that he did not leave his home for two days and slept with noise-cancelling headphones, which blocked the sound of frantic knocking by his friends'
Although the police have said that the case is not being treated as foul play, some relatives of the deceased men have raised suspicions, asserting that Jordan Willis may have played a role in their tragic deaths.
"[Harrington's mother] and I are both convinced that Jordan Willis played a part in this somehow," David Harrington's father, Jon, said last week.
"There were four of you in the house and now three of them are dead and you're not. That doesn't add up," the father added.
"I'm thinking that he, the three of them learned something or saw something that they shouldn't have seen, and he decided, 'Well, I need to get rid of you now.' Friends or not," he said.
Some relatives have gone to the extent of suggesting a possible connection between the incident and Willis' work as an HIV scientist at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's Neutralizing Antibody Center, specifically in the Schief Lab.
A source close to the Willis family dismissed the notion of a "mad scientist agenda" as "absolutely ridiculous," according to Fox Nation last week. Another source said earlier that Willis was profoundly affected by the loss of his friends and the subsequent scrutiny, describing him as "very depressed."
"Not only is the whole country accusing him of murdering his friends without factual details, evidence or any charges at this time, but he also lost three close friends," the source lamented.
Willis' father, Rodney Willis, has also publicly defended his son, stressing that he firmly believes Jordan would "never in a million years do anything" to harm his friends.
