"He would never be without his phone. If he was cold, he would have left to go home or call someone. He would not take drugs from a creep," says Lorie Kruse, of boyfriend David Harrington.
The girlfriend of one of the three men found dead in the backyard of a Kansas City home being rented by a former classmate believes he was poisoned by someone.
Lorie Kruse, the longtime girlfriend of David Harrington, is speaking out amid unconfirmed suggestions that drug use may have played a role in her boyfriend's death and saying: "These boys had to be poisoned."
Harrington, 37, along with friends Clayton McGeeney, 36, and Ricky Johnson, 38, was found dead on Jan. 9. At the time, no one had heard from the three men for close to 48 hours.
The classmate who rented the home, Jordan Willis, has said through his lawyer that he had no idea the men were dead in the backyard, and that he last saw the three in the early morning hours of Jan. 8 when he went to bed while the friends remained in the house.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) previously told Inside Edition Digital that Willis cooperated with police officers when they arrived at his home, agreed to a search of the home, and noted that "there were no obvious signs of foul play observed at or near the crime scene."
That spokesperson also stressed that this is "100% not being investigated as a homicide" but rather as a death investigation, and that Willis is not a suspect or person of interest in the case.
Kruse and many other family members of the deceased have expressed frustration, saying that Willis has not spoken to them or shared details with them about the men's final hours.
She is also speaking out about online speculation that drugs may have played a role in the deaths.
"To hear of all the fishy things and extremely rude comments is sickening. No matter how he died. He's gone, and the way he died doesn't help any of us mourning the tragic loss of three," says Kruse. "We are angry at him for being at that house ... [w]e are angry that we couldn't be there to prevent it or save any of the three wonderful souls gone. We are also hurting and struggling to breathe."
Kruse also says that the death and mystery around it overshadows all the amazing things about her partner of 17 years.
"He was a sweet, sweet soul. He was mostly selfless, very generous with a touch of stubborn but very determined. He's saved a few people's lives. He pulled an elder and his dog out of a burning vehicle on the way to work. He stops and helps people on the road. He helped the homeless; he's helped me a billion times, and the list goes on," says Kruse.
She goes on to describe Harrington as "a teddy bear" and "super funny and smart," before adding: "He loved God. He loved me, his family, his friends and sports. He loved my children as his own. He lived in today and had huge plans for tomorrow. I was in his tomorrow and his future plans, but now I'm planning to celebrate his life. And to learn to live without him."
Kruse also dismissed reports that the men froze to death, a claim that continues to circulate despite officials stating that there is no determination yet as to how these men died.
"He would never be without his phone. If he was cold, he would have left to go home or call someone. He would not take drugs from a creep," says Kruse. "I don't know or understand this mystery, nor does the reason have value. My closest best friend is gone not by his choice."
As Inside Edition Digital previously reported, police were called to the scene after the fiancée of McGeeney broke into the home on the night of Jan. 9.
Two women who knew the men say McGeeney's fiancée made the decision to break in after seeing the men's cars parked outside. Those friends also said that Willis and most of the men had been friends since high school, which Picerno confirmed to Inside Edition Digital.
McGeeney's fiancée called police after finding a body on the back porch, the KCPD spokesperson said. Police then discovered the two bodies in the backyard, and classified the case as a "death investigation," said the KCPD spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Willis's attorney, John Picerno, told Inside Edition Digital that he is searching for answers just like the friends and family of these men.
"Jordan is unaware of how his friends died," said Picerno in his statement to Inside Edition Digital. "Like the rest of us, Jordan is anxiously awaiting the results of the autopsy and toxicology report."
