Costa Rican authorities reversed their preliminary finding of a cause of death for the teenage son of former New York Yankees star Brett Gardner, saying Tuesday it does not appear Miller Gardner died by asphyxia after he ate something that made him sick.
After having consulted with a pathologist, an official with Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency said, "it was preliminarily ruled out that the cause of death was due to asphyxia, due to the fact that at the time of the inspection of the body, no anomaly was observed at macro level in the respiratory tract."
The official, Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia, said autopsy results are likely to take two to three months. Samples were sent to a forensic lab, and a local university will carry out a study, he said.
Alvarado Garcia said Monday that Miller, 14, appeared to have died by asphyxia "after a possible intoxication after apparently ingesting some food."
Authorities initially reached the conclusion after they examined Miller's body at the hotel in the popular Pacific Coast resort area where his family was staying, he said. It appeared that Miller asphyxiated on his own vomit, Alvarado Garcia said.
The entire family had become sick after they ate at a nearby restaurant the day before, he said, and were treated by a hotel medical team.
Alvarado Garcia added: "Was it a medicine they gave him that triggered something? Or was it an underlying condition he had that was triggered by what he ate or the medicine they gave him? We won’t know until we know all of the results from the tests.”
Miller's family said Sunday that he died after he fell ill with other family members.
“We have so many questions and so few answers at this point, but we do know that he passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Friday, March 21st,” the family said in a statement.
“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile. He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. He lived life to the fullest every single day," the family said.
Gardner spent his 14-season career as an outfielder with the Yankees and helped them win the 2009 World Series. He retired after the 2021 season.
