Costa Rican authorities believe Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son Miller died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Randall Zúñiga, director of the Judicial Investigation Agency in Costa Rica, said a toxicology report on Miller found a lethal amount of carboxyhemoglobin saturation, according to the Associated Press.
Carboxyhemoglobin is a compound of carbon monoxide and hemoglobin. A carboxyhemoglobin saturation of 50 percent is considered lethal. Toxicology results on Miller revealed a carboxyhemoglobin saturation of 64 percent, well above the lethal limit.
Zúñiga said that was enough to determine Miller's cause of death, per US Weekly.
"Therefore, this confirms the police hypothesis that the death was caused by exposure to poisonous gases, specifically carbon monoxide. With this, the case is practically closed. The only step remaining is for the toxicology report from the OIJ Forensic Sciences Department to be forwarded to the Legal Medicine Department, so the expert can include it in the autopsy report."
Miller was also screened for other drugs, including fentanyl. Those tests came back negative.
Miller died March 21 while on a family trip to Costa Rica. The Gardner family announced Miller's death two days later in a statement through the New York Yankees. Brett spent 14 seasons as an outfielder with the Yankees.
In the days following Miller's death, various causes were considered by authorities. Multiple members of the Gardner family fell ill on the trip, leading some to initially suspect food poisoning played a role in Miller's death. Asphyxiation was also considered, though ruled out after officials found no blockages in Miller's airways.
On Tuesday, authorities mentioned carbon monoxide poisoning as a possible cause of death for Miller. In a news conference Tuesday, Zuniga said officials found high traces of "carbon monoxide contamination" while investigating the hotel room in which the Gardner's were staying during their vacation. The room officials investigated sat next to a "machine room" that may have caused the contamination.
In their statement to the Yankees, the Gardner family asked for privacy following Miller's death. The team held a moment of silence for Miller before taking the field on Opening Day.
