Costa Rican officials confirmed the official cause of death of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees player Brett Gardner, who died in mystical circumstances during his family holiday on March 21.
The first investigation in the era that followed Miller's tragic passage focused on asphyxiation and was later excluded. The investigation was then pivoted to food poisoning as a possible death, but on Wednesday night, Randall Zuniga, director of the Costa Rica Judicial Research Agency (OIJ), said toxicology results confirmed he died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Gardners stayed at the Arena del Mar Hotel in Manuel Antonio. (Commentary by the New York Yankees)
“It is important to note that adjacent to this room is a dedicated machine room and it is believed that there may be some type of contamination in these rooms,” Zuniga said.
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Zúñiga said Miller was tested for Carboxy hemoglobin, a compound produced when carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood. This test showed a saturation level of 64%. If carboxyhemoglobin saturation exceeds 50%, it is considered fatal.
The Gardners stayed at the Arena del Mar Hotel in Manuel Antonio.
Earlier this week, OIJ suggested that carbon monoxide poisoning is likely the cause of the death, but hotel officials denied those claims. A hotel spokesman told Fox News Digital that the level of hotel rooms is “non-existent, non-fatal.”
Miller, 14-year-old, had a carboxyhemoglobin saturation of 64%. (Commentary by the New York Yankees)
Probes of the death of former yankee son raise carbon monoxide warnings from experts
Fox News Digital once again contacted the spokesman following Wednesday's announcement.
The Gardners said in a statement after Miller's death that several families fell ill during the trip.
“There were so many questions at this point, and there are few answers, but I know that he passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Friday March 21st,” the statement read. “Miller is our beloved son and brother, and we still can't understand our lives without his infectious smile. He loved soccer, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. He lived his life to the fullest every day.”
Yankees Brett Gardner will leave the field on October 2, 2021 after a Tampa Bay Rays game in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hanger, File)
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Gardner was an outfielder for the Yankees for 14 seasons and was with the team in 2009 when he won his final World Series title. He spent his entire career in the Bronx, where he last played in 2021.
Ashley J. Dimella, Ryan Morik and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
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