Officials have ruled out asphyxiation as the cause of death of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former Yankees star Brett Gardner, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
The news arrives just one day after initial reports suggested that the cause of death for Miller, one of the ex-baseball player’s two sons, could have been because of “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
The teen was found dead in his hotel room during a vacation in Costa Rica after falling ill “along with several other family members” on Friday, per a statement from Brett Gardner and his wife Jessica Gardner shared by the Yankees over the weekend.
Costa Rican authorities told CNN that the Gardner family was staying in a hotel in the town of Manuel Antonio when they got sick, likely due to food poisoning following a dinner at a separate hotel.
Family members then reportedly returned to their hotel, where they received medicine for an upset stomach from the hotel’s doctor.
“With heavy hearts, we are saddened to announce the passing of our youngest son, Miller,” the Gardners’ statement said. “He was 14 years old and has left us far too soon after falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.”
“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 statement continued.
Earlier news accounts noted the asphyxiation finding was preliminary, with an autopsy and toxicology report to follow.
“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile,” the Gardners said in the statement. “He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. He lived life to the fullest every single day.”
Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia, an official with the country’s Judicial Investigation Agency, told People magazine that the previous cause of death was ruled out after consulting with a doctor part of the agency’s forensic medicine division.
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“No macro-level abnormalities were observed in the respiratory tract upon inspection of the body,” Garcia told People.
Further testing is ongoing, and results are expected in the next two to three months, People noted.
This story has been updated after Costa Rican officials reversed their preliminary findings on Miller Gardner’s cause of death.
