Greater than two months after the loss of life of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, authorities in Costa Rica say the case stays underneath investigation and that prosecutors are trying to find out whether or not the reason for loss of life could be dominated a murder.
Gardner died March 21 at a resort in Costa Rica, the place he had been staying along with his household. In late-March, a consultant from Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Division (OIJ), confirmed to ESPN by textual content message that investigators believed the loss of life to be unintentional slightly than the results of foul play. On April 2, authorities stated his loss of life was attributable to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Since then, the case has remained open, based on a spokeswoman for the Costa Rican prosecutor’s workplace dealing with the case. Sharon Hernandez Coto, a press officer from the Prosecutor’s Workplace of Costa Rica, on behalf of the Quepos and Parrita department, instructed ESPN that authorities search “to find out whether or not the reason for loss of life was a murder or not, and, in that case, to ascertain accountability.”
Requested whether or not a murder investigation is commonplace process, or if there was suspicion of foul play, the spokeswoman stated: “The aim of the investigation is exactly to find out whether or not or not we’re coping with a attainable murder. Because of this, it isn’t attainable at the moment to substantiate or rule out {that a} crime has been dedicated.”
She stated each case is dealt with individually. The prosecutor’s workplace instructed ESPN there isn’t a timetable for the investigation to be accomplished. Hernandez Coto reiterated that the case is underneath investigation and added: “…the goal is to find out whether or not it was a pure or homicidal loss of life.”
In response to a number of extra questions, Hernandez Coto responded: “The Quepos and Parrita Prosecutor’s Workplace indicated that it isn’t attainable to offer extra particulars past these already provided, because the case is underneath investigation, a stage which is personal for third events. We recognize your understanding.”
The prosecutor’s workplace directed ESPN to a 33-page guide on Costa Rican prison process, which explains the method of a prosecutor workplace’s investigation. The primary stage, which incorporates the gathering and evaluation of proof, search warrants, autopsies and requests for pretrial detention, concludes with a prosecutor’s formal accusation, a request for a provisional dismissal or a request to shut the case. A second stage can contain a choice to file formal expenses. The subsequent step could be a trial stage, adopted by any attainable appeals. It was unclear during which stage the Gardner case is within the course of.
The Gardner household declined to remark.
Brett Gardner and his spouse, Jessica, introduced their son’s loss of life on March 23 in a press release launched by the Yankees. The assertion stated Miller Gardner had fallen sick, together with a number of different members of the family, whereas on trip.
In a cellphone name with ESPN two days later, an OIJ spokesperson stated Miller Gardner was with members of the family who instructed investigators that that they had “gone to eat at a restaurant and that the meals had made them sick.” In that very same interview, the spokesperson stated the OIJ thought-about asphyxiation earlier than ruling it out.
OIJ director Randall Zuniga then described in a information convention on March 28 how “the room the household was staying in” was examined every week after Miller Gardner’s loss of life and “excessive emissions of carbon monoxide had been detected.”
A consultant from OIJ instructed ESPN that the case was despatched to the prosecutor’s workplace in Quepos, a city close to the Arenas del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort, the place {the teenager}’s physique was present in his room.
Miller Gardner performed highschool soccer in South Carolina and wore No. 11, which his father donned throughout 14 MLB seasons, all with the Yankees. Brett Gardner, a preferred workforce chief, was a member of New York’s 2009 championship workforce and retired in 2021.
