New information has emerged surrounding Miller Gardner’s final hours — revealing just how sick he and his family truly got.
On Sunday, New York Yankees legend Brett Gardner and his wife Jessica revealed their 14-year-old son Miller passed away after falling ill alongside several other family members on vacation in Costa Rica.
Statement from Brett and Jessica Gardner:
With heavy hearts we are saddened to announce the passing of our youngest son, Miller. 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… pic.twitter.com/lBCBVmKGUe
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 23, 2025
Unthinkable. And made all the worse by the teen’s death still being unexplained!
His preliminary cause of death was believed to be asphyxiation, but that was then quickly ruled out after “no macro-level abnormalities were observed in the respiratory tract upon inspection of the body,” according to Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia, an official with Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency. Now, as his death continues to be investigated, the agency is revealing more details from the family’s final meal together.
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On Wednesday, Garcia told DailyMail.com that Brett and Jessica, as well as Miller and their 16-year-old son Hunter all came down with symptoms on Thursday night after dining at a restaurant near the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio, where they were staying. These symptoms included severe stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea — all signs of potential food poisoning.
Garcia revealed that the family called the resort’s doctor that night, and that he prescribed them all medication to soothe their symptoms. But Miller tragically never woke up the next morning.
Now, investigators are trying to determine whether Miller had some sort of bad reaction — possibly an allergic one — to the medication he was prescribed. Garcia told the outlet:
“We’re doing toxicology tests to determine if this medicine could have caused the death.”
He also noted that another possibility they’re testing for is to see if Miller possibly brought an existing bacterial infection with him from the Gardner family’s home in Summerville, South Carolina. The official also noted there was no indication Miller’s death came as the result of recreational drug or alcohol use.
After asphyxiation was entirely ruled out, Garcia noted that labs are assessing histology, toxicology, and neuropathology, but that autopsy results could take up to three months… All because of a backlog as the result of a recent increase in gang-related homicides in the Central American country. Garcia told the outlet:
“We’re having a hike in homicides as these drug gangs battle for territory and every one of them needs an autopsy. I can confirm that an autopsy has been carried out on Miller, But the full analysis and results, as in every one of them, will take at least two to three months due to these constant killings causing a backlog of cases. That’s the reality.”
However, while we await those results, Garcia noted that as possible causes of death shift from asphyxiation to “possible food poisoning,” samples from the restaurant where the Gardners dined on Thursday have been taken in for analysis. And if food from the establishment is found to be a factor in Miller’s death, there could be a prosecution.
But before any results come to light, local eatery Le Papillon Restaurant at nearby Hotel La Mariposa came forward confirming the Gardners dined with them last Tuesday — but maintaining any link between their food and Miller’s death is “unfounded.” They wrote in a statement:
“We would like to clarify that the Gardner family dined at our restaurant… on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18, 2025 – three days before Miller’s tragic passing. Any claims suggesting a link between our restaurant and this heartbreaking event are entirely false and unfounded.”
We don’t blame them for wanting to get ahead of that. But obviously the full investigation will determine that once and for all.
As for Miller’s body, it’s currently being held in the morgue at the Judicial Investigation Agency’s forensic medical clinical section at San Joaquin de Floris. Garcia told DailyMail.com:
“The family have not been able to pick the body up yet because they are still waiting for all the procedures required by the American embassy here. Miller’s body can be repatriated to the United States at any time from the autopsy point of view. All the samples necessary for the results have been taken.”
As far as the asphyxiation mix-up, Garcia explained:
“When our agents showed up at the scene they observed the body with vomit in the mouth and nasal passages. So they provided a preliminary report saying it could have been asphyxiation due to the vomit. We went with that version because the night before the family went to dine outside the hotel where they were staying and they all started to feel sick when they returned. But once there was a deeper examination with the autopsy, the doctor did not find any abnormalities in the respiratory tract. Now, we are focused on three areas as a possible cause of death: toxicology, neuropathology (nervous system diseases) and histology (the microscopic structure of tissues and organs).”
What a heartbreaking situation. And so much worse since the family has to wait months to learn exactly what happened to their boy!
Our hearts remain with the Gardners. Rest in peace, Miller.
[Images via New York Yankees/X]
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