Nearly six months after the death of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, authorities in Costa Rica on Thursday raided the hotel in which the boy was found dead, and a prosecutor suggested the investigation could result in a manslaughter case.
In his first media interview about the case, prosecutor Kenneth Alvarez told ESPN on a video call that the three-hour raid at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio was to collect additional evidence related to what an autopsy determined to be Miller Gardner’s carbon monoxide death. It was the first formal search of the hotel since authorities went to the resort a week after the death.
“Let us remember that what was done at that time was the measurement of toxic substances at the site,” Alvarez told ESPN. “Based on those tests, a second proceeding was scheduled, which was carried out today to collect evidence.”
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With television cameras waiting at the hotel entrance, three pickup trucks carrying agents from Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ) arrived to conduct the raid.
Alvarez, who has said the investigation centers on the potential allegations of manslaughter, told ESPN that authorities searched the offices of management, maintenance and accounting, retrieving physical and digital evidence. The prosecutor also said that several members of the hotel staff have been interviewed and “have always shown themselves to be collaborative.” There have been no arrests or charges in the case.
Brett Gardner could not be reached for comment Thursday, and a representative from the Yankees did not immediately respond.
Alvarez said Public Ministry officials have had “constant contact with the lawyers that the Gardner family hired in Costa Rica.”
“They knew about the operation, and we have remained in communication,” he said.
He added that authorities have coordinated with an FBI attaché in Costa Rica to help “guide the initial investigation and learn a bit about the profile of the persons.”
Miller Gardner died March 21 at the Costa Rican resort where he was staying with his family. Brett Gardner and his wife, Jessica, announced their youngest son’s death two days later in a statement released by the Yankees. According to the statement, Miller Gardner fell ill along with several other family members while on vacation.
Two days after that statement, a representative from the OIJ told ESPN that Miller Gardner and family members had “gone to eat at a restaurant and that the food had made them sick.” In that interview, the spokesperson said the OIJ considered asphyxiation before ruling it out. The OIJ later confirmed to ESPN by text message that investigators believed the death to be accidental rather than the result of foul play.
On April 2, authorities said the death was caused by carbon monoxide, which might have emanated from an adjacent “machine room.” In June, a representative from the prosecutor’s office told ESPN that the case remained under investigation and that prosecutors sought “to determine whether the cause of death was a homicide or not, and, if so, to establish responsibility.”
Miller Gardner played high school football in South Carolina and wore No. 11, which his father donned during 14 MLB seasons, all with the Yankees. Brett Gardner, a popular team leader, was a member of New York’s 2009 championship team and retired in 2021.
Freelance journalist Victor Fernández Gutiérrez contributed to this report.