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Miller Gardner Case: Authorities Update Teen’s Cause of Death After Preliminary Ruling
Miller Gardner’s household whitethorn beryllium person to uncovering answers.
Two days aft Yankees alum Brett Gardner and his woman Jessica Gardner announced the abrupt nonaccomplishment of their 14-year-old son—who fell sick during a abrogation successful Costa Rica—officials ruled retired a preliminary origin of death.
On March 24, Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency initially stated, per NBC News, that Miller likely died from suffocation aft perchance ingesting a toxic substance. However, conscionable a time later, caller findings person altered the suspected mode of death.
“It was preliminarily ruled retired that the origin of decease was owed to asphyxia,” Juan Pablo Avarado Garcia, a spokesperson for the agency, told NBC News successful a March 25 statement, “due to the information that astatine the clip of the inspection of the body, nary anomaly was observed astatine macro level successful the respiratory tract.”
Adding that autopsy results could instrumentality 2 to 3 months, the enactment reiterated that, “The lawsuit is nether probe by the agents of the Quepos and Parrita Subdelegation of the OIJ and astatine the infinitesimal it is being handled arsenic a decease nether investigation.”
Following the teen’s unexpected passing, the erstwhile MLB subordinate and his woman shared the tragic news connected the New York Yankees’ societal media pages.
“With dense hearts we are saddened to denote the passing of our youngest son, Miller,” the mates wrote successful the March 23 statement, shared to X and Instagram Stories. “He was 14 years aged and has near america acold excessively soon aft falling sick on with respective different household members portion connected vacation. We person truthful galore questions and truthful fewer answers astatine this point, but we bash cognize that helium passed distant peacefully successful his slumber connected the greeting of Friday, March 21st.”
And arsenic Brett and Jessica—who besides stock 16-year-old lad Hunter—await clarity arsenic to what caused their son’s abrupt death, they took a infinitesimal to bespeak connected his beingness and the bequest helium near behind.
Yankees / X
“Miller was a beloved lad and member and we cannot yet comprehend our beingness without his infectious smile,” the connection continued. “He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his household and his friends. He lived beingness to the fullest each azygous day.”
“We are truthful thankful to each who person reached retired to connection enactment and encouragement during this hard clip and we are assured our faith, family, and friends volition assistance america navigate this unimaginable loss,” the brace concluded. “Our prayers spell retired to Miller's teammates and friends, arsenic good arsenic to each different families who person mislaid a kid acold excessively soon arsenic we stock their grief.”
Keep speechmaking for everything to cognize astir Miller’s beingness and death.
(E! and NBC News are some portion of the NBCUniversal family.)
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Miller and his member Hunter were raised successful South Carolina.
Despite Brett Gardner spending his full MLB vocation arsenic a subordinate of the New York Yankees, the outfielder and his woman Jessica Clendenin Gardner—who tied the knot successful 2007—kept their sons Hunter and Miller mostly retired of the nationalist oculus successful South Carolina.
Still, they occasionally stepped retired successful enactment of their dad’s career, attending the CCandy Children's Clothing Line Launch astatine MLB Fan Cave successful New York successful 2013.
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Miller was known to unrecorded "life to the fullest each azygous day.”
In a connection announcing his tragic death, Miller’s household described the 14-year-old arsenic having an “infectious smile” and idiosyncratic who “lived beingness to the fullest each azygous day.”
He was likewise remembered by the New York Yankees successful a March 2025 statement, who emphasized Miller’s “outgoing and feisty personality.”
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Miller was pursuing his begetter Brett’s footsteps.
Like his dad, Miller was athletic, though successful summation to baseball, helium besides took up football, golf, sportfishing and hunting. In a TikTok station helium shared earlier this year, helium emphasized his emotion for shot by sharing photos of himself connected the field, adding, "Miss it."
New York Yankees
Miller made an interaction connected the New York Yankees.
In a March 2025 connection by the squad confirming Miller’s death, the organization—for whom Brett played from 2008 to 2021—remembered the teen for the "spark successful his eyes" arsenic good arsenic a "warm and loving nature.”
The squad continued successful their statement, "It wasn't conscionable Brett who virtually grew up successful this enactment for much than 17 years—so did his wife, Jessica, and their 2 boys."
New York Yankees
The Gardner household is inactive looking for answers aft Miller’s abrupt death.
In a connection shared by Brett’s erstwhile team, the outfielder and his household shared that aft Miller and others had fallen sick portion connected vacation, the 14-year-old passed "peacefully successful his slumber the greeting of Friday, March 21."
"Miller was a beloved lad and brother,” they wrote, “and we cannot yet comprehend our beingness without his infectious smile."
And amid their grief, the Gardner household expressed however they are inactive trying to find what happened. As they added successful their statement, "We person truthful galore questions and truthful fewer answers astatine this point."
JP Yim/Getty Images
Costa Rican officials merchandise Miller's preliminary origin of death.
One time aft Brett and Jessica announced the abrupt passing of Miller, Costa Rican officials said the teen apt died from suffocation aft perchance ingesting a toxic substance.
“Preliminarily, seemingly the mode of decease would beryllium by asphyxia aft a imaginable intoxication aft seemingly ingesting immoderate food,” an Organismo de Investigación Judicial spokesperson told NBC News successful a connection translated from Spanish. “At the infinitesimal it is simply a decease nether probe and is awaiting the results of the autopsy, arsenic good arsenic the investigation of the Toxicology Section, to find the nonstop origin of death.”
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U.S. Embassy successful Costa Rica confirms wherefore the Gardner household was successful the country.
The time aft Brett and Jessica revealed that Miller had died, the U.S. Embassy of Costa Rica told Inside Edition that the household was vacationing successful the Central American state for outpouring interruption astatine the clip of his death.
The Embassy besides confirmed that it was successful discussions with the Gardner household astir transporting Miller’s assemblage backmost to the U.S.
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