What to Know About the Death of Brett Gardner's Son Miller

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Yankees Alum Brett Gardner’s Son Miller Has Preliminary Cause of Death Revealed

Brett Gardner ne'er imagined entering this play of his life.

But connected March 23, the erstwhile New York Yankees outfielder and his woman Jessica Gardner announced the abrupt decease of their youngest son Miller.

"He was 14 years aged and has near america acold excessively soon aft falling sick on with respective different household members portion connected vacation," the South Carolina-based couple, who are besides parents to 16-year-old lad Hunter, said successful a connection shared to the team's X account. "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."

As messages of enactment and sympathy poured in, truthful did calls to enactment the pieces of this tragic puzzle together.

It's since been revealed that Miller died during a household travel to Costa Rica. On March 24, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency informed NBC News the precocious teen’s assemblage was recovered successful a edifice country successful the edifice territory of Manuel Antonio. 

"We are profoundly saddened by this loss, and our hearts spell retired to the household during this incredibly hard time," the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort said successful a statement obtained by the outlet. "The factors that led to this tragic incidental are unknown, and we are afloat cooperating with authorities arsenic they investigate. We stay committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, portion respecting the privateness of those affected."

X / Yankees

At the time, bureau official Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia told NBC News that Miller appeared to dice by asphyxiation pursuing "a imaginable intoxication aft seemingly ingesting immoderate food." He added the Gardner household became sick aft eating astatine a adjacent restaurant the time anterior to the child’s passing and that they’d been treated by the hotel’s aesculapian team. 

After examining Miller’s assemblage astatine the hotel, Alvarado Garcia continued, it appeared helium had asphyxiated connected his ain vomit. However, the bureau noted this was a preliminary origin of death arsenic the lawsuit is inactive nether probe and authorities are awaiting the results of autopsy and toxicology reports.

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But the precise adjacent day, Alvarado Garcia backtracked and said it seems Miller didn’t die from asphyxiation. After consulting with a pathologist, helium told NBC News successful a March 25 statement, "it was preliminarily ruled retired that the origin of decease was owed to asphyxia, owed to the information that astatine the clip of the inspection of the body, nary anomaly was observed astatine macro level successful the respiratory tract."

As a result, Alvarado Garcia added, samples were sent to a laboratory for investigation of the histology, toxicology and neuropathology, and a survey was requested astatine a section university. 

As for however the bureau initially came to the preliminary findings earlier past backpedaling?

“When our agents showed up astatine the scene, they observed the assemblage with vomit successful the rima and nasal passages,” Alvarado Garcia explained to the Daily Mail successful an interrogation published March 26. "So they provided a preliminary study saying it could person been asphyxiation owed to the vomit. We went with that mentation due to the fact that the nighttime earlier the household went to dine extracurricular the edifice wherever they were staying, and they each started to consciousness sick erstwhile they returned. But erstwhile determination was a deeper introspection with the autopsy, the doc did not find immoderate abnormalities successful the respiratory tract."

Still, it mightiness take immoderate clip earlier the Gardners larn however Miller died.

"We're having a hike successful homicides arsenic these cause gangs conflict for territory and each 1 of them needs an autopsy," Alvarado Garcia noted to the outlet. "I tin corroborate that an autopsy has been carried retired connected Miller. But the afloat investigation and results, arsenic successful each 1 of them, volition instrumentality astatine slightest 2 to 3 months owed to these changeless killings causing a backlog of cases. That's the reality."

For now, the Gardners and the sports assemblage are continuing to grant Miller’s legacy—with the New York Yankees paying tribute connected Opening Day March 27. 

As his parents wrote successful their March 23 statement, “Miller was a beloved lad and member and we cannot yet comprehend our beingness without his infectious smile. He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his household and his friends. He lived beingness to the fullest each azygous day.”

To larn much astir the Gardners and the probe into Miller’s death, support reading.

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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.”

TikTok

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 Yankees 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."

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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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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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Miller's origin of decease arsenic suffocation is ruled out.

However, authorities soon ruled retired suffocation arsenic his origin of death, due to the fact that they did not find immoderate obstruction successful his airways. 

They shared alternatively that Miller—as good arsenic his parents and sibling—had fallen sick connected March 20 aft returning to their edifice from a restaurant, agency spokesperson Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia told NBC News March 25. Hotel aesculapian staffers treated each 4 household members earlier Miller's assemblage was recovered successful his country the adjacent morning. 

The probe is ongoing and pending aesculapian trial results.

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The edifice where Miller died released a statement.

Two days aft the Gardner household announced Miller's death, the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort wherever the household was vacationing successful Costa Rica shared their condolences.

“We are profoundly saddened by this loss, and our hearts spell retired to the household during this incredibly hard time,” a typical for the edifice said successful a March 25 connection to People. “The factors that led to this tragic incidental are unknown, and we are afloat cooperating with authorities arsenic they investigate.”

The edifice added, “We stay committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, portion respecting the privateness of those affected.”

The edifice besides denied work for the Gardner household getting sick astatine a adjacent restaurant hours earlier Miller’s death.

"The household did not devour astatine immoderate of Arenas Del Mar’s restaurants for luncheon oregon meal the erstwhile day,” the resort’s rep continued. “Additionally, connected March 14th, we had an inspection by the Health Ministry successful which the edifice passed with a 98.5 retired of 100.”

Yankees / X

A Costa Rican authoritative provides aggregate large updates.

The time aft the edifice wherever the Gardner household was staying spoke out, Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia, a spokesperson for Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (JIA), confirmed that Miller's autopsy results volition beryllium delayed by months owed to precocious transgression successful the area.

“We're having a hike successful homicides arsenic these cause gangs conflict for territory,” he told DailyMail.com, “and each 1 of them needs an autopsy.”

He added, “I tin corroborate that an autopsy has been carried retired connected Miller, but the afloat investigation and results, arsenic successful each 1 of them, volition instrumentality astatine slightest 2 to 3 months owed to these changeless killings causing a backlog of cases. That's the reality.”

Alvarado Garcia did confirm, though, that determination was nary denotation Miller's decease was a effect of recreational drugs oregon alcohol.

Though the results volition beryllium delayed, the authoritative explained that, since “all the samples necessary” had been taken for Miller’s autopsy, his assemblage “can beryllium repatriated to the United States,” however, the Gardner family has been held up by the U.S. Embassy successful Costa Rica’s processing of their request.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

New York Yankees wage tribute to Miller.

During their Opening Day 2025 festivities March 27, Brett's erstwhile squad took a infinitesimal of soundlessness to grant Miller.

During the tribute, players stood with their hats removed on the borderline of the shot diamond astatine Yankee Stadium portion a representation of Miller smiling was shown connected the large screen. Accompanying the drawback were the words “Remembering Miller Gardner.”

(E! and NBC News are some portion of the NBCUniversal family).

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