FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Jury selection begins in the trial of a former Major League Baseball (MLB) employee accused of giving a team pitcher a controlled substance that contributed to his death more than two years ago at a North Texas hotel.
It was back in July of 2019 when Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in room No. 469 at the Southlake Town Square Hilton, when the team was in town to start of what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled Skaggs choked to death on his own vomit and had a mix of alcohol, ethanol, fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.
Tyler Skaggs #45 of the Los Angeles Angels pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (credit: Harry How/Getty Images)
The prosecution plans to argue that Skaggs’ death was a result of ingesting drugs provided to him by Eric Kay, the the former Angels communications director who sometimes traveled with the team. Kay was placed on leave shortly after Skaggs’ death and never returned to his position with the organization.
According to court filings, Kay spent about a month in drug rehab for oxycodone use beginning in April 2019, a little more than two months before Skaggs died. He now faces a felony count for allegedly distributing a controlled substance (fentanyl) and for conspiracy to “possess with the intent to distribute” the drug.
A criminal complaint also says Kay may have been conspiring since at least 2017 to “possess with the intent to distribute” fentanyl and oxycodone.
Eric Kay (Credit: SCNG)
“He [Kay] admitted to law enforcement that he had visited Skaggs room on the night of his death,” recalled former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox. “As the investigation progressed, law enforcement learned Mr. Kay had a long history with pills. For years, he’d allegedly been distributing these blue M30s, dubbed blue boys, to Mr. Skaggs and to possibly others.”
Prosecutors have filed an list of dozens of potential witnesses. Andrew Heaney of the New York Yankees, one of Skaggs’ closest friends when they were teammates, is on the list along with other former Angels Cam Bedrosian, Matt Harvey and Blake Parker.
The pitchers on the list were with the Angels at some point during the 2017-19 seasons, when prosecutors allege Kay obtained drugs and distributed them to Skaggs and other players.
The trial, that has been postponed several times, will begin with the defense and prosecution beginning the process of picking a jury.
