Skaggs, 27, died on July 1, 2019, in a hotel in Southlake, Texas, before the team was set to play the Texas Rangers.
He died of choking after vomiting after using drugs and alcohol, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. High levels of opioids, including fentanyl, oxycodone and oxymorphone, were found in his system, as was alcohol, according to toxicology results.
“The death of Tyler Skaggs, as it did in the midst of an emerging baseball career, should be a wake-up call,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “It should prove to his many, many fans that no one is immune to the deadly, addictive nature of these drugs, whether it is sold as a powder or hidden in an innocent-looking tablet.”
Kay turned himself in on Friday and made his first appearance in court, records show.
After his death, a search of Skaggs’ phone opened text messages from the day before his death, suggesting he had asked Kay to stop by his room at night with pills, court records show.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s investigation also found that Kay regularly treated fentanyl pills – “blue boys” called “for her blue coloring” – to Skaggs and others in the Angels’ organization at the stadium where she worked, confirmed in support of the criminal complaint claims.
CNN has reached out to a lawyer for Eric Kay and the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office for a response, but did not respond immediately.
Last year, however, Kay’s lawyer, Michael Molfetta, confirmed to CNN that the former team spokesman worked with the DEA.
Molfetta also told CNN that Kay was also struggling with his own sobriety at the time.
“He’s dealing with his own demons. He’s blamed for this. He does not feel good for a reason, of course,” Molfetta said.
The Angels said the organization has worked with law enforcement and hired an independent investigator to look into Skaggs’ death.
“We learned that there was no acceptable behavior in violation of our code of conduct, and we took steps to address it,” the team said in a statement. “Our investigation also confirmed that no one in management was aware of, or aware of, any employee who supplied opioids to any player, nor that Tyler used opioids.
“While we try to heal from Tyler’s loss, we will continue to work with authorities as they complete their investigation.”
Attorney Rusty Hardin, who represents the Skaggs family, said it wants the Angels to make their report public.
“The family is deeply heartbroken to learn that Tyler would be alive today, were it not for a fentanyl pill delivered by the Angels’ Director of Communications,” Hardin said in a statement.
“We are thrilled that no one else who was supplied with drugs by this Angels-executive president will suffer the same fate as Tyler. While nothing will replace the loss of Tyler, we are very grateful to federal prosecutors for their diligent and persistent work.”
If convicted, Kay faces up to 20 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney’s statement said.
CNN’s Kevin Dotson, Scott Glover and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
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