FORT WORTH, Texas — A jury on Thursday found Eric Kay guilty of giving Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his death in July 2019.
The 12-person jury concluded that Kay, a former Angels communications director, is guilty of both crimes he was charged with in relation to Skaggs’ death: distributing fentanyl and oxycodone since “beginning or before 2017” and providing Skaggs the fentanyl that resulted in him choking on his vomit in a suburban Dallas hotel room.
Kay, 47, faces a minimum 20-year sentence and a $1 million fine for being convicted of giving Skaggs the drugs that resulted in his death.
While the jury had to believe Kay distributed the drugs to Skaggs beyond a reasonable doubt for a guilty verdict, the group only had to be convinced that Kay gave Skaggs the drugs in the Northern District of Texas “more likely than not.” In other words, the jury could have been convinced to a lesser extent that Kay gave Skaggs the drugs in Texas and not in California.
Skaggs, an Angels pitcher, was found dead in Room 469 of the Hilton Southlake/Dallas Town Square just after 2 p.m. CDT on July 1, 2019. He was 27. The Angels had flown to Texas from the Long Beach Airport the previous night to begin a series against the Texas Rangers that day.
An autopsy report concluded Skaggs had fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system, but the government argued Skaggs wouldn’t have died “but for” the fentanyl, which it argued originated from counterfeit oxycodone pills Kay provided Skaggs in Texas.
