Eric Kay Guilty On Two Felony Counts In Death Of Angels Pitcher Tyler Skaggs

A federal jury found former Los Angeles Angels communications director Eric Kay guilty on two felony counts Thursday—concurring with the government that he distributed fentanyl and caused the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

Kay won’t be sentenced until June 28, but he faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.

The eight-day trial—which saw eight MLB players take the stand, five of which admitted to their own drug use—came to a close as the jury took less than two hours to deliberate.

The 27-year-old Skaggs died July 1, 2019, in his hotel room as the Angels were on a road trip in Texas. He died after ingesting oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol.

Kay admitted to providing oxycodone to Skaggs and the other players, but the defense said Skaggs and Kay were simply fellow addicts with an agreement that Skaggs would pay for their drugs and Kay, who did not testify, would handle the transactions.

It was a tale of two families, as Kay and his family sat in stunned silence, while Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his mother, Debbie Hetman, cried.

“We’re obviously disappointed with the verdict,” defense attorney Reagan Wynn said. “There are no winners in this. It’s just a tragedy all around.”

“We are very grateful to the government and the jury for seeing this important case through to the right verdict,” Hetman’s attorneys said in a statement. “Tyler was the light of our family. He is gone, and nothing can ever bring him back. We are relieved that justice was served, although today is a painful reminder of the worst day in the life of our family.”

Assistant U.S. attorney Lindsey Beran told the jury, “We told you at the beginning of this case that this case was about one person, that on June 30, 2019, there was one person texting with Tyler Skaggs about pills: Eric Kay. On June 30, there was one person Tyler invited to his hotel room: Eric Kay. And on June 30, there was one person who went to his hotel room and caused his death: Eric Kay.”

Defense attorney Michael Molfetta said it was a “reverse engineered” effort to get Kay due to Skaggs’ celebrity. “Do you think if Eric Kay was dead we’d be here?” he asked.

“When does a grown man who’s living a life of complete luxury and privilege—he doesn’t even carry his own luggage—when does he take responsibility for his own actions?” he added. “Tyler Skaggs didn’t deserve this; no one does. But he was responsible for it.”

The saga began in 2017 when Skaggs and Kay met and a relationship was borne in which two opioid users went as far as snorting pills in the clubhouse. Kay said in 2019 that Skaggs introduced him to a dealer and paid for both men’s drugs while Kay handled the transactions.

Throughout the next few seasons, Skaggs connected at least four other Angels players with Kay, telling them that Kay could provide them with oxycodone.

On June 30, 2019, the Angels traveled to Texas for the fateful series against the Rangers. Prior to the flight, evidence shows that Skaggs asked Kay for several pills. Once the team had arrived, Skaggs texted Kay to come up to his room.

Kay told investigators that he did not bring pills that evening and that when he arrived in Skaggs’ room there were already three pills crushed and lined up on the desk. Kay added that he didn’t ingest any drugs, was on the anti-opioid drug naloxone, and that Skaggs was conscious when he left.

The next morning, as Skaggs didn’t respond to multiple texts and calls from his wife, team security checked his room and found him dead.

The Skaggs family still has a civil lawsuit pending against the Angels for negligence.

“On behalf of the entire Angels Organization, we are saddened by the devastating heartache that surrounds this tragedy, especially for the Skaggs family,” the team said in a statement. “Our compassion goes out to all families and individuals that have been impacted. The players’ testimony was incredibly difficult for our organization to hear, and it is a reminder that too often drug use and addiction are hidden away. From the moment we learned of Tyler’s death, our focus has been to fully understand the circumstances that led to this tragedy.

“We are thankful that Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have taken the important step to update their drug policies for players using opioids so that they can receive help.”