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The wrongful death trial of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs has entered its sixth week, and his widow and mother took the stand Monday.
Carli Skaggs, who began dating the MLB pitcher in 2014, testified that she knew Skaggs had struggled with a previous Percocet addiction before dating, but did not know that he was still using drugs at the time of his death.
Skaggs died in 2019 after taking fentanyl-laced oxycodone supplied by former team communications director Eric Kay, who is serving 22 years in prison, mixed with alcohol.
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Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ wife, Carli, with Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners on July 12, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Skaggs had developed his Percocet addiction during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the early 2010s, which Carli didn’t find out about until about a year after they started dating. Carli admitted that her husband took an ecstasy pill on their honeymoon and that they smoked marijuana together, but they stopped smoking when they wanted to start a family.
An attorney representing the Skaggs family asked Carli if she “could think of a time” when she might have realized Skaggs was using.
“No. And I’ve racked my brain for something I might have missed,” he responded, via The Orange County Register.
Debbie Hetman, Skaggs’ mother, testified that the Angels never asked her about her son’s previous addiction and would have told them if they had asked. He also said he asked Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the doctor who performed Tommy John surgery on him in 2014, to prescribe a different pain reliever because of his previous addiction.
Tyler Skaggs of the Los Angeles Angels pitches during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on June 6, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Skaggs’ family is seeking $118 million for Skaggs’ lost income, compensation for pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the team. The Angels argue that Skaggs, even though Kay gave him the pill, took the drugs in his private time of his own free will and that the team is not responsible for his death.
Skaggs was 27 years old when he was found in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas, before the Angels played the Texas Rangers.
Former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey admitted during Kay’s trial that he had supplied drugs to Skaggs. The two were teammates on the Angels in the year of Skaggs’ death. Harvey, CJ Cron, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian also told the court that Kay had provided them with drugs.
Members of the Los Angeles Angels after players placed their jerseys on the mound in honor of Tyler Skaggs after he threw a combined no-hitter to defeat the Seattle Mariners on July 12, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
Mike Trout testified that players would pay Kay for bizarre stunts, which caused Trout to raise an eyebrow. At one point, a club manager suggested the players should stop, Trout said, because Kay might be using the money for a “bad purpose,” which Trout said he immediately assumed was drugs. The three-time MVP said he had only seen Skaggs smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, not thinking he was using other drugs.
