SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – The ongoing trial surrounding the overdose death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs continued on Tuesday, with further cross-examination of Camela Kay, the ex-wife of Eric Kay, a former team employee convicted for providing drugs to Skaggs. Camela has testified about observing players and clubhouse attendants consuming pills and alcohol while partying on the team plane.
During testimony on Monday, Camela Kay spoke about her experiences on the Angels' team plane, where she accompanied her then-husband Eric Kay, who served as the team’s communications director. She described a party atmosphere characterized by excessive drinking, card games, and gambling among the players. “They’re treated like kings,” she remarked, also noting instances of players passing out pills.
This trial is part of a wrongful-death lawsuit initiated by Skaggs' family, which alleges that the Angels organization failed to act appropriately by keeping Eric Kay employed and allowing him access to players despite his documented drug addiction. The Angels have refuted these claims, stating that team officials had no knowledge of Skaggs’ drug use and that any drug-related activities involving him and Eric Kay occurred in private settings, separate from team activities.
Camela Kay testified that she had previously warned an Angels employee about her concerns regarding Eric Kay potentially selling drugs to Skaggs. This concern stemmed from conversations Eric Kay had with his sister during a hospital stay for a drug overdose, which were relayed to her. She expressed anxiety over his erratic behavior, leading to a family intervention in 2017, after which team officials visited their home and discovered plastic baggies containing white pills in Eric Kay's bedroom.
In her account, Camela Kay spoke of an incident in 2019 where an Angels employee drove Eric Kay home after finding him dancing shirtless in his office. Upon returning home, she discovered a bottle containing blue pills, prompting her to contact the police. Eric Kay was subsequently hospitalized for three days due to an overdose involving six different drugs. This incident led to his enrollment in a rehabilitation program, communication about which was screened throughout the trial via text messages exchanged between Camela and Angels officials.
Camela Kay further disclosed that after visiting Eric Kay in the hospital, her sister-in-law said he had claimed the pills were intended for Skaggs. Additionally, she found messages on Eric Kay's phone discussing the acquisition of “candy” (a slang term for drugs) at the stadium and reported this information to Angels officials as well. She expressed her apprehensions about Eric Kay traveling with the team after completing rehab, as she felt he continued to act erratically and suspected him of misusing an addiction treatment drug.
Following Skaggs' tragic death in July 2019 – which a coroner's investigation ruled as resulting from choking on his vomit after consuming a lethal mixture of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone – Camela Kay filed for divorce. Skaggs, who was 27 years old at the time of his death, was found in a hotel room in the Dallas area just before the Angels were set to play the Texas Rangers in a four-game series.
Eric Kay was convicted in 2022 for supplying Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, receiving a 22-year prison sentence as a result. His federal trial revealed that multiple MLB players testified about receiving oxycodone from him between 2017 and 2019, indicating a pervasive issue of drug distribution within the team environment.
Skaggs' family is seeking $118 million in damages through this lawsuit, citing lost earnings, pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the Angels organization. Additionally, following Skaggs’ death, Major League Baseball enacted a policy in collaboration with the players' association to begin testing for opioids among players and to provide treatment referrals for those testing positive.
