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Widow, Mother Testify in Skaggs Wrongful-Death Trial as Dispute Over Angels HR VP Persists

Jurors now must decide whether Angels officials knew or should have known that staffer Eric Kay supplied opioids to players.

Overview

  • Carli Skaggs told jurors she did not know her husband was using opioids and said she wants the club held accountable for its actions and inactions.
  • Debbie Hetman testified she would have told the team her son became addicted to Percocet after 2013 but said no one from the Angels asked her about his history.
  • Plaintiffs seek $118 million in damages, arguing the organization negligently allowed access to a staffer who provided pills to players.
  • A courtroom dispute continues over Angels human resources vice president Deborah Johnston’s testimony, with the family’s lawyer alleging perjury and Major League Baseball publicly disputing her account of league involvement.
  • Eric Kay was convicted in 2022 of supplying the fentanyl-laced pill that led to Tyler Skaggs’ 2019 death and is serving a 22-year sentence, while the civil trial enters its sixth week in Santa Ana with more testimony expected.