A Costa Rican official provides multiple major updates.
The day after the resort where the Gardner family was staying spoke out, Juan Pablo Alvarado Garcia, a spokesperson for Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (JIA), confirmed that Miller’s autopsy results will be delayed by months due to high crime in the area.
“We’re having a hike in homicides as these drug gangs battle for territory,” he told DailyMail.com, “and every one of them needs an autopsy.”
He added, “I can confirm that an autopsy has been carried out on Miller, but the full analysis and results, as in every one of them, will take at least two to three months due to these constant killings causing a backlog of cases. That’s the reality.”
Alvarado Garcia did confirm, though, that there was no indication Miller’s death was a result of recreational drugs or alcohol.
Though the results will be delayed, the official explained that, since “all the samples necessary” had been taken for Miller’s autopsy, his body “can be repatriated to the United States,” however, the Gardner family has been held up by the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica’s processing of their request.