Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli held a press conference this afternoon to announce that the investigation into the death of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid’s son Garrett during training camp is now closed.

Police had been looking into the accidental heroin overdose in an attempt to identify possible local suppliers of the drug, but Morganelli said that information was unable to be determined by conducting interviews or examining Reid’s cell phone records.

“At this point, it cannot be determined whether Mr. Reid obtained heroin here in
the Lehigh Valley or brought it with him to training camp from elsewhere,” Morganelli said. “In light of
this information, the Lehigh Valley police have closed their investigation into the death of Garrett Reid.

Morganelli said one acquaintance who attempted to contact Reid in the hours before and after his death was interviewed. “It was a female friend and she was cooperative in terms of an interview,” he said. “There was no evidence she had any involvement in terms of delivering
illegal substances to Mr. Reid.”

Morganelli also said that test results of 19 vials of an unknown substance found in Reid’s room at the time of his death have revealed them to contain various anabolic steroids.  “These substances were, however, not related to his death,” Morganelli said.

While it’s possible that Reid, who was working with team members on strength conditioning when he died this summer, could have been distributing the drugs to others, there is nothing to substantiate that claim, according to Morganelli.

“We cannot provide any evidence or
substantiate that anyone from the Eagles organization was involved in this or whether
it was for [Reid's] personal use – it was not determined,” he said. “It is possible it could have been a quantity that was subject for
distribution, but what I am saying is I have no evidence there was
distribution by Mr. Reid here or anywhere else.”

Andy Reid said in a statement released today that he is “saddened” by the report, but its findings have nothing to do with the Eagles as a team. “I am confident that my son’s decisions did not affect our football team
in any way,” he said. “I cannot apologize enough for any adverse appearances that
my son’s actions may have for an organization and a community that has
been nothing but supportive of our family.”

He said that, like many addicts, Garrett was able to conceal the signs of his apparent relapse from those close to him. “While there were some victories along the way, it ultimately was a battle that he lost and that cost him his life,” he said. “Our family feels the pain of that loss every day. Today’s report saddens me greatly, but only confirms the troubles Garrett encountered in the final years of his life.”

Reid, who suffered from a history of chronic drug abuse, was found unresponsive in his Lehigh University dorm room during training camp on Aug. 5.

Report raises questions

Though investigators today announced the discovery of steroids at Reid’s time of death, authorities made no mention of the drug’s presence in his body when they released a toxicology report determining his cause of death two months ago.

Eagles Chairman Jeffrey Lurie released a statement in an attempt to dispel rumors that Garrett’s possession of steroids could implicate any of his players.

“The news today on Garrett Reid’s possession of steroids is disappointing,” he said. “It’s clear the conduct in which he apparently engaged runs counter to the values and principles mandated for everyone associated with our organization.”

He said the team will fully cooperate with any further inquiries. “The NFL has a rigorous drug testing program for its players,” he said. “It is a matter of record that none of our players has tested positive for any of the steroids mentioned in the district attorney’s report.”

Troubled timeline

– Jan. 30, 2007. A 23-year-old Reid was arrested for using heroin before running a red light and striking another driver. He was court-ordered into a substance abuse program, but sent back to jail several times for failing mandatory drug tests.

– July 22, 2008. Reid was sentenced to two years in rehab and three years of probation after he was caught smuggling 89 pain pills into prison.

– Aug. 5, 2012. Reid was discovered slumped in a chair around 7:30 a.m. in his Lehigh University dorm room. Attempts to resuscitate him failed. Two empty wax packets believed to have contained heroin were found in his room, along with 65 needles, 47 syringes and 19 vials of an unknown liquid, according to authorities.

– Aug. 7, 2012. Reid’s funeral was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in Broomall.

– Oct. 18, 2012. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek announced that Reid died of an accidental heroin overdose. Morganelli said that, moving forward, the investigation would center around where Reid obtained the drugs and paraphernalia.

– Dec. 17, 2012. Morganelli said that the content of the 19 vials tested positive for steroids, but that the police investigation into Reid’s death has been closed.