An Arizona mother is speaking out for the first time after her toddler son died in a backyard pool earlier year, at the family home in Chandler.
“Loss of this magnitude feels impossible to put into words,” social media influencer Emilie Kiser wrote, in part, in a post on TikTok. “I’ve spent days, weeks, months trying to find them [the right words] and also take the time I’ve needed to digest the loss of my baby.”
Trigg Kiser, 3, died on May 18, six days after the incident. His father, Brady Kiser, told police he lost track of the boy for up to five minutes.
Police, however, said Trigg was unsupervised for more than nine minutes and that the boy “fell in while playing with an inflatable chair,” NBC News reports.
Brady Kiser, the only parent at home at the time, claimed he last saw his son near the hot tub, which an investigator told him was impossible.
The father allegedly also stated that he was sitting in a chair facing the backyard, before saying he was on a couch facing a television.
“Trigg is our baby and our best friend. The light and spirit he brought into this world was bright, pure, joyful, and undeniable. We miss him every second of every day and continuing forward often feels unbearable,” Emilie wrote.
“I never thought we would experience grief in this way or the pain of losing him so suddenly. It’s a pain, heartache, and void that no family should ever have to endure.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Chandler police determined that Brady Kiser’s statements about what happened to his son were not consistent with security footage from May 12.
Chandler police recommended child abuse charges against Brady Kiser, though they found no evidence that he saw his son in the pool drowning.
They pointed out, however, that he knew the pool had been uncovered and that his unsupervised son could not swim, according to the Arizona Republic.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in July they will not be prosecuting Brady Kiser for his son’s death. Mitchell said it is unlikely he would be convicted if he stood trial for child abuse, as it would be difficult to prove negligence.
“I take full accountability as Trigg’s mother, and I know I should have done more to protect him,” Emilie Kiser continued.
“One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it’s something I will never overlook again. I hope amidst this pain, Trigg’s story will help prevent other children and families from suffering the same loss.”
“When I started on social media in 2021 as a new mom, my goal was to connect with other moms and find a community,” she wrote. “I now have seen through this tragedy how relationships online lack boundaries, especially in protecting children’s privacy.
“Moving forward, I will be establishing more boundaries with what I share online. In the future, I hope to be in a place to share more about how I am navigating this grief, but right now, all I can say is thank you for the love, compassion, patience and space you’ve given us to grieve. I am more grateful for it than can ever be expressed.”
The Arizona Republic reports that Emilie Kiser successfully asked the court to block the release of the video showing her son’s drowning.
Her lawyers argued the footage could be used by AI-video reenactments and bad-faith actors.
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[Feature Photo: Instagram]
