Emilie Kiser’s heartbreaking statement about ‘forever second guessing’ herself in the wake of her son Trigg’s death has now been made public.
The American influencer’s eldest son died aged three in May after falling into the pool at their home in Phoenix, Arizona.
Her husband Brady Kiser, 28, was at home with Trigg and the couple’s then-newborn son Theodore while Emilie was out for dinner with friends.
However, he lost sight of their eldest for three to five minutes while caring for Theodore and later found Trigg in the pool.
After news of her son’s death was made public, Emilie, 26, won a legal battle to keep graphic details of his death private.
However a few months on, the declaration she made in this legal action has now been unsealed, with the document detailing the devastation she and her family faced following Trigg’s death.
As reported by People, who obtained the documents, Emilie began by calling her son’s death ‘the most severe and emotional event I have ever experienced’.
She went on to say that her and her husband were ‘deeply concerned about the release of specific information and our ability to even start to heal’ following their toddler’s death.
‘I was not home when this happened. I will forever second guess that decision, among many others,’ she shared.
Emilie, who has over 4.1 million TikTok followers and 1.7 million on Instagram, then addressed her public profile, but begged for her right to still be granted privacy.
‘Our love for our children has been shared and expressed worldwide, given my role as a social media personality with many “followers” across a number of social media platforms,’ she wrote.
‘Nothing we have shared as part of my profession has depicted or been intended to depict anything but deep and adoring love within our family.
‘That is how it should stay forever in my mind and the minds of all others.’
She went on to say that making details of her son’s death public would cause more trauma, including in the future when Theodore might find information, which would be ‘very difficult for him to process’.
‘Knowing that intensely devastating personal information like that which various people have sought could be placed on the Internet where it will live forever, haunts me wondering whether Teddy, through his own curiosity or having it thrust upon him by another, could have to live through this horror on his own at some uncertain future date,’ she wrote.
Emilie said she was also wary of the ‘sick motives’ of strangers who wanted to obtain footage or more information about the drowning.
‘The story of Trigg’s tragic death has been all over the news, social media and online. I am now aware that Trigg’s death was announced on social media less than two hours after he passed. In fact, Fox News wrongfully announced that he was dead immediately after the event,’ she added.
After Trigg’s death, the family then faced ‘helicopters circling her house’ and journalists appearing at her door ‘asking for comment’, while ‘unknown people’ had turned up asking to ‘pray’ there.
In their report, police cited video evidence and said that Trigg ‘was in the backyard unsupervised for more than 9 minutes, and in the water for about 7 of those minutes.’
The Chandler Police recommended a felony child abuse charge in connection with the incident.
They alleged that Brady had been watching a basketball game and placed a $25 (£19) bet around the time of the drowning.
‘Brady’s statements do not match what is seen on the video; he did not accurately describe one thing [Trigg] did after he went outside. This leads to the conclusion that Brady was not aware of what [Trigg] was doing and was not watching him. The combination of these factors led to drowning, and a remedy to any of the contributing circumstances could have prevented the outcome,’ they said in their report.
However, Arizona’s Maricopa County Attorney’s Office made the decision to not pursue charges against Brady, explaining that to pursue a child abuse charge, they would need to prove that he ‘failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk’ and that his actions were a ‘gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would show.’
Although the couple has not spoken publicly since their son’s death, Emilie’s lawyer issued a statement that read: ‘Emilie is going through a parent’s worst nightmare right now.’
‘She is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle.’
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