Emilie Kiser’s Son Was in Pool for 7 Minutes before being found unresponsive

9 August 2025

Three-year-old Trigg Kiser’s life came to a tragic end on May 18 following an accidental drowning in the family’s backyard pool in Chandler, Arizona. On May 12, Trigg slipped into the water while playing with an inflatable chair a moment captured by surveillance video that revealed his father, Brady Kiser, had lost sight of the boy for longer than initially reported.

Whereas Brady told police he had been distracted by their newborn son, Theodore, and did not notice Trigg’s absence for three to five minutes, the police report paints a grimmer timeline. According to the Chandler Police Department, Trigg was left unsupervised for more than nine minutes and spent about seven of those minutes submerged before he was discovered floating and unresponsive.

The loss rippled through the community and shone a harsh spotlight on the perils of momentary distractions in homes with young children. Investigators clarified that Trigg’s fall into the water appeared accidental rather than deliberate, as the footage shows him tripping while engaged in play. Authorities quickly responded, transporting him to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, but despite life-saving efforts, he succumbed to his injuries six days later.

In the wake of the tragedy, legal scrutiny followed. The Chandler Police Department recommended that Brady face a Class 4 felony charge of child abuse, a serious accusation reflecting the gravity of leaving a young child unattended in a potentially lethal situation. However, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to prosecute on the grounds that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.

Amid the emotional fallout, Emilie Kiser pursued legal channels to protect the privacy of her family during a time of profound grief and public interest. She filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent sensitive and potentially disturbing details from being widely disseminated, including video footage and graphic descriptions of Trigg’s final moments.

The court issued a temporary confidentiality order for her personal declaration, and on August 8 the Arizona Superior Court granted her request to redact two graphic pages from the official police report. Her attorney emphasized that this narrow redaction does not conceal any factual basis in the case but shields the dignity of a beloved child from becoming the focus of sensational replays or AI-generated reenactments.

Emilie’s legal team expressed gratitude to Judge Whitten for acknowledging the need for compassion and privacy without compromising the transparency of the investigation. The aim, they said, was not to obscure the truth but to preserve the memory of Trigg’s life, framed by love and light rather than public consumption of the most harrowing details.

The tragedy and its aftermath highlight the tension faced by bereaved public figures trying to navigate personal loss under the glare of social media and public curiosity. Emilie, who has millions of followers across TikTok and Instagram, was flooded with more than 100 requests for access to public records related to the incident. Her public platform has made the family’s grief an open subject to the world, and her legal actions represent a plea for dignity and space to mourn without exploitation.

Underneath the legal motions and media coverage lies a story of unbearable loss and a mother’s struggle to uphold the memory of her son with love and protection. Emilie Kiser’s determination to maintain privacy for her family underscores a crisis at the crossroads of grief and digital exposure. The court’s ruling offers a sliver of solace, an affirmation that some moments even tragic ones deserve to be kept sacred.