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Emilie Kiser broke her three-month-long silence on the death of her 3-year-old son, Trigg, who drowned in the family pool at her Arizona home in May.
Kiser, a 26-year-old TikTok creator with millions of followers, issued her first emotional statement on social media on Thursday, describing her grief as “impossible to put into words.”
The case has drawn national attention given Kiser’s public platform as a “mom influencer” with more than 4 million TikTok followers.
Kiser’s message provided the first glimpse into how her family is coping.
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On May 12, Trigg was playing in the backyard of the Kiser family’s Chandler home when he tripped on an inflatable chair and fell into the pool, according to police.
Surveillance video confirmed the fall was accidental. The boy remained submerged for several minutes before being pulled out. Kiser was not home at the time of the incident. The boy’s father, Brady Kiser, was watching Trigg and the couple’s newborn son. He told police he was distracted by the baby inside when Trigg fell in.
First responders performed CPR and rushed Trigg to the hospital, where he remained on life support for nearly a week. He died six days later on May 18.
Calling Trigg both her “baby and best friend,” Emilie Kiser accepted accountability for his death as his mother. She expressed deep regret, writing: “One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it is something I will never overlook again.”
Emilie Kiser also said she will be drawing stricter boundaries online to protect her family’s privacy. “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,” she wrote.
She thanked her family and supporters, writing “To our family: we would not be getting through this without you. The support you have given us, the unconditional love, and the way you show up is something we will never be able to repay or thank you enough for.” She added: “To my audience and the people who have supported us: I cannot thank you enough for the kind messages I have received, for the outpouring of love for our family, and for the support you have brought to me in these extremely tough times.”
The Chandler Police Department recommended a Class 4 felony charge of child abuse against Brady Kiser, but prosecutors determined the evidence did not meet the threshold for a “reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
Emilie Kiser has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the release of investigative records tied to Trigg’s death.
Child drownings remain a leading cause of accidental death in Arizona for children under the age of five.
“The only way through grief is to keep going minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day,” Emilie Kiser wrote.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
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