Emilie Kiser is living through heartbreak no parent ever wants to imagine.
Months after the TikTok creator and her husband, Brady Kiser, lost their 3-year-old son, Trigg, in a drowning accident at the family’s pool, Emilie is still grappling with the devastating reality.
Calling the loss “the most severe and emotional event I have ever experienced,” Emilie admitted in court documents obtained by People that she and Brady are deeply worried about whether they’ll ever be able to begin healing.
At the time of the accident, Brady was home watching Trigg and the couple’s baby, Theodore, who was just four months old. Officials have confirmed Brady will not face charges in connection with the tragedy.
“I was not home when this happened,” Emilie shared. “I will forever second guess that decision, among many others.”
Even as she opens up about her grief, Emilie has pleaded for privacy to mourn without constant public scrutiny.
“Our love for our children has been shared and expressed worldwide,” she wrote. “Nothing we’ve shared has ever shown 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.”
On May 27, Emilie filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County public offices to keep records surrounding Trigg’s death private. Documents obtained by NBC News show the family’s lawyer emphasized Emilie’s overwhelming pain following “the heartbreaking accidental drowning.”
“Emilie is going through a parent’s worst nightmare right now,” the filing read. “She lost her young son. Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle.”
The lawsuit also revealed that, as of the filing date, more than 100 public records requests had already been submitted to the City of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office since Trigg’s May 18 passing.
Part of Emilie’s plea is not just about shielding the details from the public—but also from herself. She does not plan to view the police report, autopsy, or security and body camera footage tied to the case.
“The records requested presumably reveal graphic, distressing, and intimate details of Trigg’s death that have no bearing on government accountability,” the lawsuit stated. “To allow disclosure in these circumstances would be to turn Arizona’s Public Records Law into a weapon of emotional harm, rather than a tool of government transparency.”
Following the lawsuit, Maricopa County confirmed it worked with the family to protect the records.
“When Maricopa County learned the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records,” spokesperson Jason Berry told NBC News on May 29, “the Office of the Medical Examiner worked with the family to place a seal on the record.”
