The husband of TikTok star Emilie Kiser is facing charges in the drowning death of their three-year-old son, Trigg, that caused a media frenzy earlier this year.
Trigg Kiser fell into the pool at their home in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 12 and died in hospital a week later.
His mother, Emilie, regularly posted on social media until the accident, and her sudden silence had many fans speculating about what might have happened.
Their questions were answered on May 18 when police in Phoenix, Arizona, confirmed that Trigg had died, causing an outpouring of grief from Emilie’s 4.1million TikTok followers.
Now, in a shocking turn of events, local police announced on Wednesday that they had completed their investigation and submitted a file to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office that recommends Brady Kiser, 28, Triggs’ father, face a Class 4 felony child abuse charge.
According to Arizona state law, a person commits child abuse if they cause physical injury to a child or a vulnerable adult, but it’s also considered child abuse if a person in custody of the child causes them to be in a situation where they are endangered.
Brady’s charges almost certainly are of criminal negligence, meaning someone failed to identify a substantial risk that a reasonable person would have recognised and prevented.
A person convicted of a Class 4 felony faces one to 3.75 years in prison if it is their first felony offense, according to state law.
Brady was home with Trigg and the couple’s newborn son, Theodore, when the toddler drowned, with Brady later claiming to police he only lost sight of Trigg for ‘3-5 minutes.’ Emilie was not at home at the time.
He reportedly told police that he had seen Trigg playing near the pool, which generally had a protective cover on it, and noted it was ‘not uncommon’ for the toddler to play in the backyard area.
Brady told police he was taking care of the newborn when he lost sight of the toddler, returning to the backyard after only a few minutes to find Trigg floating in the pool.
While the couple has not spoken publicly since their son’s death, Emilie’s lawyer later issued a statement that read: ‘Emilie is going through a parent’s worst nightmare right now.’
She went on to confirm how Trigg had died, adding that it was accidental, before saying: ‘Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle.’
Emilie, who built up an online following with updates on children and family life, released the statement as part of a bid to block the release of records surrounding Trigg’s death.
The family said it had become a media frenzy with more than 100 public record requests.
Their lawyer said in their filing: ‘The records requested presumably reveal graphic, distressing, and intimate details of Trigg’s death that have no bearing on government accountability.’
They added that releasing the information would cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the family, according to the Arizona Republic.
The filing said: ‘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.’
Emilie and Brady welcomed Trigg in July 2021 and their second son, Theodore, in September 2024.
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