Featured Image Credit: emiliekiser/Instagram
Topics: Arizona, Social Media, TikTok, Emilie Kiser
Joe Yates
Topics: Arizona, Social Media, TikTok, Emilie Kiser
Warning: This article contains discussion of child loss which some readers may find distressing.
Social media influencer Emilie Kiser has filed a lawsuit after she tragically lost her three-year-old son this month.
Kiser boasts over four million followers on TikTok, with her content primarily focused on her family and their day-to-day lives.
On May 12, her son, Trigg, fell into the swimming pool at their Arizona home and was subsequently pulled from it unconscious.
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Upon arrival, paramedics performed life-saving CPR on the toddler and rushed him to Chandler Regional Hospital, from which he was taken by air to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where he tragically died six days later on May 18.
Yesterday (May 30), it was reported that Kiser had filed a lawsuit on May 27 against Maricopa County public offices to protect records about her deceased son.
According to The Independent, more than 100 public record requests were made with the city of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office, with the suit describing the requests as a 'profound invasion of privacy' which would cause 'irreparable harm' to her family.
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Numerous municipal offices were named as defendants in the suit, including the city of Chandler, the Chandler Police Department and Maricopa County, according to NBC.
The lawsuit read in part: "Emilie and her family desperately want to grieve in private, but sadly, the public will not let them. Trigg's death has become a media frenzy."
NBC News also states that Kiser has not reviewed any of the requested documents and doesn't wish to, which includes surveillance footage of the incident, body camera footage, autopsy reports, and the police report.
"Disclosure of graphic or intimate death-related records causes renewed trauma to surviving family members and violates their right to grieve privately," the filing adds.
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Jason Berry, director of communications for Maricopa County, told NBC that it had 'worked with the family to place a seal on the record' once staff became aware 'the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records'.
Berry also stated that the lawsuit would be the deciding factor in whether a permanent seal is placed on the records, with the medical examiner's action to seal them also allowing the court to make the final determination.
Chandler Police had also previously shared their condolences to the Kiser family after the three-year-old's passing earlier this month, saying: "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the child's family and loved ones during this unimaginable time.
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"The investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident remains ongoing. This is still an open investigation.
"Out of respect for the family's privacy, we will not be releasing additional details until the investigation is closed."
Kiser's lawyers said in a statement that Trigg's death was 'heartbreaking' and 'accidental' and that the 26-year-old was going through 'a parent's worst nightmare right now'.
"Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle." they added.
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If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.