Attorney who holds Emilie Kiser's husband's fate in her hands speaks out after son drowned in pool on his watch

Daily Mail​

20-07-2025

The attorney who will decide the fate of a mommy influencer's husband over the drowning death of their son has said that 'not every tragedy is a crime.'
Emilie Kiser, a 26-year-old popular mommy blogger, lost her three-year-old son Trigg on May 18 - nearly a week after he was found unresponsive in their pool in Chandler, Arizona.
She was not home at the time, but her husband and Trigg's father, Brady Kiser, 28, was there watching their toddler and newborn son Teddy.
After paying attention to Teddy, taking his eyes off Trigg for a mere three to five minutes, Brady found his first born lifeless in the water.
The Chandler Police Department said they are recommending a felony charge of child abuse be brought against Brady - but that decision is ultimately up to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
On Thursday, Mitchell said it would take time before her office decides whether or not to prosecute - adding that there is often a lot of 'misunderstanding' in these types of cases.
'People need to understand that not every tragedy is a crime,' Mitchell said during a press conference, making it clear that she was not speaking to the specific case, but similar instances.
'I mean, it's heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the situation, but there's a difference between civil negligence - where you can sue somebody - and criminal negligence - where you can prosecute someone.
'Civil negligence means that someone's carelessness results in harm to another person,' she added.
'Criminal negligence is totally different, and that's what we're looking for, that's what we have to have to file charges in this case.'
Mitchell specified that her office would have to show that Brady failed to identify 'substantial and unjustifiable risk' that a 'reasonable person would observe.'
The attorney compared criminal negligence to someone who drives past flash flood warnings and ends up in a wash with a child in the car with them.
When asked what her 'threshold' is for charging 'a parent that loses a child,' Mitchell told a reporter: 'Well, the basic threshold, obviously, is what the law requires.'
She went on to speak of her taking into account that a possible jury might consider that the parent has already suffered enough.
'And my answer to that is yes and no. No in the sense that it doesn't factor into whether the person satisfies the requirements of the statue.
'But, yes, because the filing standard for this office is a reasonable likelihood of conviction.... If we feel like the jury is likely to find the person guilty because of that reason, then we have to take that into account,' Mitchell stated.
Brady told police he allowed Trigg to play in the backyard after eating lunch that day and saw his son near the pool - something police records noted was 'not uncommon' - and while the pool was usually covered for safety, this time it wasn't.
After taking his eyes off Trigg for a couple minutes, he turned his attention back to the little boy, and found him floating in the pool.
Brady immediately burst into action, jumping into the pool to retrieve their son before calling 911 to their home.
Officers performed CPR upon arrival before firefighters took over.
Trigg was transported to Chandler Regional Medical Center, then transferred to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where he died on May 18 after remaining in critical condition.
While processing the scene, investigators discovered two outdoor cameras in the backyard that may have captured the moments leading up to the little boy's death, AZ Central reported.
Authorities are now working to obtain the backyard surveillance footage to corroborate Brady's account of what happened, according to search warrants obtained by AZ Central. Emilie was reportedly out with friends at the time.
Since authorities opened an investigation into Trigg's death, the influencer has fought to keep the police reports redacted and the medical examiner reports sealed.
Once news broke that he was the boy who drowned, a 'media frenzy' unleashed as internet sleuths and fans of Kiser took it upon themselves to request records - including videos - in relation to his death.
This then prompted Emilie to file a lawsuit just one week after his passing against several agencies in Maricopa County to block private information from getting out.
The Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County ruled in her favor, granting her temporary confidentiality, meaning evidence will not be released while the court makes its final ruling on the tragedy.
Her declaration 'reflects an intensely personal account of her grief and trauma' that was 'submitted to help the court understand her perspective - not for public consumption,' a source told DailyMail.com.
In her motion, Kiser has specifically urged the court to keep not just detailed records of Trigg's death private, but also footage as '100+ public records requests' for the video have come in, according to the source.
The intense amount of records requests 'only serves to satisfy morbid curiosity more than any type of justice,' they added.
Kiser 'should not be forced to relive the aftermath through viral footage,' the source stated.
'The motions behind the push for release are concerning. In many cases, requests appear to be driven by monetization and notoriety, not accountability,' they continued. 'That is not a valid justification for invading a family's grief.'
Since news of her legal filing came out, many online have speculated that Kiser chose to do so as a way to cover up information, but according to the source, that is completely false.
'Emilie has fully cooperated with investigators. The focus here is not on withholding information, but on safeguarding the dignity of a child and allowing a grieving family the space and privacy to heal.'
Emilie has four million followers on TikTok and 1.7 million on Instagram, but according to the source, her 'public profile does not negate her right to privacy, nor does it make her son's death a matter for public consumption.
'Being online should not strip someone of basic human decency.'
Emilie hasn't posted since the tragedy, but her followers have continued to flood her accounts with messages of support and condolences before she turned off her comment sections.
Meanwhile, her husband made his accounts private following his death.
Kiser or her legal representation haven't reviewed the police report, security camera footage, scene photos, 911 recording, or autopsy photos, per the lawsuit.
The couple first became parents in July 2021 when they welcomed their son Trigg.
In March, the Kiser family officially grew by one with the arrival of their second son, Theodore.
Daily Mail contacted Emilie's team and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment.