Influencer Emilie Kiser, whose 3-year-old son died in May after drowning in the family's backyard pool, spoke out for the first time in an Instagram statement on Thursday, saying she knows there's more she could have done to protect him.
Trigg Kiser died after he was hospitalized in critical condition for several days, police have said.
An investigation into the child's death revealed that the boy's father, Brady Kiser, said he was distracted by something at the time Trigg fell into the pool. Emilie Kiser was out at the time, Brady Kiser said.
A police report revealed that Trigg was unsupervised for at least nine minutes and that the boy "did not go into the water intentionally, rather he tripped and fell in while playing with an inflatable chair," the report states.
In her statement, Emilie Kiser said the family misses Trigg "every second of every day" and that "continuing forward often feels unbearable."
"I never thought we would experience grief in this way or the pain of losing him so suddenly," Emilie Kiser wrote. "It's a pain, heartache, and void that no family should ever have to endure."
Emilie Kiser said that, as Trigg's mother, she takes full accountability for his death.
"I know I should have done more to protect him," Emilie Kiser said. "One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it's something I will never overlook again."
Officials said in July that Brady Kiser would not face any charges in his son’s death.
She said she hopes Trigg's story will help prevent other children and families from this fate.
Emilie Kiser thanked her family for their unconditional love and for helping her work through this, and thanked her followers for the "outpouring of love for our family."
She also took time to speak about her experience as a social media influencer, a journey she said she began in 2021 in an effort to connect with other moms and find community.
While she said she has gotten that, and that she's always been her authentic self on social media, she said her son's death has showed her "how relationships online lack boundaries, especially in protecting children's privacy."
"Moving forward, I will be establishing more boundaries with what I share online," Emilie Kiser continued.
