Influencer Emily Kaiser loses his 3-year-old son after the drowsing incident
Influencer Emily Kisser’s 3-year-old son Trigg died after a drowsing incident in Arizona. Police say he was unconsciously found in a backyard pool.
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Nearly two weeks after Emily Kaiser’s 3-year-old son died in the drowning incident, social media influencers filed a lawsuit to protect his death records from public opinion.
Trigg Kiser died on May 18th after being pulled away from a backyard pool in Chandler, Arizona a few days ago.
Emily Kisser’s attorney filed a lawsuit in Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County on May 27, preventing the release of public documents related to Trigg Kaiser’s death.
The complaint says Trigg Kaiser died of accidental drows at his family home.
Emily Kizzers’ lawyer said she and her family “desperately want to be sad for themselves, but sadly the public added that “her son’s death has become a media frenzy.”
More than 100 requests have been filed with the city of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office for access to public records related to Trigg Kiser’s death, the lawsuit said. USA Today has filed a request to the city of Chandler for access to the police report.
USA Today contacted Gallagher & Kennedy, the company representing Emilie Kiser, for comments.
“Every day is a fight.”
The lawsuit promotes the ban on public servants from the public release of public documents related to Trigg’s death, including police reports, 911 calls and photos from the scene.
Emily Kiser and her attorneys have not seen the documents, the complaint states, but they assume that the records are “exceptionally raw and graphic.”
The release of such records “invades the dignity of an individual or causes unnecessary harm to the individual,” the lawsuit states.
“Emily is doing her best to be there for her surviving son, Theodore, who is two months old,” the lawsuit says. “But every day is a fight.”
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What is a public record? How Arizona’s Law Works
Police reports and 911 calls are generally considered public records, but each state has legal provisions. In Arizona, police officers often edit some of those items.
According to Arizona law, courts can decide to keep public records secret if release can cause “substantial and irreparable private or public harm,” according to the Arizona Legislature.
Emily Kisser’s lawsuit alleges that records are required for “commercial purposes” rather than for monitoring the government as intended by Arizona law.
However, Arizona’s law does not consider requiring it to be commercial for news gathering purposes, according to an aide to the Arizona Ombudsman.
Media outlets generally require public records related to the deaths of public figures such as celebrities. For example, the family of country singer Naomi Judd in 2022 sued in Tennessee to limit access to public records regarding her death, but ultimately dropped the lawsuit.
Influencers struggle to balance public personas and privacy
The events surrounding the death of Emily Kisser’s son highlight what privacy influencers have.
A few days before police confirmed that the boy involved was Emily Kisser’s son, her millions of followers had sent her prayers, and her name was trending on Google.
Rumors about the incident stem from photos from local news stories that an online user has returned to Emily Kiser’s home.
Social media influencers are a kind of modern-day celebrity, but John Powers, an assistant professor of interactive media and design at Quinnipiac University, previously spoke to USA Today.
“The idea is that I feel like this is the average person you live in a normal house and lives like me because the social media influencer could be me,” Powers said. “But they lose that separation when they have millions of followers and people who are constantly checking in.”
Melina Kahn is a national trending reporter for USA Today. She can be contacted at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
