NEED TO KNOW
- Emilie Kiser’s pool cover had not been on for days prior to her 3-year-old son Trigg’s drowning in May, according to a newly released police report
- The pool cover was “recently removed” and kept off for a pool cleaning scheduled for the day after the tragedy, according to Emilie’s husband Brady Kiser
- “No pool gate or barrier was in place at the time,” authorities said in the report
Emilie Kiser’s pool cover had not been on for days prior to her 3-year-old son Trigg’s drowning.
In May, the influencer’s child drowned in the family’s backyard pool, which was typically protected with a net-like cover, but it had been removed for an upcoming cleaning, according to a newly released report from the Chandler Police Department (CPD) that was made public on Friday, Aug. 8.
The safety net usually covering the pool at Emilie and her husband Brady Kiser’s Chandler, Ariz. home was “present but not in use,” as it had been “recently removed” prior to Trigg’s death, said the report, which was released nearly three months after the May 12 incident. (The toddler died in the hospital six days later.)
During CPD Detective Nathan Duncan’s search of the home shortly after the incident, he “observed large netting and a fabric top rolled up onto PVC carriers,” which he said were pool covers “that were not in use at the time.”
“It was later learned that the covers were in place most of the time but were recently removed so the family could enjoy the pool,” Duncan wrote in the report. “They were never replaced.”
The officer said he also observed “a large number of kids’ toys” in the backyard, “and even at the bottom of the pool and hot tub,” the report said. “No pool gate or barrier was in place at the time.”
The deepest part of the pool was approximately 102 inches deep, per Duncan.
Brady later told police the safety cover was “regularly” on the backyard pool, except when the family was using it, or every other Tuesday, when a pool cleaning company came to the home, the CPD report said.
The incident occurred on a Monday, and the company was scheduled to clean the family’s pool at noon local time the following day, said the CPD’s Michael Rietz.
Brady said he “was planning on putting it on after the service,” Rietz added in the police report.
He also said that Brady’s claim “was inadvertently verified” by both himself and Duncan when they were at the Kisers’ home on Tuesday, May 13, and the cleaners were there.
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According to the report, Emilie was out with friends at the time of the May 12 drowning, while Brady was at home with Trigg and the couple’s then-newborn son, Theodore.
Brady said he lost sight of Trigg for three to five minutes while caring for Theodore, and later found the toddler in the pool.
Police said in their report, citing video evidence, however, that Trigg “was in the backyard unsupervised for more than 9 minutes, and in the water for about 7 of those minutes.” Authorities also allege in the report that Brady had been watching an NBA playoff game and placed a $25 sports bet around the time of the fatal incident.
The CPD recommended that Brady be charged with a class 4 felony of child abuse, though the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced on July 25 that there was “no likelihood of conviction” against him. He has not been charged.
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