Deshundre Vinson, 22, faces first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges after his 4-year-old nephew spent about nine minutes underwater.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A former “America’s Got Talent” contestant has been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse after authorities said his 4-year-old nephew drowned in an apartment-complex swimming pool while the singer was responsible for caring for him.
Deshundre Vinson, 22, was arrested Sept. 2 in Chattanooga, according to court and jail records cited by local and national news organizations. The charges stem from an Aug. 16 incident at an apartment complex off Central Avenue, where surveillance footage showed the child struggling in the pool and remaining underwater for about nine minutes before another person pulled him out, according to an arrest report.
Chattanooga police were already at the apartment complex for an unrelated call shortly before 6 p.m. when officers heard screaming from the swimming-pool area, the arrest report said. When they reached the pool, a civilian was performing CPR on an unconscious 4-year-old who had been pulled from the water. Officers joined the emergency response, and the child was transported to a hospital.
The boy remained hospitalized for about five days before dying from his injuries. Authorities have not publicly released his name in the reports reviewed. The murder and child-abuse charges against Vinson are allegations, and the filing of the charges does not establish his guilt.
Investigators determined that Vinson had been responsible for watching the 4-year-old, the boy’s 6-year-old brother and other children that day, according to the arrest report. Police said the two brothers traveled about 0.2 miles from the residence to the apartment-complex swimming pool without an adult accompanying them.
Detectives reviewing surveillance video said the 4-year-old was seen approaching the pool and holding onto its edge before slipping into an area marked at about 5 feet deep. The child appeared to struggle before going fully underwater. Although other people were in the pool area, investigators said approximately nine minutes passed before someone noticed him, pulled him from the water and began lifesaving efforts.
Police said signs posted near the pool warned that no lifeguard was on duty and that children younger than 14 should not use the pool without adult supervision. Investigators also reported that Vinson did not appear in the surveillance footage at the pool before, during or immediately after the drowning.
Detectives obtained messages between Vinson and the child’s mother that they said addressed the lack of supervision and Vinson’s response following the incident. Authorities have not publicly released the full exchange, and the available reports do not provide enough information to independently establish the complete context of those messages.
Police said investigators tried to contact Vinson after reviewing the evidence but were initially unsuccessful. According to the arrest report, investigators later learned he had left the apartment where he had been staying shortly after the incident. Officers arrested him more than two weeks after the drowning at another Chattanooga address.
Vinson is a member of the Chattanooga R&B trio Citi Limitz. The group appeared on “America’s Got Talent” in 2025 after building a following online and had previously appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. His entertainment background has not been identified by authorities as having any connection to the criminal allegations.
Published reports differ on Vinson’s bond. People reported a $750,000 bond based on Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office inmate records, while the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the Hamilton County General Sessions Court Clerk’s Office listed his total bond at $900,000. The court-clerk figure is the more recent court-based total available in the reports reviewed.
Deputy Public Defender Mike Little told the Times Free Press that the case was new to his office and that it was too early for the defense to comment. Vinson had been appointed a public defender and remained in the Hamilton County Jail, according to the newspaper’s court reporting.
Vinson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8, before Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Samantha Lunn. Prosecutors will be required to prove the charges in court, and Vinson is presumed innocent unless found guilty.