Former AGT Contestant DeShundre Vinson Faces Murder Charge in Nephew’s Drowning
A former 2025 America’s Got Talent (AGT) contestant, DeShundre Vinson, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday, September 8. He faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with his four-year-old nephew’s drowning death.
Vinson, 22, performed with his Chicago-based R&B group CitiLimitz on the show last year. He has spent the past week in local jail following the incident on August 16.
Chattanooga Police say Vinson was supervising his four-year-old nephew, the boy’s six-year-old brother, and other children that day. He was absent, however, when the youngest child spent about nine minutes underwater.
According to an affidavit, investigators say Vinson let the two boys walk about two-tenths of a mile to the apartment complex pool without adult supervision.
Officers happened to be at the apartment complex on an unrelated call when they heard screams from the pool area. They arrived to find bystanders performing CPR on the four-year-old after pulling him from the water.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed the child walking from the pool’s edge into deeper water. He struggled, then went underwater for about nine minutes, the affidavit states. Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital, where he died on August 21.
Police say Vinson and the apartment’s leaseholder left the area after the drowning, and investigators could not locate them.
Authorities found Vinson two and a half weeks later at a different Chattanooga address and took him into custody at the Hamilton County jail. A judge set his bond at $750,000.
Investigators say the affidavit shows Vinson sent messages to the boys’ mother admitting he had not supervised the children at the pool. The pool reportedly displayed a sign warning that children under 14 should not use it without an adult present. Vinson also responded slowly once the drowning occurred, investigators say.
Vinson faces one count of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse. He and the leaseholder reportedly moved out of the apartment shortly after the drowning.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Vinson waived the ten-day rule, which requires a preliminary hearing within ten days if a defendant cannot make bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 16.
Vinson, who performs as Dre, appeared on AGT last year with his cousins Marionn and A.T. Their cover of K-Ci and JoJo’s “All My Life” earned a standing ovation from judges Howie Mandel and Mel B. The group was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
