CHATTANOOGA, TN — A 22-year-old Chattanooga R&B singer was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Sept. 2, 2026, after his 4-year-old nephew drowned in an apartment complex swimming pool where no adult supervisor was present, Chattanooga police said.
Deshundre Vinson, a member of the Chattanooga-based vocal trio Citi Limitz, faces one count of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse in connection with the Aug. 16 death of the boy, who spent approximately nine minutes underwater before bystanders pulled him from the pool. The child was rushed to Erlanger Hospital and remained in the pediatric intensive care unit for five days before dying on Aug. 21. Investigators say Vinson, who was responsible for watching the child that day, was never present at the pool before, during, or after the drowning. The case has drawn wide attention because Vinson and Citi Limitz appeared on Season 20 of America’s Got Talent in 2025 after the group went viral on TikTok, and previously appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2019.
According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by local news outlets, Chattanooga police officers were already on the grounds of the apartment complex at 4905 Central Ave. responding to an unrelated call at approximately 5:40 p.m. on Aug. 16 when they heard screaming coming from the pool area. Officers ran toward the sound and found a civilian already performing CPR on the unconscious child, who had been pulled from the water. No adult at the scene could tell officers who the boy was or who had been watching him. First responders transported the child to Erlanger Hospital, where he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. He died from his injuries five days later, on Aug. 21. Detectives immediately launched an investigation to identify the child’s caregiver and determine how he had come to be at the pool without adult supervision.
Surveillance footage from the apartment complex proved central to the investigation, according to the arrest report. The video showed the 4-year-old walking to the center edge of the pool, entering the water, and holding onto the side. The child then slipped and moved into deeper water — an area of the pool marked as five feet deep — where he appeared visibly distressed before going fully underwater. The footage showed the boy remained submerged for approximately nine minutes before a nearby civilian noticed him, pulled him from the water, and began CPR. The pool area appeared mildly crowded at the time, according to the affidavit. Signs posted around the pool warned that no lifeguard was on duty and that children under the age of 14 were not permitted to use the pool without an adult present. Investigators reviewed the full surveillance record and confirmed that Vinson was not visible at the pool at any point before, during, or after the drowning took place, the arrest report stated.
Detectives determined through their investigation that Vinson had been designated as the caregiver responsible for watching the 4-year-old victim, the boy’s 6-year-old brother, and additional children on the day of the drowning. According to the affidavit, Vinson allowed the boys to walk approximately 0.2 miles from his apartment at 107 Goodson Ave. to the pool at the Central Avenue complex without any adult accompanying them. No parent, guardian, or other caregiver was with the children at any point during their time at the pool. Detectives also obtained text messages that Vinson sent to the boys’ mother in which he allegedly acknowledged both the lack of supervision and his failure to respond to the scene after the drowning occurred, according to police. Deputy Public Defender Mike Little, who was appointed to represent Vinson, said by email that the case was new to his office and that it was too soon for the defense to comment on the charges.
After reviewing the surveillance footage, detectives attempted to contact Vinson directly but were unable to reach him. Investigators later determined that Vinson and the person who held the lease on his apartment had vacated the unit shortly after the Aug. 16 incident, according to the arrest affidavit. The two-and-a-half-week gap between the drowning and the arrest reflected the difficulty authorities faced in locating him. Officers eventually found Vinson at a separate address on Laws Avenue in Chattanooga and took him into custody on Sept. 2. He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail that day. His bond was set at a total of $900,000, according to the Hamilton County General Sessions Court Clerk’s Office, and he was appointed a public defender. Citi Limitz is described on its website as an East Chattanooga trio made up of two brothers and their cousin, who perform together under the names A.T., Marion, and Dre. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that it reached out to the group’s management for comment and would publish any response when received.
The legal case against Vinson moved quickly once he was in custody. He was charged under Tennessee law with first-degree murder — a charge that, in this context, reflects allegations of criminal responsibility for the child’s death through gross neglect rather than direct physical harm — along with three counts of aggravated child abuse. Court records reviewed by reporters showed his next appearance was scheduled before Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Samantha Lunn on Sept. 8. The charges against Vinson are allegations, and he has not been convicted of any offense. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office inmate records confirmed he remained in custody as of the filing of the criminal complaint. The Chattanooga Police Department had not responded to a request for comment as of Sept. 5, according to one news outlet that contacted the agency. The investigation remains active, and no additional arrests had been announced as of that date.
The case drew immediate attention locally because of Vinson’s public profile as part of Citi Limitz, a group that Local 3 News in Chattanooga had previously covered when the trio earned a spot on America’s Got Talent. The show appearance came after the group gained a significant following on TikTok. Citi Limitz also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show years earlier, in 2019, making the trio one of Chattanooga’s more publicly recognized musical acts. None of the other members of the group have been named in connection with the investigation. Community members and law enforcement focused their statements on the circumstances surrounding the child’s death rather than the group’s entertainment history. The pool where the drowning occurred carried posted warnings about unsupervised minors — warnings that police say went unheeded on the afternoon of Aug. 16.
As of early September 2026, Vinson remained held at the Hamilton County Jail on a $900,000 bond. His case was assigned to a public defender’s office that declined to comment given how recently the matter had come to them. The next scheduled court date before Judge Lunn was set for Sept. 8, where the case was expected to move through the initial stages of the Tennessee court process.
