Back in 2021, American Idol welcomed Caleb Kennedy to the stage as he mesmerized the judges with his voice. It wasn’t only the judges as fans rallied around the singer, helping propel him into the Top 5. But it all came crashing down when he was kicked off the show due to a questionable video surfacing online. Although apologizing at the time, his time on American Idol ended. And while continuing to explore a career in music, it appears Kennedy found himself on the wrong side of the law as a judge denied him bond after he was charged with a felony DUI charge that killed a 54-year-old man.
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On February 8, Kennedy decided to drive his 2011 Ford pickup in South Carolina. While on the road, the former American Idol contestants supposedly drove off-road and crashed into a building. Sadly, Larry Duane Parris was inside the building at the time. While still under investigation, Kennedy hoped to get out of jail on a bond.
With Larry’s wife, Donna, and daughter, Kesli, in attendance, they urged the judge to deny the body. Kelsi insisted, “I see my daddy laying in his own shop, moaning and groaning, with a stranger not even calling 911. He killed my dad, point-blank. I wish I could pay a little bit of money or a lot of money to have my daddy back.”
Former ‘American Idol’ Contestants Remains Behind Bars
Continuing to recall the experience of her father’s passing, Kelsi said, “I hear my screams begging for him to look at me and stay awake. I hear the firefighters cutting the door to get in there to him. I hear the surgeon telling us he’s not going to survive.”
Turning her attention to Kennedy, Kelsi concluded, “If I have to relive that every day for the rest of my life, please explain to me how he even has the opportunity to see the light of day ever again. Him! He did this! He should have to sit there. We request that bond be denied.”
As for Kennedy’s attorney, the defense asked he be released due to it taking months before the former American Idol contestant could get a hearing. “It is unfair to this kid to be sitting in jail for months on a backlog with [State Law Enforcement Division] and the fact that a magistrate judge down in jail didn’t do his job anyway and set a bond. I am just sorry judge, but I am standing up and saying a bond should be set today.”
Sharing the last moment of Larry’s life, the judge agreed with the Parris family and denied Kennedy a bond.
(Talent Recap, 2021)
