Obituary
Former American Idol contestant Caleb Kennedy faced the family of the man he killed earlier this month at his second bond hearing Thursday.
Larry Duane Parris was in his Spartanburg, South Carolina, garage on Feb. 8 when the 17-year-old singer crashed into the building mortally injuring the 54-year-old. Authorities allege Kennedy was under the influence.
The Parris family, including Larry’s daughter Kesli and wife Donna, gave an emotional plea during the virtual court hearing, asking the judge to deny his bond.
“I see my daddy laying in his own shop, moaning and groaning, with a stranger not even calling 911,” Kelsi said with her mother by her side, according to The State. “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.”
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“I hear my screams begging for him to look at me and stay awake,” Kelsi continued, per local news station WYFF. “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.”
“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,” Kelsi said according to local news station WSPA. “Him! He did this! He should have to sit there. We request that bond be denied.”
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The circuit court judge denied Kennedy’s bond, citing that the court is waiting for the country singer’s toxicity report before the judge can decide on the matter of bond, WSPA reports. This is the second time a judge has done so.
His attorney slammed the decision, saying, according to WSPA, “He just barely turned 17 judge.”
“This could be months and months before we could get back in court and there are much more egregious cases than this on a felony DUI that are given bond,” the defense attorney said. “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.”
Kennedy was charged with driving under the influence resulting in death following the crash, which took place just after 12:30 p.m., Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the South Carolina Highway Patrol confirmed to PEOPLE at the time of the crash.
The former-Idol competitor’s manager, his mother, did not respond when contacted at the time of his arrest. His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Larry was the founder of the Parris Construction Company and was a member of New Beginnings Church, according to his obituary.
His hobbies included hunting, fishing, working on boats, attending auctions, and dirt track racing, and was “always lending a helping hand” to those in need. “No matter what you needed, Larry was the man to call,” read his obit.
In addition to his wife, Donna, and daughter, Kelsi, Larry is survived by Kelsi’s husband, Caleb Harvell; brother Ray and his wife Kaye; his two sisters, Lori Wall and Becky Gregg with husband Danny; and a “special nephew,” Josh Upton.
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Kennedy advanced to the Top 5 on American Idol last season; however, he was booted from the show after a controversial video of him hanging out with a friend who was wearing a hood similar to the ones worn by the Ku Klux Klan surfaced online.
“American Idol contestant Caleb Kennedy will no longer be moving forward in the competition. Sunday’s episode will feature the Top 4 with one contestant elimination,” a source close to the show told PEOPLE at the time.
After the video surfaced, Kennedy apologized via Instagram, saying that “it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”
“On Idol, that wasn’t me. That world is so different,” the teen singer said. “Now that I’m home, I try to be me, but I’m also scared of someone videoing me when I go to Academy or Wal-Mart. You have to worry about things like that now.”
