Closing arguments are due in the murder trial of Caleb Flynn, an Ohio music pastor and former American Idol contestant accused of killing his wife during an affair with a younger woman.
Flynn, 40, has pleaded not guilty to murder, assault and tampering with evidence over the February shooting of Ashley Flynn, 37, at the couple’s home in Tipp City, north of Dayton. Their two daughters were at home when police arrived.
Prosecutors allege that Flynn staged a break-in and falsely told emergency dispatchers that an intruder had shot his wife. The defence has argued that investigators found no gunshot residue on Flynn and no blood from Ashley on him.
Affair partner gives evidence in Caleb Flynn murder trial
The prosecution’s case has included testimony from Alleigha Botner, who said she began an affair with Flynn in 2022 while working as a 20-year-old intern at his church. She said the relationship continued for more than a year and involved more than 100,000 messages.
Botner told jurors that Flynn spoke about leaving Ashley and expressed hostility towards her. “He told me that he hates her,” she said. “He told me the only reason that he’s still with her is because of the girls.”
She also read messages in which she had written: “I want to kill her, Caleb.” Flynn replied: “That makes two of us.”
In a message sent about six months before Ashley’s death, Flynn allegedly wrote: “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
Botner later told him she was not seriously asking him to kill Ashley and said she meant that a divorce would change their circumstances. Under cross-examination, she said that messages including “Until she’s gone, I’m gone” referred to divorce.
Botner did not contact the FBI until four days after the shooting, after her aunt alerted authorities. She initially said she did not believe Flynn was responsible, but later told investigators the killing was “way too much of a coincidence”.
Asked how she felt about Flynn now, Botner replied: “I hate him.” She added: “Because I believe that he murdered his wife.”
Prosecutors also played recordings of love songs Flynn had made for Botner, including the lyrics: “Age never mattered, when it was you and me,” and “we danced on the edge of a life we could choose, so close to forever, so much left to lose.”
Police evidence and the 911 call
Jurors heard Flynn’s emergency call, in which he said someone had entered the house and killed Ashley. He told the dispatcher she had been shot several times in the head and that he did not know whether the attacker was still inside.
Police found the garage door, a side door and the centre console of Flynn’s pickup truck open. Flynn said he kept a gun in the console, but officers did not find one there, and investigators have not found the weapon used in the shooting.
In police interviews, Flynn said he had been asleep on the sofa before being woken by two gunshots. He also mentioned a man who had visited the house the previous day, handed Ashley an American flag and made what he described as a strange sales pitch about America.
In another interview, Flynn said: “We are a normal married couple who love each other and disagree. I’ve never laid hands on her.”
The defence highlighted the absence of gunshot residue on Flynn and the lack of Ashley’s blood on him. Lawyers also said none of Flynn’s tools appeared to have caused the damage to the garage door.
Flynn did not give evidence, and the defence called no witnesses. After eight days of testimony from 40 prosecution witnesses, including detectives and forensic experts, both sides formally rested their cases on Monday.
Defence lawyer Emily Smith acknowledged the affair in her opening statement but told jurors Flynn was not on trial for infidelity. “Caleb is not on trial for being a bad husband. He’s not on trial for cheating. You’re not here to deliberate on whether or not you like Caleb,” she said.
Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday, after which the jury is due to begin deliberations. Prosecutors did not call Flynn’s daughters, aged 10 and 12, to testify.
Flynn appeared on the 12th season of American Idol in 2013, singing during televised auditions in Chicago. He did not progress to the Hollywood stage of the competition, which was won by Candice Glover.
During the programme, Flynn said music was all he knew and credited Ashley with encouraging him to audition. “I love my wife more than anything,” he said at the time. “She’s very, very pretty. Oof, I love her.”
Ashley worked as a substitute teacher and coached middle-school volleyball. Her obituary described her as a devoted wife and mother, while Tipp City Schools said she was known for her warmth, kindness and influence in the classroom and on the court.
