Former American Idol contestant faces wife’s murder trial in Ohio

Caleb Flynn’s former lover testified at his Ohio murder trial that he sent her a message about ways to kill his wife without going to jail, as prosecutors presented texts they say bear on the killing of Ashley Flynn.

Flynn, 40, a former music pastor who appeared on the 12th season of “American Idol,” has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he shot Ashley twice in the back of the head as she slept on Feb. 16, then staged their Tipp City home to resemble the scene of a break-in. The gun has not been recovered. Flynn has said he was in another room when she was killed.

His defense acknowledges his affair with Alleigha Botner but says it does not prove he committed murder. “A man can make selfish decisions without committing a crime,” defense attorney Emily Smith said, according to The Guardian. Defense lawyers have also argued that police accused Flynn too quickly and that publicity has distorted the case.

Botner, 24, testified that she had an affair with Flynn for about 18 months. She met him while interning at his church, according to CBS News. The two exchanged more than 100,000 texts before Ashley’s death, CBS reported. In an Aug. 22, 2025, message shown in court, Flynn said he had stayed up until 4 a.m. “thinking of ways to kill her and not going to jail.”

Botner urged him to divorce his wife instead. “I’m not asking that you take her life, obviously, because that’s not what you should do, and I know you actually wouldn’t,” she wrote. Botner testified that she sometimes questioned whether Flynn hated Ashley, citing affectionate messages between the couple.

The Guardian reported that Ashley discovered messages between her husband and Botner during a cruise celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary in August 2025. Ashley tried to arrange a meeting with Botner, who said she was busy. Botner later told Flynn, “Until she’s gone, I’m gone.” Asked by defense lawyers what she meant, Botner testified: “I always meant divorce.”

The day before Ashley was found dead, Flynn told Botner he would leave his wife the next day, according to CBS News. On the morning of the shooting, Botner texted him: “Caleb, what’s going on? Were you involved? Is this real?” He did not respond. Botner said she deleted the message because she feared police would discover their affair on his phone.

Botner said she initially told FBI agents she did not believe Flynn had killed his wife but changed her view after another interview, calling the timing “way too much of a coincidence.” She acknowledged initially lying to the FBI. Asked in court how she feels about Flynn now, she said, “I hate him.”

The Guardian reported that investigators recovered AI-generated love songs from Flynn’s phone. Ashley’s sister, Kayla Keyt, testified that she initially believed police had arrested the wrong person. After learning of the affair, Keyt said the couple’s two daughters were “mostly broken-hearted for mommy.”