By Adegboyega Adeleye
Former American Idol contestant and Ohio pastor Caleb Flynn has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, after a jury convicted him on all nine charges brought against him.
According to the BBC, Flynn, 40, fatally shot Ashley, 37, twice in the back of the head while she slept at their home in Tipp City, Ohio, on February 16, before attempting to make it appear that intruders were responsible.
The jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for less than three hours, with an emotional Flynn seen crying in court.
He was also found guilty of aggravated murder and tampering with evidence, among other charges, and faces life imprisonment without parole. He is due to be sentenced on October 5.
Flynn’s trial lasted eight days and featured evidence from police body-camera footage, his iPhone and Apple Watch activity, as well as testimony from dozens of witnesses.
Prosecutors also called Flynn’s former mistress, Alleigha Botner, who testified about their nearly 18-month relationship after they met while she was an intern at his church.
Some of the more than 100,000 text messages exchanged between Flynn and Botner were read in court, including messages in which he expressed a desire for his wife to die.
In one message sent to Botner in August 2025, Flynn wrote that he had stayed awake thinking of ways to kill his wife without going to prison.
Botner told the court that she now hated Flynn because she believed he had murdered his wife.
Prosecutor Paul Watkins relied heavily on Flynn’s messages during closing arguments, arguing that they demonstrated his hostility towards his wife.
Watkins also told jurors that Flynn feared losing custody of his daughters, his job with his wife’s family business and his position at the church if the couple divorced.
The prosecution further pointed to inconsistencies in Flynn’s account of what happened when police arrived at the family home shortly after the shooting.
Flynn initially told officers that he had been in his daughters’ bedroom when he heard gunshots and later found his wife dead. He also told police that he noticed the garage side door was open.
Prosecutors said Flynn later told investigators that he had not been to the garage.
His defence lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, argued that there was no concrete evidence linking Flynn to the killing and said evidence of his infidelity did not prove murder.
Flynn’s gun, which had reportedly been kept in the centre console of his truck, has not been recovered. Investigators found the console open when they arrived at the scene.
Prosecutors also presented an AI-generated song that Flynn allegedly wrote about his relationship with Botner and dedicated to her.
Botner testified about the song’s lyrics, explaining them line by line. Video showing the jury’s reaction to the song, including apparent laughter, later circulated widely online.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations special agent Joseph Wilhelm also testified that several applications had been deleted from Flynn’s phone before his wife’s death, including Instagram and an AI music-generating application that he said was connected to Flynn’s relationship with Botner.
Flynn became known to television audiences after appearing on American Idol in 2013.
He auditioned during the show’s 12th season before judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson and received a “golden ticket” to Hollywood, although he did not make it to the main competition.
At the time, Flynn said music was what he lived to do and that he loved singing. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5.
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