The Caleb Flynn murder trial is set to move into closing arguments Tuesday, capping eight days of testimony in the case of the former Ohio music pastor and one-time American Idol contestant accused of killing his wife at their Tipp City home.
Flynn, 40, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence in the February shooting death of Ashley Flynn, 37, a teacher and volleyball coach. Authorities said Flynn and the couple’s two daughters were at the home, north of Dayton, when officers arrived.
Jurors have heard from a woman who said she was in an affair with Flynn at the time of the killing, along with audio of AI-generated love songs prosecutors say he made for her and samples from what investigators described as more than 100,000 text messages exchanged between them.
Caleb Flynn murder trial: mistress testifies
The most dramatic testimony came from 24-year-old Alleigha Botner, who told jurors she met Flynn in 2022 while interning at his church and then carried on a yearlong affair. She recounted private conversations in which Flynn allegedly spoke about leaving his wife and expressed hatred toward her.
On the stand, Botner read texts in which she wrote, “I want to kill her, Caleb,” and said Flynn responded, “That makes two of us.” Prosecutors also presented an August 2025 message from Flynn stating he had been up late “trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
Botner told jurors that when she used ultimatums such as “Until she’s gone, I’m gone,” she meant divorce. Asked how she now feels about Flynn, she replied that she hates him and believes he killed his wife.
She said she first spoke to the FBI four days after the homicide after a tip from her aunt. In her initial interview, she said she did not think Flynn was responsible, but later told investigators the timing felt like “too much of a coincidence.”
Prosecutors played clips of Flynn’s AI-generated songs with lyrics about a forbidden relationship and the age gap between him and Botner.
911 call and police interviews presented
Jurors heard Flynn’s 911 call in which he reported a break-in and said a burglar shot his wife multiple times in the head. Responding officers found the garage door, a side door and the center console of Flynn’s pickup truck open.
Flynn told police he kept a gun in the console, but no firearm was found there, according to a police report. Investigators have not recovered the weapon used in the killing.
The defense emphasized that tests detected no gunshot residue on Flynn the night of the shooting and that none of Ashley Flynn’s blood was on him. Defense attorneys also noted investigators concluded none of Flynn’s tools matched damage to the garage door.
Jurors watched recordings of Flynn’s police interviews. Wearing a sweatshirt reading “God-Sized Vision,” Flynn cried and said he awoke to gunshots while sleeping on the couch.
He told investigators that a man had visited the home the day before, handed his wife an American flag and made what he called a “weird sales pitch for America.” In another interview, Flynn said he and his wife were a normal couple who loved each other and disagreed, and that he had never laid hands on her.
Flynn did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses.
Closing arguments expected Tuesday in Caleb Flynn murder trial
After 40 prosecution witnesses, including detectives and forensics experts, both sides rested Monday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, after which the jury will begin deliberations.
In opening statements, defense attorney Emily Smith acknowledged Flynn’s affair but told jurors he was not on trial for infidelity or being a bad husband.
Prosecutors chose not to call the couple’s daughters, ages 10 and 12, to the stand.
Flynn appeared on American Idol in 2013 during televised Chicago auditions before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj, but he did not advance to Hollywood.
Tipp City Schools described Ashley Flynn as a substitute teacher and middle school volleyball coach known for her smile, warmth and positive impact on students and players. Her obituary said she volunteered at Christian Life Center and participated in a program that teaches the Bible to public school students.
Questions over culpability and the criminal process have surfaced in other recent cases, including when a Nolan Wells grand jury finds no criminal wrongdoing despite public scrutiny.
