The Ohio former pastor and American Idol contestant accused of fatally shooting his wife fantasized to his then lover about killing his spouse and sent her AI-generated love songs, according to evidence presented at trial this week.
uncertain
pastor → accuse → trial
He also is charged with two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence, according to a March indictment.
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He → charge → indictment
Flynn has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
asserted
Flynn → plead → charges
Prosecutors say Flynn – motivated by a desire to be with his girlfriend, Alleigha Botner – shot his sleeping wife twice in the back of the head.
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Flynn → say → head
He allegedly altered the crime scene to look like a deadly home invasion.
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He → alter → invasion
Flynn’s defense team has acknowledged the affair, but said at trial it does not make him a murderer.
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him → acknowledge → trial
“A man can make selfish decisions without committing a crime,” defense attorney Emily Smith said.
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Smith → make → crime
Investigators recovered songs from Flynn’s phone, where he reflected on his friendship with Botner evolving into a romantic relationship.
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friendship → recover → relationship
“That first time I saw you the room disappeared, love at first sight even though I was scared,” a voice sang in a style reminiscent of Christian rock, according to video broadcast by Court TV.
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voice → see → TV
“Life is now empty, since the moment I lost you,” the song ended.
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song → lose → you
A second version with similar lyrics but delivered in a somber tone was also played to the court.
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version → deliver → court
Botner was 20 when she met Flynn at their church, Botner testified.
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Botner → meet → church
“At first it was: I want her dead.
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her → want → ?
I wish she was gone.
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she → wish → ?
And then it was: if I could kill her and not go to jail, I would.
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I → kill → jail
And one night, he was up really late – he told me he was thinking about ways to kill her,” Botner, now 24, said.
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Botner → tell → her
Flynn also repeatedly said he hated his wife in several texts to Botner.
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he → say → Botner
During an August 2025 cruise to celebrate the married couple’s 15th wedding anniversary, Ashley Flynn found texts her husband had sent to Botner.
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husband → celebrate → Botner
She tried to arrange a coffee meet-up with Botner.
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She → try → Botner
Botner avoided the conversation, saying she was busy.
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she → avoid → conversation
In January, Botner gave Caleb Flynn an ultimatum: leave your wife or it’s over.
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it → give → wife
At about this time, Flynn sent her the AI-generated songs.
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Flynn → send → songs
On 14 February, two days before Ashley was shot, Botner testified that Flynn said he was getting a divorce and would finally be free of his wife, to which Botner said she did not believe him.
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she → shoot → him
“I told him that I don’t trust him and that I’m moving on with my life,” she said on the stand.
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she → tell → stand
When Ashley Flynn was found dead, her sister Kayla Keyt did not have knowledge of the affair.
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sister → find → affair
She told police when Caleb was arrested that they had the wrong guy.
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they → tell → guy
“I trusted Caleb with everything I had in me …
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I → trust → me
I really believed that with all of my heart,” Keyt said.
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Keyt → believe → heart
The FBI subsequently informed her of the affair.
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FBI → inform → affair
Keyt said news of the affair made the couple’s two daughters “mostly broken-hearted for mommy”.
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daughters → say → mommy
“They said she loved daddy more than anyone else in life.
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she → say → life
So why did daddy not love her as much?” she testified.
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she → love → her
Flynn appeared briefly on American Idol’s 12th season in 2013, describing music as his passion and saying his wife nudged him to go on the show.
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wife → appear → show
The trial, which is expected to wrap by the end of next week, will resume on Monday.
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which → expect → Monday
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