The parents of the former American Idol contestant who killed his wife broke their silence after he was found guilty on Tuesday.
asserted
he → kill → Tuesday
Caleb Flynn, 40, is scheduled for sentencing in early October for murdering his wife, Ashley, after a yearslong affair with a woman who worked at the church where they both served on the worship team.
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they → schedule → team
After the jury's decision, Flynn's mother, Kim, sobbed as she spoke to reporters and blamed journalists for the guilty verdict.
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she → sob → verdict
'We couldn't get ahead of the media's propaganda and lies,' she lamented.
'He didn't do it.
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He → get → it
It was all circumstantial junk,' she said.
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she → say → ?
Flynn shot his wife dead while she slept in their marital bed in their Ohio home on February 16, jurors ruled after just two and a half hours of deliberation.
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jurors → shoot → deliberation
Flynn's lip quivered and tears rolled down his cheeks as the judge read out the guilty verdict in the Miami County courthouse on Tuesday.
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judge → quiver → Tuesday
He shook back and forth and wept before bowing his head in apparent prayer as Ashley's vindicated family members looked on.
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members → shake → prayer
Flynn's bond was revoked and he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
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he → revoke → handcuffs
His sentencing is scheduled for October 5.
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sentencing → schedule → October
He is now facing life in prison without parole for Ashley's murder, which police say he carried out while the couple's two young daughters, then nine and 11, were home.
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daughters → face → murder
He had pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and several other charges.
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He → plead → evidence
Prosecutors filed a motion on Monday afternoon to dismiss two misdemeanor counts of intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case.
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Prosecutors → file → case
A jury has found Caleb Flynn, 40, guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley, after he cheated on her with a mistress who worked at the church where he was a preacher
Flynn shook back and forth and wept before bowing his head in prayer after the judge read out the guilty verdict in the Miami County courthouse
Flynn shot Ashley dead while she slept in their marital bed at their Tipp City, Ohio, home on February 16
Flynn told police in a frantic 911 call that a burglar came into their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton, and killed 37-year-old Ashley.
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burglar → find → Ashley
But prosecutors argued that the former worship pastor staged the break-in in an attempt to mislead investigators.
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pastor → argue → investigators
He had been having an affair with Alleigha Botner, a worship leader at his church, and wanted out of the marriage, prosecutors said.
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prosecutors → have → marriage
He also did not want to lose custody of his daughters, his high-paying job at Ashley's family's business or his position in the church, the court was told.
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court → want → church
During the trial, Botner admitted to having an affair with Flynn and testified that he said he hated Ashley and had thoughts of killing her.
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he → admit → her
Botner, 24, testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at the Christian Life Center in Dayton.
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she → testify → Dayton
She and Flynn shared more than 100,000 texts over the course of their 18-month-long romance, which she told the court began in early 2024.
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she → share → 2024
The mistress, who has since resigned from her role at the church and moved to North Carolina, read some of their messages aloud to the jury.
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who → resign → jury
He regularly complained about his wealthy in-laws, Botner testified, and said Flynn told her he only stayed with Ashley because of their two pre-teen daughters.
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he → complain → daughters
The married man and his mistress got matching tattoos, with Flynn's in his armpit, so his spouse would not notice.
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spouse → get → armpit
Each got a lightning bolt, signifying their shared love of Harry Potter.
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Each → get → Potter
Flynn's bond was revoked and he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs
Ashley's family react after the 40-year-old was found guilty of all counts
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old → revoke → counts
Flynn's father, who sat directly behind his son in court throughout the duration of the trial, appeared heartbroken as the 40-year-old was hauled off to jail
Botner told the court that Flynn ignored her ultimatums to leave his wife for her – the final one allegedly given the month before Ashley was killed.
In one September 2025 message, Flynn himself listed what he was prepared to sacrifice to be with his mistress.
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he → sit → mistress
He said he was willing to risk his 'daughters, a quarter-million-dollar salary job, a place to live, possibly a church I serve at, public shame and humiliation, and way more.
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I → say → daughters
Botner, meanwhile, repeatedly demanded that he leave Ashley.
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he → demand → Ashley
'Until she's gone, I'm gone,' she wrote in one ultimatum.
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she → go → ultimatum
'I was up until 4am last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail,' he wrote.
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he → cry → jail
Botner responded by explicitly telling him not to kill Ashley.
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Botner → respond → Ashley
'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.
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she → ask → what
'But to make the divorce happen, it would change everything.
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it → make → everything
Flynn responded: 'I'll work on getting rid of her.
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I → respond → her
Until then, I love you.'
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I → love → you
Police say Flynn carried out the murder while the couple's two young daughters, then nine and 11, were asleep in the home
Flynn insists he was sleeping in another room with his daughters when an intruder broke in through their garage and killed his wife
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intruder → say → wife
By the night before Ashley's death, prosecutors say the pair's secret relationship had reached a decisive moment.
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relationship → say → moment
Botner sent Flynn information she had researched about divorce proceedings, custody, deleting messages and how Ashley could potentially prove her husband's infidelity.
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Ashley → send → infidelity
Shortly before midnight, Flynn sent his mistress one final message.
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Flynn → send → message
He wrote: 'Good night, tomorrow's a big day.
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tomorrow → write → ?
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
