The mistress of a former American Idol contestant accused of killing his wife described the disturbing details of their affair while testifying against him Wednesday.
Caleb Flynn, 40, is facing trial over the alleged murder of his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn, who was found dead inside their Tipp City, Ohio, home on February 16.
Prosecutors allege that Flynn shot his wife after carrying on a years-long affair before staging the home to appear as though a burglar had broken in.
Flynn has pleaded not guilty. He maintains that an intruder killed Ashley while he slept only a few feet away in another room with the couple’s two pre-teen daughters.
Alleigha Botner, 24, took the witness stand and offered several revelations about her relationship with Flynn.
Botner testified that she was 20 when she met Flynn at the Christian Life Center in Dayton, Ohio, in 2022. She was working there as an intern, while Flynn, then 36 or 37, volunteered at the church.
During her internship, Botner told jurors, she learned “how to be the best worship leader I could be.”
She said she was initially unaware that Flynn was married. After learning the truth, she said, Flynn frequently complained about his wife’s family, the Smiths, whom he worked for.
Botner Takes the Stand
“He told me that he couldn’t stand any of the Smiths. He would say that he hates them,” Botner testified, recalling how Flynn spoke about his in-laws.
According to Botner, their relationship turned romantic after she experienced a breakup in early 2024 and Flynn began showing an interest in her.
“Caleb expressed that he had feelings for me,” Botner said. “He said that the reason why he thinks it’s okay to have those feelings is because his wife cheated on him two years before 2024.”
“He told me that he hates her. He told me that the only reason why he is still with her is because of the girls.”
Botner said Flynn never showed her proof of the alleged infidelity, but claimed that a neighbor had witnessed his wife cheating.
She also testified that Flynn repeatedly said he hated Ashley and that the two of them exchanged insults about her throughout their affair.
“He said that he hated her. He wanted her dead. He would say so many awful things along the lines of hating her and wanting her dead,” Botner said.
“I also said awful things about Ashley. When we first met, he said that she wasn’t worthy of being called her first name, so we referred to her as douchebag.”
Botner Details Ultimatums to Flynn
“He called her [expletive], we called her [expletive], [expletive], a spawn of Satan. I used most of those same names.”
Botner further told the court that she and Flynn got matching tattoos. Hers is on her arm, while his is in his armpit.
“We got matching tattoos. [We] bonded over Harry Potter and got matching tattoos – a lightning bolt,” she said.
Botner said she eventually issued Flynn several ultimatums and deadlines to leave his wife.
She said: ‘If you don’t leave her by this specific date, then I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be with a married man anymore.’
Botner confirmed that Flynn never met any of the deadlines, and by January 2026, she was ‘done waiting.’
‘If he didn’t leave her by January 11, I told him I would leave him and live a life of purity.’
The pair communicated until February 14, but she chose not to reply to him at least two or three times during that period.
Botner’s Background
The glamorous young woman graduated from Graham High School in 2020, located in Saint Paris, about 20 miles outside of Tipp City.
Local newspapers reported that she was an honor roll student and was in the running for prom queen her senior year.
Social media posts from her family members indicated that Botner was a musician, a performer in the high school band and a member of the choir.
She testified that she attended Highlands College and received an associate’s degree in worship ministry.
Other posts circulating online appeared to show her and Flynn performing together on stage at church.
Botner also has a YouTube channel where she posted several videos years ago, including some that may have been filmed in the apartment where she and Flynn secretly met up.
