Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn displayed intense physical reactions in court Monday as he faced trial for allegedly murdering his wife, a schoolteacher.
Flynn, 40, has repeatedly broken down when evidence related to the February shooting of Ashley Flynn, 37, was discussed. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge in connection with her death in Tipp City, Ohio.
During proceedings in Troy, Flynn—who appeared on American Idol in 2013 and now works as a pastor—strained his neck so forcefully that veins became visible beneath his skin.
The reaction came as Ohio Bureau of Investigation Detective David Hammond guided jurors through an image showing a bloodstained nightstand.
Flynn showed further signs of distress as jurors prepared to view a graphic photograph of Ashley’s body. She was shot with a 9mm handgun while the couple’s two young children slept in their bunk beds.
Flynn stared toward Judge Jeannine Pratt as the back of his shirt collar repeatedly rose and fell while he jerked forward in his seat.
His neck and ears turned bright red as the courtroom was shown an image of the severe head injuries Ashley sustained in the shooting.
As the significance of the photographs appeared to sink in, Flynn became increasingly overwhelmed.
American Idol star Caleb Flynn broke down again while being tried for his wife Ashley’s murder on Monday. Veins in the stars neck bulged, while he also scratched at himself and turned bright red
Flynn, his wife Ashley and their two daughters are pictured celebrating Christmas together. The girls were asleep in their bunk beds when their mother was murdered
He swallowed repeatedly, lowered his head and frantically wiped his face with tissues as tears began streaming down his cheeks.
Prosecution witnesses on Monday also sought to challenge Flynn’s claim that an intruder killed Ashley. Investigators have never identified or located a suspect in that alleged break-in.
Flynn fidgeted as Detective Hammond explained that the handle on the garage door had been broken off, a detail that prompted the family’s intruder theory.
He appeared uncomfortable when Hammond presented evidence that prosecutors said weakened the burglary explanation.
Hammond described one detail as particularly unusual: Although the garage door was damaged, investigators found no indication that anyone had tried to force it open to enter the property.
Flynn glanced from side to side before looking down as the detective made the claim.
He scratched his ear while Hammond testified: ‘I couldn’t find any damage… both locks were unlocked. There was no evidence a pry tool was inserted to open it.’
Flynn then shook his head from side to side in a brief display of anger as Hammond added: ‘It didn’t look right to me.’
A photo shown in court Monday said to depict Flynn’s SUV with a gun safe where he usually kept his weapon. It was empty in the wake of the shooting
A bullet that traveled through Ashley’s head and into her elbow is seen in a piece of photographic evidence shared with the court on Monday
Flynn was also seen rolling his shoulders during the trial, which saw prosecutors allege that the gun Flynn normally kept in his car was missing after Ashley’s killing.
And it wasn’t just the American Idol contestant who caught the eye, with a female member of the public ejected from court after trying to subtly give the finger to a sheriff’s deputy.
It is unclear what prompted the dramatic incident.
Last week, the court was told how Flynn had cheated on Ashley with an unidentified mistress and shown texts where he’d expressed a desire to kill his spouse.
Flynn sent the woman more than 100,000 messages during the yearslong affair, including one which read: ‘If I could literally kill her and not go to hell I would in a heartbeat.
‘That is how dark and hateful I feel.’
Flynn is seen during one of his many meltdowns at his trial for murdering his late wife Ashley
Flynn appeared on American Idol in 2013. He made it through the first round of auditions but was later knocked out of the show
Prosecutor Paul M. Watkins read another text to the court in which Flynn told the woman: ‘I was up until 4AM last night crying.
‘Literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail.’
Flynn’s attorney Emily Smith says he admits the affair and that the texts were ‘hurtful and selfish’, but said only to appease his mistress.
Smith says the texts do not offer any proof beyond reasonable doubt that Flynn killed Ashley.
He passed his initial American Idol audition and made it to the show’s Hollywood rounds before being given the boot.
The trial continues.
