Former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn is set to be sentenced Monday, as prosecutors urge an Ohio judge to impose life in prison without parole for the murder of his wife.
Flynn is expected to appear in a Miami County courtroom at 3 p.m. before Judge Jeannine N. Pratt. The hearing comes less than a week after a jury found him guilty on all nine charges related to the killing of Ashley Flynn.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday, prosecutors asked Pratt to impose life without parole for aggravated murder, as well as the maximum sentences allowed for additional charges that do not merge with the aggravated murder conviction.
Flynn’s attorneys have requested a lesser sentence that would allow him to become eligible for parole after serving time in prison.
Caleb Flynn stands in court Tuesday, Sept. 29, as an Ohio jury returns guilty verdicts on all nine charges in the murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn. (Credit: WKEF)
Flynn maintains that he is innocent and plans to appeal the convictions, according to his attorneys.
Prosecutors contend the circumstances warrant Ohio’s harshest possible punishment. They accused Flynn of spending months planning Ashley’s murder and showing no genuine remorse afterward.
After approximately 2½ hours of deliberation, jurors convicted Flynn of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence.
The defense countered that Flynn had no prior criminal record and could be rehabilitated. Attorneys pointed to his years in ministry and letters of support submitted by members of his family.
Flynn’s parents were among several relatives who asked Pratt to show their son mercy before sentencing.
His father, Mike Flynn, told the judge that his son’s “brokenness, shame, and remorse” were sincere. His mother, Kim Flynn, wrote that Flynn had “repented to his Lord” and regretted the decisions he made. Both appealed to Pratt for leniency.
Prosecutors strongly rejected that account, saying Flynn has neither taken responsibility nor demonstrated authentic remorse. They are asking Pratt to sentence him to life without the possibility of parole.
The verdict followed a trial that brought Flynn’s secret affair, thousands of messages with his mistress and discussions about killing Ashley into the open. Ashley was shot twice in the back of the head inside the couple’s Tipp City home on Feb. 16.
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Substitute teacher and volleyball coach Ashley Flynn was discovered dead in her Ohio home. Her husband was convicted of her murder. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook | Tipp City Schools)
Prosecutors said Flynn killed Ashley and then staged the home to suggest that an intruder had broken in.
Flynn’s relationship with Alleigha Botner was central to the prosecution’s case. Investigators recovered about 107,000 messages exchanged between the pair, and prosecutors presented selected conversations to the jury.
Some of the messages showed Flynn discussing his desire for Ashley to die and considering methods of killing her without ending up in prison.
Alleigha Botner testifies in the Ohio murder trial of former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn. Prosecutors say Botner had an affair with Flynn before his wife, Ashley Flynn, was killed. (CREDIT: WKEF)
Botner also read messages sent in the hours before Ashley’s death. In one exchange, Flynn wrote, “It’s happening” and “Tomorrow it all starts.” In another, Botner told him, “You’re about to be free.”
Flynn’s defense argued that prosecutors had stripped the messages of their context. Attorneys said references to being “free” referred to a possible divorce, not a plan to commit murder.
Investigators never recovered the murder weapon, and Flynn was never tested for gunshot residue.
Jurors heard testimony about searches of storm drains, culverts, the Flynn home and other locations as investigators tried unsuccessfully to find the gun.
Flynn had pleaded not guilty.
He visibly broke down as the guilty verdicts were read Sept. 29, shaking and wiping tears from his face as jurors convicted him count by count.
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