Caleb Flynn, a former “American Idol” contestant and pastor convicted last week of killing his wife and attempting to blame the crime on a supposed home intruder, was sentenced Monday in Ohio to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Flynn did not testify during his trial, but he continued to deny killing his wife, Ashley, before the sentence was imposed.
“I have unfortunately lied about a lot of things over the last couple of years, but as I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife,” Flynn said. “I will continue to fight for my innocence as long as the Lord allows me to, as I did not kill my wife.”
Jill Smith, Ashley Flynn’s mother, read a statement in court written by Alyssa Flynn, one of the couple’s two daughters.
“I love you deeply with all my heart, and it’s sad that you can’t love anyone but yourself,” Smith read from the statement by her 12-year-old granddaughter. The girl also said that admitting responsibility for the killing would be the least her father could do.
“Our family has never been stronger, and through all of what you put me through, God is going to work something out for good, and by the way, I don’t plan on coming to see you,” Smith read.
Miami County Common Pleas Judge Jeannine Pratt said the jury’s guilty verdict led her to what she called “one clear and obvious conclusion.”
“Your actions, Mr. Flynn, were abhorrent,” Pratt said. “The layers of deceit, manipulation and cruelty that you have shown are quite honestly impossible to fathom, and frankly, sir, you used your faith to manipulate the lives of others.”
Prosecutors said Flynn shot his 37-year-old wife twice in the back of the head as she slept on Feb. 16. They argued that he then rearranged the Tipp City, Ohio, house to make it appear that a burglar had entered before calling 911 and reporting that an intruder had committed the murder.
Flynn maintained that he was in another room when Ashley was killed.
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Pool Photo via AP
A jury convicted Flynn on nine counts, including aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence. The aggravated murder conviction carried the life sentence, while five additional charges—including the three murder counts—were merged into that punishment. He also received three years for each evidence-tampering count, three years apiece for two firearm enhancements and an additional year for a third firearm enhancement.
Caleb Flynn texted, “I need her to die”
During the trial, Alleigha Botner, 24, testified that she had an affair with Flynn and exchanged tens of thousands of text messages with him. Some of those messages included statements in which he expressed a desire for his wife’s death.
Botner said the relationship lasted about 18 months and began after she met Flynn while working as an intern at his church. She described efforts to conceal their communications, acknowledged initially lying to the FBI and said her phone and work laptop disappeared only weeks before Ashley’s death.
When asked how she viewed Flynn now, Botner answered, “I hate him.”
Several of the messages presented in court showed Flynn repeatedly saying that he wanted Ashley to die.
“I need her to die, to cheat again, to leave,” Flynn wrote to Botner about his wife on Feb. 11, 2025, nearly a year before Ashley was shot. FBI Special Agent Andrea Kinzig testified that investigators found no evidence on Ashley’s phone that she had been unfaithful, despite Flynn’s claims to Botner.
In another exchange weeks later, Flynn wrote, “I hate her as well and I want her gone.” On March 24, 2025, when Botner asked, “What can I do?” he replied, “Kill her.”
In a separate message, Flynn told Botner he had stayed awake until 4 a.m. thinking about how to kill Ashley without being sent to prison. He added that if he could kill her without going to hell, he would do it “in a heartbeat.”
