Investigators searching for the handgun prosecutors say former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn used to kill his wife combed storm drains with a powerful magnet, examined the undersides of vehicles and removed attic insulation in their hunt for the missing weapon.
But despite the exhaustive effort, the gun was never recovered, a Tipp City detective testified Monday during Flynn’s murder trial in Ohio.
Flynn is charged with fatally shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, inside their home on Feb. 16 and then arranging the scene to suggest that an intruder had broken in. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and several other charges.
Detective Adam Bernard described for jurors the extensive search conducted in the days after Ashley’s death as officers tried to locate the firearm.
Caleb Flynn becomes emotional in court during his murder trial in Ohio. Flynn is accused of killing his wife, Ashley Flynn, in February 2026 and staging the scene to look like a break-in. (COURTESY: WKEF)
Police first searched the backyard and nearby wooded areas. They then moved underground, using a high-powered magnet to sweep storm drains along multiple streets.
Bernard said investigators lifted the drain covers, lowered the magnet into the openings and dragged it through connecting pipes. He also climbed into accessible culverts with a flashlight to inspect spots the magnet might not have reached.
Nothing was found.
Investigators also put both vehicles from the Flynn residence on lifts, allowing them to inspect beneath the cars and search other potential hiding places, Bernard testified. That search produced no weapon either.
Body camera footage shows Caleb Flynn bending down to vomit after his wife’s murder inside their home in Tipp City, Ohio on Feb. 16, 2026. (Tipp City Police Department)
As the search continued, police rented specialized equipment to remove insulation from the attic and examine the space for the gun.
Bernard testified that detectives also investigated Flynn’s firearm purchase history. Flynn had previously said he bought a gun in South Carolina, where he obtained a concealed-carry permit.
The detective contacted nearly two dozen South Carolina gun stores, seeking records that might reveal the firearm’s make, model and serial number.
The inquiry did not uncover a firearm connected to either Flynn or Ashley.
Bernard’s testimony followed evidence from a forensic pathologist, who reviewed Ashley’s autopsy and described two gunshot wounds to the back of her head.
A Tipp City mother of two was found dead after a reported home invasion. Police use drones and K-9 units in the search for a suspect as the community mourns the tragic loss. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook)
Dr. Bryan Casto testified that the entrance wounds overlapped and that the bullets traveled through Ashley’s head along nearly parallel trajectories. One bullet exited her head, then entered her left arm near the elbow, where it was recovered during the autopsy.
Casto said the wounds and bullet paths indicated Ashley was shot from close range, although he could not determine the precise distance between her and the gun.
The pathologist concluded that Ashley died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
Earlier Monday, crime scene investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation guided jurors through evidence gathered inside the Flynn home as prosecutors worked to support their claim that the supposed break-in had been staged.
Ashley and Caleb Flynn in an undated photo with their two children. (GoFundMe)
A BCI crime scene technician who had examined between 20 and 30 forced-entry doors testified that the damage to a side garage door did not look like the forced entries she had previously investigated.
She said the damage was on the inside of the door rather than areas she would typically expect to be damaged if someone had kicked or pried their way inside.
Flynn’s defense challenged the state’s conclusions on cross-examination, pointing out that investigators could not determine when some of the door damage occurred and that no blood-spatter analysis was performed because conditions at the scene were not suitable for one.
Caleb Flynn in a 2013 “American Idol” Hometown Interview. Caleb is the husband of Ashley Flynn, who was shot and killed in her Ohio home on Monday, February 16, 2026. (YouTube/American Idol)
David Hammond, a senior special agent with BCI, also testified that he was not aware of evidence showing blood spatter from Ashley’s shooting on Flynn’s clothing.
The defense later pressed Bernard about tips received after the killing, including one from a caller who referenced an alleged “hit.”
Bernard testified that he printed tips received by Tipp City police and passed them to the FBI for follow-up. He said he did not know whether the FBI investigated that particular tip.
The judge sustained objections when the defense tried to get into some of the caller’s specific claims.
Prosecutors also laid the groundwork Monday for the massive trove of messages they say Flynn exchanged with his mistress.
Bernard testified that a search warrant served on Microsoft produced 107,655 lines of data associated with an email address belonging to Flynn.
The records were admitted into evidence over a defense objection.
