Jurors spent hours Thursday reviewing a large volume of messages exchanged between former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn and his former mistress, Alleigha Botner. Defense attorneys later sought to portray the relationship as an emotionally turbulent affair focused on divorce rather than murder.
The day’s proceedings ended with an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation digital forensics expert beginning testimony about evidence recovered from Flynn’s cellphone.
Here are the key developments from Day 6 of testimony:
Ashley and Caleb Flynn in an undated photo with their two children. (GoFundMe)
1. Botner said ‘I want to kill her’
Botner testified that she and Flynn exchanged messages about wanting his wife dead several months before Ashley Flynn was killed.
“I just wish I didn’t say this,” Botner said, becoming emotional as she testified.
She then read the message she sent to Flynn: “I want to kill her, Caleb.”
According to Botner, Flynn replied: “That makes two of us.”
2. Jurors heard the final messages before Ashley Flynn was killed
Prosecutors placed significant emphasis on the hours leading up to Ashley Flynn’s shooting, guiding jurors through messages the couple exchanged the night before her death.
In those messages, Botner repeatedly pressed Flynn on whether he was truly ready to leave his wife.
“I said, ‘Caleb, I’ve never felt anything as deep as I felt with you. I trusted you with my heart. I’m terrified. But thank you for saying all that. We will see if your actions finally match your words,’” Botner testified, reading from the exchange.
Flynn responded, she said: “I’ve never felt anything like it either. It’s why I know it’s actually real … I’m terrified as well, but tomorrow it all starts.”
When Botner asked if he felt “more excited or scared,” Flynn allegedly answered: “Well, I got a pretty massive day tomorrow so I’m gonna head to sleep. Please be praying for me and I’ll update you the whole time.”
Later, Botner testified, she sent another message: “You’re about to be free.”
She said Flynn replied: “I choose you … You’re more than enough. Good night.”
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)
3. Flynn allegedly made an ominous remark after Ashley’s death
Botner also testified that she later went to Ashley’s parents’ home, where church staff had gathered following the shooting.
She said Flynn hugged her soon after she arrived.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘It didn’t happen the way we thought it would, did it?’”
Botner said she immediately began asking Flynn what had happened. Her suspicions grew as he described hearing a gunshot, seeing blood inside the home and finding Ashley.
Alleigha Botner wipes away tears while testifying about messages exchanged with Caleb Flynn during his murder trial in Ohio. (CREDIT: WKEF)
4. Defense argued the messages were about divorce – not murder
Defense attorney Emily Smith sought to reframe the prosecution’s key evidence, arguing Botner understood Flynn’s messages to be about leaving his wife – not killing her.
Smith asked whether Flynn’s repeated references to becoming “free,” taking action and leaving Ashley meant he intended to divorce her.
“Yes,” Botner replied.
Smith then asked whether she understood those same messages to mean Flynn was planning a murder.
“I did not,” Botner answered.
Smith also zeroed in on Botner’s ChatGPT research before Ashley’s death.
Botner testified she looked up divorce proceedings, deleting messages and digital evidence because she feared Ashley could discover their affair if Flynn followed through with a divorce.
She also said she was trying to keep the affair from becoming public – not cover up a homicide.
5. Botner said she never believed Flynn meant violent messages literally
One of the defense’s most significant exchanges came when Smith questioned Botner about Flynn’s repeated statements that he wanted Ashley dead.
Ashley Flynn, a Tipp City Schools substitute teacher and volleyball coach, was found dead in her Ohio home. (Tipp City Schools)
Botner acknowledged she did not believe he actually intended to carry out those statements.
“I did not believe that he meant it,” she said.
Asked why, Botner replied, “I don’t think he could ever be capable of doing something like that.”
Caleb and Ashley Flynn are pictured in an undated photo. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook)
6. Defense portrayed Botner as pushing Flynn to leave his wife
Smith then turned to Botner’s own messages, arguing she repeatedly pressured Flynn to leave Ashley.
“I’m so done with you,” Botner wrote in one of the texts she read in court. “You have murdered my heart.”
“I hope you’re glad you took my virginity and also my heart and stomped all over it,” she later continued. “Enjoy your marriage. I’m done.”
Smith also walked Botner through months of messages in which she acknowledged giving Flynn four or five separate deadlines to leave Ashley after he failed to follow through on earlier promises.
The defense also pointed to exchanges in which Botner demanded reassurance Flynn hated Ashley, questioned him whenever he spent time with his wife and threatened to end the relationship if he didn’t leave Ashley.
Alleigha Botner testifies Wednesday 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)
7. Prosecutors began building a digital timeline – and played AI-generated songs
After Botner stepped down, prosecutors called Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Joseph Wilhelm, a digital forensics examiner who spent the remainder of the day walking jurors through evidence recovered from Flynn’s iPhone.
Wilhelm testified investigators ultimately extracted a full copy of Flynn’s phone after earlier attempts failed, then analyzed browser history, location data, health information, application activity and other digital records to reconstruct what the device was doing in the hours before Ashley Flynn’s death.
Jurors heard testimony that ChatGPT was uninstalled from Flynn’s phone on Feb. 15, while GroupMe and Instagram were removed shortly after 1 a.m. on Feb. 16. Wilhelm also testified investigators found no text messages between Flynn and Ashley on the device.
Wilhelm also outlined phone location data, Apple Watch activity, AirPods connections and a timeline leading up to Flynn’s 911 call, which prosecutors are expected to revisit as the trial continues.
Before court adjourned, prosecutors played two AI-generated songs recovered from Flynn’s phone. Wilhelm testified the files were related to Flynn’s relationship with Botner and matched lyrics investigators found saved in the phone’s notes app.
Flynn’s attorney, L. Patrick Mulligan, declined to comment while the case is ongoing.
Botner could not immediately be reached for comment.
