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A verdict has been reached for former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn, who was charged with the murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn, following an Ohio trial that exposed his secret affair and a series of messages about wanting his wife dead.
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Flynn faced nine charges: one count of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence involving the missing firearm, the side garage door and emails. Jurors also considered firearm specifications attached to several charges.
Prosecutors alleged Flynn shot Ashley in the back of the head inside their Tipp City home before staging the scene to look like an intruder had broken in.
Flynn pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges.
Prosecutors built a largely circumstantial case against Flynn. Investigators never recovered the gun they alleged was used to kill Ashley, there was no eyewitness to the shooting and testimony showed no gunshot residue was found on Flynn.
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Jurors also heard two days of testimony from Flynn’s former mistress, Alleigha Botner, who detailed their roughly year-and-a-half affair and walked them through many of the more than 107,000 messages the pair exchanged, including explicit discussions about Ashley’s death.
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In one May 2025 message, Flynn allegedly wrote, “If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
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Months later, Botner testified Flynn told her he had stayed up until 4 a.m. “literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
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The pair’s communications in the hours before Ashley was killed also became a focus of the trial.
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Shortly after midnight Feb. 16, Flynn allegedly told Botner, “It’s happening.”
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He later wrote, “February 16th – day I’ll never forget.”
“You’re about to be free,” Botner responded.
“I choose you,” Flynn replied.
Botner testified she understood Flynn’s plans at the time to mean he intended to finally leave Ashley and seek a divorce – not kill her.
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Flynn’s attorneys argued prosecutors failed to prove he killed Ashley, pointing to the missing murder weapon, lack of eyewitnesses and absence of gunshot residue while accusing investigators of rushing to judgment.
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“This simply is proven versus not proven,” defense attorney Patrick Mulligan told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.
Jurors received the case Tuesday after closing arguments and lengthy instructions from Judge Jeannine N. Pratt.
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