Former American Idol contestant and Ohio pastor Caleb Flynn has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, after a jury convicted him on all nine charges filed against him.
According to the BBC, the 40-year-old was convicted over the February 16 killing of Ashley, 37, who was fatally shot twice in the back of the head while she slept at the couple’s home in Tipp City, Ohio.
Prosecutors alleged that Flynn later attempted to make the killing appear as though it had been carried out by an intruder.
The jury reached its verdict in less than three hours following an eight-day trial. Flynn was visibly emotional and cried in court as the verdict was delivered.
He was convicted of aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and other charges. He faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5.
The trial featured extensive evidence, including police body-camera footage, data from Flynn’s iPhone and Apple Watch, and testimony from dozens of witnesses.
Prosecutors also called Flynn’s former mistress, Alleigha Botner, who testified about their relationship, which lasted nearly 18 months after they met when she was an intern at Flynn’s church.
More than 100,000 text messages exchanged between Flynn and Botner were examined during the trial. Some messages presented in court allegedly showed Flynn expressing a desire for his wife to die.
In one message sent to Botner in August 2025, Flynn allegedly said he had stayed awake thinking about ways to kill his wife without going to prison.
Botner told jurors that she now hated Flynn because she believed he had killed Ashley.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Paul Watkins placed significant emphasis on Flynn’s messages, arguing that they revealed hostility towards his wife.
Watkins also argued that Flynn had reasons to fear the consequences of a divorce, including potentially losing custody of his daughters, his job with his wife’s family business and his position at the church.
Prosecutors further highlighted what they described as inconsistencies in Flynn’s account of events following the shooting.
According to the prosecution, Flynn initially told responding officers that he had been in his daughters’ bedroom when he heard gunshots and later discovered his wife dead. He also reportedly told police that he noticed the garage side door was open.
Investigators said Flynn later told them that he had not gone into the garage.
Defence attorney Patrick Mulligan disputed the prosecution’s case, arguing that there was no concrete evidence directly linking Flynn to the killing. He also maintained that Flynn’s infidelity did not constitute proof that he murdered his wife.
Flynn’s firearm, which was reportedly kept in the centre console of his truck, has not been recovered. Investigators said they found the console open when they arrived at the home.
Prosecutors also presented an AI-generated song Flynn allegedly created about his relationship with Botner and dedicated to her.
Botner testified about the song and explained its lyrics to the jury. Footage of jurors appearing to laugh during part of the presentation later circulated widely online.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations special agent Joseph Wilhelm also testified that several applications had been deleted from Flynn’s phone before Ashley’s death, including Instagram and an AI music-generation application that investigators linked to his relationship with Botner.
Flynn first gained national television exposure in 2013 when he auditioned for American Idol during the show’s 12th season.
He auditioned before judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson and received a “golden ticket” to Hollywood, although he did not advance to the main competition.
