Ex-American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn wept in court as a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his wife, Ashley Flynn. Flynn, a former music pastor in Ohio, was convicted by a jury on September 29.
Jurors found him guilty of murdering Ashley, 37, while he was having an affair with a former intern at his church. Before the sentence was handed down, Caleb, 40, spoke to the courtroom and broke into tears as he apologized to his family for the murder.
“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day. I failed in those vows,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I cannot apologize enough.”
Although he admitted to lying about many things, Flynn maintained that he did not kill his wife. “As I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife,” he said.
During the trial, prosecutors said Caleb shot Ashley, 37, and then staged a home invasion in February. Prosecutors convinced the jury that, after the alleged break-in, Caleb tried to cover up his crime by claiming a burglar had killed Ashley.
In closing arguments, prosecutors claimed Caleb wanted out of his marriage when he shot Ashley. They added that the couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived at the scene.
The night before he killed Ashley, Caleb allegedly texted his lover, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow.” Former church intern Alleigha Botner, a key witness for the state, told the court she met Caleb in 2022, when she was 20 years old.
She told jurors the affair lasted more than a year and claimed Caleb told her he hated his wife and thought about killing her. Prosecutors also played AI-generated love songs for the jury, which they claimed Caleb made for Botner during their affair.
Although he insists he’s innocent, Flynn did not testify in his own defense. Caleb previously appeared on season 12 of American Idol. The show cut him before the live rounds, but he revealed that Ashley encouraged him to pursue a singing career. “I absolutely love the Lord. I love my wife more than anything.
She is very, very pretty. Just… oof, I love her,” he said during his time on the show, according to Biography.com. “But, you know, I’m just a normal person who absolutely loves to sing more than anything in the world, and I think I have a different sound to my voice.”
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