Former Pastor, 'American Idol' Contestant Caleb Flynn Convicted of Wife's Murder
A former “American Idol” singer and former music pastor, Caleb Flynn, is now a convicted murderer, having been found guilty Tuesday. The person he was found guilty of killing was his wife, Ashley Flynn.
The murder took place in February 2026 at the couple's Ohio home.
Flynn, 40, fatally shot Ashley, a schoolteacher and volleyball coach, twice in the back of the head while she slept on the couch in their home on Feb. 16 this year and misled authorities by telling them she was dead by intruders, BBC reported.
According to a statement released by Ashley’s family, which was read by prosecuting attorney Paul Watkins, he said the verdict brings “justice and accountability.”
“However, no verdict can bring Ashley back, give the girls back their mother or erase the pain our family has endured,” he added. “The cruelty of what happened to Ashley, and the things we’ve been forced to hear and relive, have at times, felt unbearable.”
When the case was given to the jury for deliberation, it did not take them long to come to a decision. NBC News reports that the jury returned with a verdict in about two hours.
Additionally, Flynn was also found guilty of the other eight charges against him, which included aggravated murder and tampering with evidence, the British outlet said. He faces life in prison without parole.
Flynn’s former mistress, Alleigha Botner, who served as an intern at his church and had an 18-month affair with him, testified that Flynn had desired to kill his wife as she read through some of the text exchanges between them, NBC News reported.
"I was up until 4am last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail," Flynn wrote in a message to Botner, 24, in Aug. 2025.
In a different text message, he wrote: "I just want her dead and gone."
Bohner also read one of her texts to Flynn, in which she said, “I want to kill her, Caleb,” and told the court that she regretted saying that.
In response, Flynn replied: “That makes two of us.”
Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 5. Among the possible sentences he could receive is life in prison with no chance of parole.
Additionally, the attorney for the defense in this case, Patrick Mulligan, has stated that his client plans to challenge the verdict.
“This decision will be tested thoroughly in the Court of Appeals,” Mulligan said.
Photo Credit: ©YouTube.com/NBCNews - ScreenGrab
Originally published October 01, 2026.
