A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on American Idol was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.
Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Flynn addressed the courtroom ahead of the sentencing and apologized to his family, starting with his two daughters.
“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day. I failed in those vows,” he said. “I cannot apologize enough.”
Although he admitted to lying about many things, Flynn remained adamant that he was innocent.
“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.
Flynn faces a sentence of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty last week of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Flynn appeared briefly on American Idol in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood after singing before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj.
During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife at their house in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. The couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived.
He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.
During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.
Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors said he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else.
The gun used to kill Ashley was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving around the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.
