American Idol star found guilty of murdering his wife as mistress' chilling texts emerge

Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn has been found guilty of multiple charges, including the murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn, on February 16. According to the court, Caleb shot Ashley in their bed inside their Tipp City, Ohio home in the early hours of the morning, while their nine- and 11-year-old daughters slept next door.

The trial culminated in a swift two-hour deliberation by the jury, which found him guilty of aggravated murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence, among other charges.

The worship leader may receive a life sentence without parole, and he will discover his fate at his sentencing on October 5. After police arrived at the scene of the crime, Caleb told them that an intruder had broken in and murdered his wife while he was in his daughters' bedroom. 

His gun was missing from where it was usually kept in his car, yet his defence reiterated in court that a murder weapon had not been found. He was arrested three days after Ashley's death. 

Damning evidence

While the court saw several witnesses take the stand during Caleb's trial, it was his former mistress, 24-year-old Alleigha Botner, who provided damning evidence of his crime.

The pair met in 2022 when she was 21 years old and interning in his church, and they began dating in 2024. Alleigha read out thousands of their text messages in court, including ones where they both wished Ashley dead so that they could be together.

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They even got matching tattoos before Ashley discovered the affair in August 2025. 

Things reportedly ended between Caleb and Alleigha in early 2026 when he failed to meet her deadline for leaving his wife, leading to an eerie text sent from the father of two on February 15 that read: "I choose you. I'm free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I'll never forget."

Alleigha's attorney spoke to CNN before Caleb's guilty verdict was handed down and explained that taking to the witness stand in the trial was incredibly difficult as it "brought up a time in her life that she's not proud of."

"She was younger, she was a lot more naïve, and she said a lot of things that obviously no one would ever expect would be publicized to the world,” he told the outlet. "She's not proud of what she said, and she's not proud of how she acted. Right now, she's very relieved that her part in this trial is over with."

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Caleb competed on season 12 of American Idol in 2013 in front of judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson, and made it through to Hollywood with a "golden ticket". Despite this, he never made it as far as the main competition.

"Music is all I know, it's what I live to do, and I love to sing, so that's why I auditioned," he said in videos shown on American Idol. "Maybe my wife kinda nudged me a little, too."