Mistress testifies that Caleb Flynn discussed killing his wife before February murder
In a Ohio murder trial, a woman who had an affair with former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn said he repeatedly expressed a desire to kill his wife in the months leading up to her death.
A woman who had an affair with former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn testified that he repeatedly voiced a desire to kill his wife, Ashley Flynn, in the months before she was shot dead in their Tipp City home. Alleigha Botner, who said the relationship lasted about 18 months, told jurors that Flynn’s comments escalated from wishing his wife were dead to describing specific ways to kill her. She recounted that Flynn told her, "If I could kill her and not go to jail, I would," and later said he was "thinking about ways to kill her." Botner said the statements were made at least once a month and were documented in thousands of text messages recovered by prosecutors.
Flynn is charged with aggravated murder and other offenses after allegedly shooting Ashley in the back of the head on February 16 and staging the scene to appear as an intruder break-in. He has pleaded not guilty. Botner also testified that Flynn showed her a firearm he kept in his truck’s center console, though she could not recall its appearance.
Prosecutors presented messages attributed to Flynn that included phrases such as "I need her to die" and "kill her." Botner said she and Flynn routinely deleted messages, including the night before the killing, and that she used an AI tool to research how to permanently erase data. She sent Flynn screenshots of the research at 5:47 p.m. on February 15, hours before the murder.
The affair began in March 2024, became sexual two months later, and involved roughly 107,000 messages over a year. Botner said she gave Flynn an ultimatum to leave his wife by January 11, which he ignored. After a brief pause in communication, Flynn told Botner on February 14 that he was filing for divorce and would leave his wife. The following night, he told her the next day would be "a day I never forget" and that he was "about to be free." Ashley was found dead later that night.
Botner admitted she initially lied to investigators about the affair, fearing damage to her reputation and employment. She later testified that she believes Flynn murdered his wife. Flynn’s attorney was not immediately available for comment. Botner is expected to testify again on Thursday.