Former mistress testifies emotionally in Ohio murder trial
During the trial of former pastor and ex-American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn for the murder of his wife, his former mistress read a series of text messages that suggested a motive and emotional involvement.
Alleigha Botner, 24, returned to the stand Thursday in Miami County, Ohio, to read excerpts from more than 100,000 text messages exchanged with Caleb Flynn, the 40-year-old former pastor accused of killing his wife, Ashley Flynn, in their bedroom on Feb. 16. Prosecutors say Flynn shot his wife twice in the head, staged the scene as a burglary, and then called 911 to report the incident.
Botner testified that the messages became sexual in May 2024 and that they frequently discussed hatred toward Flynn’s wife, whom Botner referred to as “douche.” She read several messages in which Flynn expressed a desire to kill his wife, including one that said, “If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
"That's why I constantly tell you I hate her, loathe her. I want her dead," Flynn wrote, according to Botner’s testimony.
Botner became visibly upset while reading a July 10, 2025 exchange in which she wrote, “I want to kill her, Caleb,” and Flynn replied, “That makes two of us.”
The testimony also covered messages from August 2025, when Flynn’s wife discovered the texts during a cruise, and from February 2025, when Botner warned Flynn that she would end the relationship if he did not leave his wife by Jan. 11. Flynn’s response indicated he was planning to divorce his wife on Feb. 16, the day of the shooting.
After the killing, Botner texted Flynn asking, “What is going on right now? Were you behind this?” and later reported that Flynn told her, “It didn’t happen the way we thought it would, did it?”
Prosecuting attorney Paul Watkins said the alleged motive was Flynn’s desire to keep his mistress, retain custody of his daughters, and preserve his financial and professional standing. Defense attorney Emily Smith countered that the messages reflect hurtful language but do not constitute direct evidence of murder, noting the absence of a firearm linked to Flynn.
The case continues without a trial verdict, as Flynn has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.