Former American Idol contestant found guilty of murdering wife in US — BBC News

A jury in Ohio, US, found 40-year-old former music pastor and American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn. The jury reached its decision in less than three hours, BBC News reports.

Flynn was also found guilty on eight other charges, including aggravated murder and tampering with evidence. He faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Case circumstances

According to the prosecution, on February 16, Flynn shot his 37-year-old wife twice in the back of the head while she was sleeping in bed at their home in Tipp City. He then claimed that the woman had allegedly been shot by intruders.

Miami County Prosecutor Paul Watkins said that in the first hours after police arrived, Flynn told law enforcement officers that he had been in his daughters' room when he heard the shots. He also said that he saw the side garage door open. Flynn later told investigators that he had not entered the garage, which, according to the prosecutor, contradicted his earlier statement.

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Evidence and the defense's position

During eight days of trial, the prosecution presented footage from police body cameras, as well as data from Flynn's iPhone and Apple Watch from around the time of the murder. His former lover, Alliga Botner, whom he met when she was interning at his church, also testified.

Part of approximately 100,000 text messages exchanged by Flynn and Botner was read out in court. Prosecutors said the correspondence demonstrated Flynn's hatred toward his wife. Botner also explained the content of an AI-generated song that, according to prosecutors, Flynn dedicated to her.

Joseph Wilhelm, a special agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said that several apps, including Instagram and an AI music creation app, had been deleted from the husband's phone before Ashley Flynn's death. Flynn's gun, which he kept in the center console of his car, has still not been found. The defense did not call witnesses and insisted that there was no direct evidence of Flynn's guilt.