Ex-American Idol contestant sentenced to life in prison for wife’s murder

A former music pastor who appeared on the singing competition TV series American Idol was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for the murder of his wife.

An Ohio jury found Caleb Flynn, 40, guilty of murder last week after he fatally shot his wife while she slept.

The judge said Flynn, 40, used his Christian faith to manipulate others and was remorseless for actions marked by “layers of deceit, manipulation and cruelty,” the Associated Press reported.

Flynn, who was having an affair at the time of his wife’s killing, maintained his innocence but apologized to his family ahead of his sentencing, calling the birth of his two daughters the “greatest joy in this life.”

“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.

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Lawyers alleged that Flynn staged a home invasion in February in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton, and claimed an intruder killed his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach.

They argued he killed his wife because he wanted out of his marriage.

Flynn, who appeared on American Idol in 2013, credited his wife at the time for encouraging him to pursue his musical aspirations; he did not advance to the live shows.

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During the trial, no one testified on Flynn’s behalf, including him.

Ashley’s parents spoke in favour of his sentencing, as did her sister Kayla Keyt, the AP reported, who said his actions left an indelible mark on his church congregation, noting that children in the community have been prompted to run into their parents’ bedrooms to check that their fathers haven’t killed their mothers.

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A statement read by a family member on behalf of Flynn’s daughter Ava read, “Mommy was the perfect person… the absolute perfect person. What did she ever do to you to make you hate her so much?”

In her statement, his other daughter Alyssa said she wouldn’t visit her father in prison.

Flynn sent a text message to his lover the night before he shot his wife, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said during the trial.

The pair exchanged over 100,000 text messages, investigators said.

The former pastor had a more than year-long affair with Alleigha Botner, a 24-year-old intern at his church. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thought about killing her.

In August 2025, Flynn texted Botner saying “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”

Botner met Flynn when she was 20, she testified during the September trial.

The gun used to kill Ashley was not found at the scene, and defence lawyers said there was no evidence Flynn fired a weapon on the day she was shot.

The prosecution said his fingerprints and DNA were found at the scene and that his devices showed him moving around the house, even though he claimed to be asleep when she was shot.

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The jury found Flynn, who had pleaded not guilty to murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence, guilty on those counts.