Ex-mistress reads damning texts at Ohio murder trial of 'American Idol' alum Caleb Flynn
Former contestant Caleb Flynn is on trial for the fatal shooting of his wife Ashley in February. His ex-mistress read aloud over 100,000 texts, including messages saying "I NEED HER GONE."
Mistress takes the stand: Flynn texted 'I want to kill her' before wife's death
The murder trial of Caleb Flynn, a former American Idol contestant accused of fatally shooting his wife Ashley Flynn in Ohio, opened Sept. 17 — and within its first week produced some of its most damaging testimony, according to Toronto Sun Crime.
Flynn faces charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he shot Ashley at their home in February and then staged the scene to look like a robbery.
His defence team acknowledged the affair but argued that while Flynn's conduct made him "easy to dislike," the prosecution lacks critical evidence — including the murder weapon.
---
More than 100,000 texts, read aloud
The most consequential testimony of the trial's opening week came from Alleigha Botner, Flynn's former mistress, who wrapped up two days on the stand on Thursday. She spent hours reading from the more than 100,000 messages she and Flynn exchanged across iMessage, WhatsApp and GroupMe — roughly 300 texts a day.
Botner, now 24, was 20 when she first met Flynn at their Ohio church in the summer of 2022. She testified that she initially had no idea he was married because he did not wear a wedding ring. Their romantic involvement began in March 2024 and continued through the following winter. The two met at least once a week, often travelling to nearby cities to avoid being recognized, and at times discussed marriage.
Among the early things they bonded over, Botner noted, was a shared love of Harry Potter. They eventually got matching lightning-bolt tattoos — hers on her arm, Flynn's in his armpit so that Ashley would not notice it.
---
'Please take her out'
The text messages read aloud in court were blunt. Botner told jurors she had referred to Ashley in messages as "b***h," "whre," "s" and "spawn of Satan." In one exchange, she called Ashley "Ash-s*"; in another she wrote, "douche needs to go," to which Flynn allegedly replied, "please take her out."
As the relationship wore on and Botner grew increasingly impatient that Flynn had not left his wife, the messages darkened further.
"I just want her dead and gone," Flynn wrote in early 2025.
He allegedly asked Botner for help. On March 24, 2025, she asked, "What can I do?" Flynn's alleged reply: "Kill her."
On May 16, 2025, he allegedly wrote: "If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That's how dark and hateful I feel."
Botner sobbed while reading a message she herself had sent in July 2025: "I want to kill her, Caleb." Tears streaming down her face, she told the court, "I didn't mean it."
In yet another message she read aloud, Botner had written: "I need her gone, Caleb." Flynn's alleged response: "That makes two of us."
---
'I'm not asking that you take her life'
By August 2025, Botner's tone had shifted. She texted Flynn that she wanted a divorce, not a killing.
"I'm not asking that you take her life, obviously, because that's not what you should do, and I know you actually wouldn't. But to make the divorce happen, it would change everything," she wrote.
Botner has not been charged by authorities with any crime. She told the court she received nothing in exchange for her testimony.
---
'Willing to sacrifice' his daughters
Botner also testified that Flynn had expressed willingness to give up his children for her. In September 2025, amid escalating tension over his failure to leave Ashley, Flynn allegedly wrote:
"I think what I'm willing to sacrifice is my daughters, a quarter million dollars, salaried job, a place to live, possibly a church that I serve at."
In a text sent the following month, according to Botner's reading in court, Flynn wrote: "me leaving douche means ruining my daughters' lives and yet I will still do it."
Days later, he allegedly texted: "I'm willing to flip my life upside down, to lose a job, to lose a salary, to lose a house, to lose my daughters full time and to go through this hell that will come with leaving her."
Ashley's sister testified earlier in the week that the couple's daughters — aged 9 and 11 at the time of the killing — were devastated when they learned of their father's affair.
"They were shocked, they were upset for their mom because they said, 'She loved daddy more than anyone else in life. So why did Daddy not love her as much?'" she testified.
The eldest daughter, however, was reportedly "not surprised" to hear the name of her father's mistress. Flynn has since been placed under a no-contact order barring him from any interaction with his two children.
---
The crime scene
On Feb. 16, police responded to the couple's home following a 911 call reporting a robbery in progress. Officers found Ashley Flynn — an elementary school teacher and volleyball coach — fatally shot. Ohio authorities later released more than six hours of body- and dash-cam footage, including video capturing Flynn's reaction to news of his wife's death.
Flynn was arrested three days later and charged with Ashley's murder. The trial is expected to run approximately two weeks.
Source: Toronto Sun Crime