Ex-mistress reads murder texts in 'American Idol' contestant's Ohio wife-killing trial

Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor and ex-'American Idol' contestant, is on trial in Ohio for allegedly shooting his wife twice in the head while their daughters slept.

Ex-mistress breaks down on stand reading texts about killing wife in Ohio murder trial

Alleigha Botner, 24, the former mistress of Ohio man Caleb Flynn, spent a second consecutive day on the witness stand Thursday reading aloud more than 100,000 messages exchanged between the two in the months before his wife's death — at times breaking into tears, abcnews.com reports.

Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor who once appeared as a contestant on the 12th season of "American Idol," is on trial in Miami County, Ohio, for the alleged murder of his 37-year-old wife, Ashley Flynn. He has pleaded not guilty.

Flynn called 911 in the early hours of 16 February to report a burglary and shooting at the family's home in Tipp City, north of Dayton. He was arrested days later and charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors allege Flynn shot his wife twice in the back of the head while she lay in bed and their two daughters were asleep in the house, then staged the scene to suggest an intruder had broken in — all so he could be with Botner and present himself as a "victim."

Texts describing hatred for wife

Botner told the court she first met Flynn in 2022 while interning at their church. She said the relationship became sexual in May 2024, despite her knowing he was married, and that the two discussed getting married themselves.

Many of the messages the prosecutor asked her to read centred on shared contempt for Ashley Flynn — whom Botner said she and Flynn referred to as "douche" — and his desire to leave her.

"If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat," Flynn wrote in one message from May 2025, Botner testified.

"That's why I constantly tell you I hate her, loathe her. I want her dead," read another message sent two days later.

"We have to get rid of douche. I need you. You're my everything," he wrote a month after that, she testified.

Botner's own messages

Botner became visibly emotional while reading an exchange from 10 July 2025, pausing before reading one of her own messages.

"Sorry, I just wish I didn't say this," she said. "I didn't mean it."

She then read the text aloud: "I want to kill her, Caleb."

The prosecutor asked who had sent that message. Botner confirmed it was her, adding that Flynn had responded: "That makes two of us."

In August 2025, Flynn went on a 15th anniversary cruise with his wife, during which Botner said Ashley found their messages. In the aftermath, Flynn texted Botner: "All I want is you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I was up till 4 a.m. last night crying and literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail," according to Botner's testimony.

That same day, Botner testified she replied: "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."

Ultimatum and the day of the shooting

In the weeks leading up to the fatal shooting, Botner testified she grew impatient with Flynn's repeated promises to leave his wife. She told him she was done waiting and that if he had not left Ashley by 11 January, she would move on.

He did not leave by that date. Botner said she nonetheless believed he was going to speak to Ashley about a divorce on 16 February — the day of the alleged murder.

The night before, on 15 February, Flynn messaged Botner: "I just want to be free of her, have my girls, and have a chance to start a life with you." The exchange, which Botner read in court, also discussed deleting their text messages and Flynn finding a new place to live. He concluded: "Okay, actions will come tomorrow."

After learning that Ashley Flynn had died, Botner said she texted Flynn: "What is going on right now? Were you behind this?"

When she saw him in person for the first time after the shooting, she testified he told her: "It didn't happen the way we thought it would, did it."

"I said, 'Caleb, how did this happen?'" she recalled, saying she pressed him with questions and was "suspicious."

FBI interview and cross-examination

Under cross-examination, Botner testified that during a second FBI interview on 26 February she told agents she believed Flynn had killed his wife.

"I simply thought that it was way too much of a coincidence that she was all of a sudden dead on the day that he was going to divorce her," she said, adding she had not shared those concerns with anyone until then.

The defence asked whether Flynn's expressions of hatred toward his wife could have been lies told to make Botner feel better. She conceded: "He might have been."

The defence also noted that the two argued frequently in their messages — Botner said his grievances concerned her attending young adult church events, while hers focused on his continued presence around Ashley.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)