Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn sentenced to life for wife's murder
Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn, 40, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn.
The sentence was imposed on Monday, 5 October, by Miami County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeannine N. Pratt. It means Flynn will not be eligible for release. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ashley Flynn, 37, was killed inside the couple's home in Tipp City, Ohio, on 16 February. She was shot twice in the back of the head while she slept. The couple's daughters were asleep nearby in the house, in a suburb of Dayton Rolling Stone.
Jurors deliberated for two-and-a-half hours before convicting Flynn. Prosecutors told the court the bullets were 9-millimetre rounds. The murder weapon was never found.
Investigators found no third-party DNA at the scene. Prosecutors said Flynn kept a 9-millimetre handgun in the centre console of his truck. Police found that console open and empty when they arrived.
Flynn did not give evidence in his own defence at trial. His lawyers argued an intruder entered the house and killed Ashley Flynn on 16 February. The jury rejected that account.
The case included evidence of an affair. Alleigha Botner, identified as Flynn's mistress, testified during the murder trial. Flynn had pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
The sentencing hearing was listed to begin at 3 p.m. ET on Monday. The court heard letters from Flynn's daughters before the sentence was imposed. Ashley's father, Todd Smith, told the court he forgave Flynn but wanted the harshest sentence available under the law Daily Mail.
Flynn sobbed as he was sentenced. He continued to deny responsibility. "As I stand here before God, my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife," he told the court.
Judge Pratt said Flynn showed no remorse and posed an "extreme risk" to the public. "Your actions, Mr. Flynn, were abhorrent. The layers of deceit, manipulation, and cruelty that you have shown are quite honestly impossible to fathom," she said. She added: "You used your faith to manipulate the lives of others, and the court finds that deeply disturbing."
Flynn appeared briefly on "American Idol" and later worked as a church worship leader and music pastor in Ohio. The guilty verdict was acknowledged in a statement from the Ohio Attorney General on 29 September, about seven-and-a-half months after Ashley Flynn's death Ohio Attorney General.
