A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on “American Idol” was set to be sentenced Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair. Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar at their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said. Flynn faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty last week of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence. Flynn appeared briefly on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He sang before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood. During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife. The couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived. During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her. Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors say he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else. The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving about the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting. Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
