A former music pastor in Ohio who appeared briefly on “American Idol” was set to be sentenced Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his spouse whereas he was having an affair.
Prosecutors mentioned Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a house invasion in February after taking pictures Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Flynn addressed the courtroom forward of the sentencing and apologized to his household, beginning along with his two daughters.
“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding ceremony day. I failed in these vows,” he mentioned. “I can not apologize sufficient.”
Though he admitted to mendacity about many issues, Flynn remained adamant that he was harmless.
“As I stand right here earlier than God, who’s my final decide, I’m not mendacity once I say I didn’t kill my spouse,” he mentioned.
Flynn faces as much as life in jail with out the potential for parole after the jury discovered him responsible final week of homicide, felonious assault and tampering with proof.
Flynn appeared briefly on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his spouse had inspired him to chase his desires on the singing competitors. He didn’t advance to the principle competitors in Hollywood after singing earlier than judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj.
Throughout closing arguments, prosecutors instructed jurors that Flynn wished out of his marriage when he shot his spouse at their home in Tipp Metropolis, a suburb north of Dayton. The couple’s two daughters have been residence with their father when police arrived.
He despatched a textual content message to his lover the evening earlier than the taking pictures, saying, “I select you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors mentioned.
Through the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 whereas she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for greater than a 12 months. She instructed jurors that Flynn mentioned he hated his spouse and had ideas of killing her.
Jurors additionally heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors mentioned he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his personal behalf, nor did anyone else.
The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not discovered on the scene, and his lawyer instructed jurors that investigators discovered no proof that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors mentioned his fingerprints and DNA have been on the scene and that his units confirmed him shifting round the home, despite the fact that he claimed he was asleep on the time of the taking pictures.
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