Investigators searched storm drains with a powerful magnet, inspected the undersides of vehicles and even removed attic insulation while looking for the handgun prosecutors say former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn used to kill his wife.
The extensive search produced no firearm, a Tipp City detective told jurors Monday during Flynn’s murder trial in Ohio.
Flynn is charged with fatally shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, inside their home on Feb. 16 and then staging the scene to appear as though an intruder had broken in. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges.
Detective Adam Bernard detailed the investigation and the lengths police went to in the days following Ashley’s death to locate the missing weapon.
Caleb Flynn becomes emotional in court during his murder trial in Ohio. Flynn is accused of killing his wife, Ashley Flynn, in February 2026 and staging the scene to look like a break-in. (COURTESY: WKEF)
Police first searched the backyard and nearby wooded areas. Investigators then expanded the operation underground, using a high-powered magnet to check storm drains along multiple streets.
Bernard said officers removed drain covers, lowered the magnet into the openings and pulled it through connecting pipes. He also climbed into accessible culverts with a flashlight to inspect spots the magnet might not have reached.
Nothing was found.
Investigators later placed both vehicles from the Flynn residence on lifts, allowing them to examine the undercarriages and other potential hiding places, Bernard testified. That search also failed to uncover the gun.
Body camera footage shows Caleb Flynn bending down to vomit after his wife’s murder inside their home in Tipp City, Ohio on Feb. 16, 2026. (Tipp City Police Department)
Police also rented specialized equipment to remove insulation from the attic as they continued searching for the firearm.
Bernard testified that investigators pursued Flynn’s gun-purchase history after Flynn said he had bought a firearm in South Carolina, the state where he obtained his concealed-carry permit.
The detective said he contacted nearly two dozen South Carolina gun stores in an effort to find records showing the make, model and serial number of a weapon Flynn may have purchased.
The inquiries did not produce records linking a firearm to either Flynn or Ashley.
The detective’s testimony followed evidence from a forensic pathologist, who described Ashley’s autopsy and testified that she suffered two gunshot wounds to the back of her head.
A Tipp City mother of two was found dead after a reported home invasion. Police use drones and K-9 units in the search for a suspect as the community mourns the tragic loss. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook)
Dr. Bryan Casto testified that the entrance wounds overlapped and that the bullets traveled through Ashley’s head along nearly parallel paths. One bullet exited her head and later entered her left arm near the elbow, where it was recovered during the autopsy.
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Casto said the injuries and bullet trajectories were consistent with a close-range shooting, though he could not determine the precise distance between Ashley and the gun when it was fired.
The pathologist concluded that Ashley died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
Earlier Monday, crime scene investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation showed jurors evidence collected throughout the Flynn home as prosecutors worked to support their claim that the reported break-in had been staged.
Ashley and Caleb Flynn in an undated photo with their two children. (GoFundMe)
A BCI crime scene technician who had examined between 20 and 30 forced-entry doors testified that the damage to a side garage door did not look like the forced entries she had previously investigated.
She said the damage was on the inside of the door rather than areas she would typically expect to be damaged if someone had kicked or pried their way inside.
Flynn’s defense challenged the state’s conclusions on cross-examination, pointing out that investigators could not determine when some of the door damage occurred and that no blood-spatter analysis was performed because conditions at the scene were not suitable for one.
Caleb Flynn in a 2013 “American Idol” Hometown Interview. Caleb is the husband of Ashley Flynn, who was shot and killed in her Ohio home on Monday, February 16, 2026. (YouTube/American Idol)
David Hammond, a senior special agent with BCI, also testified that he was not aware of evidence showing blood spatter from Ashley’s shooting on Flynn’s clothing.
The defense later pressed Bernard about tips received after the killing, including one from a caller who referenced an alleged “hit.”
Bernard testified that he printed tips received by Tipp City police and passed them to the FBI for follow-up. He said he did not know whether the FBI investigated that particular tip.
The judge sustained objections when the defense tried to get into some of the caller’s specific claims.
Prosecutors also laid the groundwork Monday for the massive trove of messages they say Flynn exchanged with his mistress.
Bernard testified that a search warrant served on Microsoft produced 107,655 lines of data associated with an email address belonging to Flynn.
The records were admitted into evidence over a defense objection.