Caleb Flynn appeared visibly uncomfortable as courtroom spectators struggled to suppress their laughter while songs he allegedly wrote for his mistress were played during his murder trial.
The 40-year-old former American Idol singer is accused of killing his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn, inside their home in Tipp City, Ohio, on February 16.
Prosecutors allege Flynn shot Ashley after carrying on a “years-long” affair with 24-year-old Alleigha Botner. They further claim he attempted to make the killing appear to have been committed during a burglary.
Flynn has pleaded not guilty. He maintains that an intruder entered the house and killed Ashley while he slept in a nearby room with the couple’s two pre-teen daughters.
On Thursday, members of Ashley’s family appeared to hold back laughter as prosecutors played AI-produced versions of songs based on lyrics Flynn allegedly wrote during his relationship with Botner.
Botner had previously testified that Flynn wrote the lyrics about their affair.
As the music echoed through the courtroom, Flynn’s ears reddened. He also appeared to wipe sweat from his brow.
One lyric read: “So here’s to the third, and the us that we lost,” an apparent reference to the anniversary of the day Flynn and Botner began speaking.
Caleb Flynn’s ears reddened as he appeared to wipe sweat from his brow while the music played in court
Members of Ashley Flynn’s family appeared to stifle laughter as the songs were played for jurors
Another line stated: “If somewhere you feel this, if somewhere you’re whole, know that you still own every piece of my soul.”
Botner, who has been testifying about her relationship with Flynn over two days of the trial, described their alleged affair in detail.
She said she was 20 when she met Flynn at the Christian Life Center in Dayton, Ohio, in 2022. At the time, she was working as an intern and Flynn was 36 or 37.
According to Botner, their relationship became romantic after she ended another relationship in early 2024 and Flynn began showing an interest in her.
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Botner also admitted that she and Flynn used abusive language when discussing Ashley, referring to her as “spawn of Satan, b****, and douchebag.”
She testified that Flynn told her he hated his wife. Botner said she responded by giving him ultimatums and deadlines to leave Ashley.
Botner broke down while acknowledging that she and Flynn had exchanged messages expressing a desire for Ashley to die.
In one message sent to Flynn on July 10, 2025, Botner wrote: “Do you know how badly I want to say, ‘F it,’ to any rules and any barriers and just love you with my entire heart for the rest of my life?”
Prosecutors allege Flynn killed his wife after an affair with 24-year-old Alleigha Botner and then staged the home to resemble a break-in
Flynn denies the charges and says an intruder killed Ashley while he slept nearby with their two pre-teen daughters
The mistress started to cry and told the court: ‘I just wish I didn’t say this. I didn’t mean it.’
She then continued to read the text message that said: ‘I want to kill her, Caleb. It’s so bad.’
Flynn replied, ‘That makes two of us.’
The pair communicated until midnight on the night of the alleged murder, and she testified that she sent him several screenshots of her research on divorce proceedings that included information about custody issues, deleting messages, and how Flynn’s wife could prove he cheated.
The last thing Flynn told her was: ‘Good night, tomorrow’s a big day. I’ve got to get to bed. I choose you, I’m about to be free.’
Botner told the jury that prior to seeing Flynn in the courtroom on Wednesday, the last time she saw him was at Ashley’s parents’ house on February 16, hours after she was killed.
‘The first thing he said to me was, “It didn’t happen the way we thought it would, did it?”‘ Botner testified.
The court concluded for the day after his songs were played for the jury. His trial is set to resume on Friday at 9am ET.