American Idol’s Caleb Flynn allegedly told his mistress in text messages that he would seek “guidance” from God about leaving his wife, Ashley Flynn, months before her death.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation analyst Samantha Reeb testified Sept. 28 that Caleb told Alleigha Botner he planned to undertake a “40-day fast to seek guidance from the Lord” about whether—and how—to leave Ashley.
Reeb said Caleb later claimed he had received a message from the Lord that he could leave Ashley and was trying to determine how to do so.
The messages were allegedly sent in August 2025, the same month Caleb and Ashley took a cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
According to Reeb, the cruise “caused a lot of conflict between Alleigha and Caleb.”
Reeb testified that Caleb told Botner in September that he intended to leave Ashley in October. He later made the same promise about November, but neither plan happened.
Reeb said Caleb’s repeated delays angered and upset Botner, who allegedly urged him to act before Christmas.
On Jan. 3, Botner ultimately gave Caleb an ultimatum: Leave Ashley or end their relationship.
“On January 11, she informs him that he has not met his deadline,” Reeb testified, “and she ceases communication with him.”
Caleb called 911 on Feb. 16 and reported that Ashley had been shot inside their home in Tipp City, Ohio.
“Somebody broke into my home and shot my wife,” he said in the call obtained by Oxygen. “My wife, she’s got two shots to her head. There’s blood everywhere. Oh my God, oh my God.”
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Prosecutors said in court Sept. 18 that police found the garage door open. Caleb’s gun, which he said he kept in his truck’s center console, was also missing.
Caleb faces one count of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence.
Authorities wrote in a criminal complaint reviewed by Oxygen that investigators were “led astray” by the staged crime scene. Caleb has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Caleb killed Ashley so he could begin a future with Botner, citing more than 100,000 text messages exchanged by the pair.
“I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail,” Caleb allegedly wrote. “If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That is how dark and how hateful I feel.”
In the hours before Ashley’s death, Caleb allegedly sent another message: “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I’ll never forget.”
Caleb’s defense team has acknowledged the affair but argued in court that “Caleb is not on trial for being a bad husband.”
Botner testified Sept. 24 and read several of her text messages aloud. In one, she wrote, “I want to kill her, Caleb.” Caleb allegedly responded, “That makes two of us.”
“I’m not asking that you take her life, obviously, because that’s not what you should do, and I know you actually wouldn’t,” Botner later wrote, according to CNN. “But to make the divorce happen, it would change everything.”
The prosecution and the defense have rested their cases, and closing arguments begin Sept. 29.