Ashley Flynn’s parents testified in court on Tuesday.
Her mother, Jill Smith, recounted the disturbing explanation Caleb Flynn allegedly gave the couple’s two young daughters after their mother was killed.
According to Smith, Flynn told the girls, “Someone broke into the house and hurt mommy, and she’s in heaven.”
Smith said Ashley had spent the evening before her death celebrating Galentine’s Day with her daughters, who were 10 and 12 years old.
“She wanted to have a special evening with the girls,” Smith testified. “She did facials, washed their hair, did their nails. She had special food for them, and they had a special night just for the three of them.”
The following day, February 16, Smith said Flynn called her with the news: “She’s gone. Ashley is gone. Someone broke in, and they shot her.”
Ashley’s father also told the court that he immediately questioned his son-in-law’s account of what had happened.
Todd Smith said he was visiting Canada with friends when he learned that his daughter had died.
“We loaded up and drove back. Longest ride of my life,” he said. Smith recalled calling Jill about 100 times during the trip as he tried to understand the situation. “All I could think was that nothing in that story made sense to me.”
As he drove home, Smith said he remained troubled by the details of the account and could not make sense of what he had been told.
He said he eventually searched Google for the question: “Can a Christian man snap and kill his wife?”