The lawyer for Caleb Flynn’s former mistress is rejecting claims that she helped plan the killing of the former “American Idol” contestant’s wife. Dayton attorney Nick Gounaris told News Media that troubling texts in which his client appeared to discuss Ashley Flynn’s death do not prove Alleigha Botner played any role in the Tipp City, Ohio, murder.

Gounaris said investigators examined Botner’s conversations with Flynn, phone records and surveillance video while determining whether she had any connection to the crime.

Botner’s hidden relationship with Flynn became a major issue during his murder trial. Jurors were shown messages in which the pair discussed killing Ashley, including one exchange about possibly hiring someone to carry out the act. Flynn was convicted Sept. 29 of murdering his wife and was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole.

“I think the reason that she wasn’t charged is just because you say something, you still have to show that that person was somehow involved,” Gounaris told News Media. “The evidence that was reviewed, the evidence that was developed, the evidence that they secured through all of these different avenues did not suggest anything that involved Alleigha Botner in the death of Ashley Flynn.”

Gounaris said he initially feared Botner might be treated as a suspect after she spoke with police without a lawyer and did not fully disclose her relationship with Flynn.

Authorities discovered the affair while investigating the Feb. 16 shooting at the couple’s home in Tipp City. Prosecutors said Flynn shot Ashley twice in the back of the head and then tried to make the killing look like a break-in.

Botner later admitted to the affair. Concerned that she could face legal consequences, her family reached out to Gounaris. The attorney then worked with investigators to clarify whether she was being viewed as a witness or a possible defendant.

“As a defense attorney, my first reaction is, wait a minute, we’ve got to be very careful … we’ve got to be concerned that she might be a target here,” Gounaris said. “So … let me bring her into the office. Let’s protect her. Let me now be her advocate. Let me speak with investigators and let me then determine, you know, where this is going.”

According to Gounaris, investigators gradually came to view Botner as a witness as additional evidence was collected. He said nothing in the investigation indicated that she took part in Ashley’s murder.

At trial, jurors learned that Flynn and Botner sent more than 107,000 messages during their affair. Some included repeated statements from Flynn about wanting to kill his wife. In one text, he wrote that he had spent the night thinking about ways to murder Ashley without being sent to prison.

Gounaris conceded that the messages were disturbing, but said discussions about Ashley’s death made up only a small portion of the couple’s communication and mostly occurred months before the murder.

The most alarming exchange came only hours before Ashley died. Flynn texted Botner, “It’s happening,” and she replied, “You’re about to be free.”

Gounaris said those messages referred to Flynn’s stated intention to divorce Ashley. He explained that Botner had ended the relationship in January after Flynn repeatedly failed to leave his wife, leading the two to stop communicating for about a month.

Flynn reached out again shortly before the shooting, telling Botner that he was finally planning to file for divorce and reveal the affair to church leaders, according to Gounaris.

Their renewed contact produced about 250 messages focused on divorce, child custody, work and the consequences of Flynn ending his marriage. Botner also used ChatGPT to research divorce questions and sent Flynn screenshots of what she found.

“All of the communications that are contemporaneous with the time that he kills his wife all the way up to 12:45 in that morning – about an hour and 45 minutes … before he calls 911 – are all about divorce,” Gounaris said.

He maintained that Botner believed Flynn was preparing to leave his wife, not kill her, an explanation she also gave during her testimony.

But questions about Botner’s conduct extended beyond the messages themselves.

During the trial, jurors heard about efforts to conceal the affair, including discussions about deleting communications and replacing phones. Gounaris argued those conversations were motivated by concerns that the relationship could jeopardize Flynn’s chances of gaining custody of his daughters during a divorce.

“What are they covering up?” Gounaris asked. “They’re covering up what the relationship was. So she was explaining to him, ‘You need to go get a new phone, you need to delete this app. We … have not had these conversations.'”

The attorney also offered his own theory about why Flynn killed Ashley, suggesting the former church music leader may have realized that ending his marriage would cost him the comfortable life he had built.

Flynn worked for his father-in-law’s company, had two daughters and held a prominent role at his church. Gounaris believes the prospect of losing those things may have pushed him toward a fatal decision.

“He had a girlfriend. He liked having a girlfriend. He had a wife. He liked having his wife, he liked his children, he liked his job, he liked his income, he liked his … he liked it all,” Gounaris said. “On the early morning of Feb. 16, something in his mind said, ‘Wait a minute, this is not going to work out for me. I’m not going to have my job. I’m going to be thrown out of the church,’ and something happened that caused him to end the life of his wife.”

Unlike prosecutors, who argued Flynn had planned the murder, Gounaris suggested the killing may have resulted from a decision made that night.

“I think it was something that occurred right at that moment at night,” he said. “I think that he did things. I think he was sloppy with how he did things.”

That assessment remains the attorney’s theory. Jurors convicted Flynn of aggravated murder and eight other counts after roughly 2½ hours in the deliberation room. Flynn continued to maintain his innocence at sentencing, telling the court he did not kill his wife.

Flynn’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal Wednesday in Miami County court, two days after he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Flynn was admitted to the state prison system Wednesday and is being held at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records.

Gounaris said he believes Botner’s lack of involvement was established through the investigation and that she now faces the difficult task of rebuilding her life after the affair and her testimony became public.

He acknowledged that Botner bears responsibility for the relationship and the hateful things she said about Ashley, but rejected the suggestion that those actions made her responsible for the murder.

“Look, she’ll take full responsibility for her actions,” Gounaris said. “The truth is that she had an affair with a married man and she said terrible things about that man’s wife. That’s what she did.

“What the public has wrong is that she was somehow involved in the planning or execution of the murder that Caleb did on the 16th of February 2026. That’s what the public has wrong,” he continued. “She takes full responsibility for her actions, but not what he was convicted of.”

Millions of Americans along Hurricane Isaias’ projected path have been placed under a threat-to-life warning as the storm advances toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.

In an alert issued Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) urged residents to prepare for potentially deadly winds equivalent to Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane strength.

“Remaining efforts to protect life and property should be urgently completed,” the NWS said.

Hurricane warnings are in effect along portions of the Mississippi coast, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, including Pascagoula, Mobile, Gulf Shores, Pensacola, Destin and Panama City.

The warning zone extends inland to communities such as Citronelle, Bay Minette and Brewton in Alabama, along with Milton and Crestview in Florida.

The weather service is calling on residents in affected areas to complete preparations immediately and reach secure shelter before conditions deteriorate.

Isaias, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to intensify into a Category 2 storm before reaching land just east of Mobile Bay, Alabama, late Friday night. It is the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season.

AccuWeather hurricane specialists warned that Isaias could strengthen into a major hurricane before landfall, potentially producing a deadly storm surge, destructive winds, torrential rain, tornadoes and widespread power outages.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Florida as newly formed Hurricane Isaias threatens the Gulf Coast with life-threatening flooding and powerful winds.

The storm formed in the Gulf on Wednesday night, setting a record as the latest first hurricane of an Atlantic season since satellite monitoring began.

AccuWeather meteorologists currently expect Isaias to be a Category 2 hurricane when it reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast late Friday or in the early hours of Saturday.

A hurricane warning extends from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, along the Alabama coastline to the Florida Bay/Gulf county line. Storm surge could inundate some coastal locations with five to seven feet of water.

The threat has prompted evacuations in Florida’s Okaloosa and Gulf counties, while the remainder of the Panhandle is under a state of emergency. Alabama has declared a state of emergency in counties along its Gulf Coast.

The National Weather Service issued an urgent appeal to millions of people in Isaias’ projected path, warning: “Evacuation efforts should soon be brought to completion before driving conditions become unsafe.”

“Leave immediately if evacuation orders are given for your area to avoid being cut off from emergency services or needlessly risk lives.”

AccuWeather’s forecast places Isaias moving northeast across the Gulf on Thursday before turning north toward the U.S. coastline on Friday.

The storm is projected to reach Category 1 hurricane strength by 8pm ET Thursday, then strengthen to Category 2 before making landfall near the Mississippi-Alabama border around 11pm ET Friday.

Based on Isaias making landfall as a Category 2, wind gusts of 100 to 120mph are forecast near and just east of the center. 

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter warned: ‘However, because of the swift forward speed and broadening wind field of Isaias as the storm moves inland, damaging winds and power outages are likely to extend well inland.’

The NWS told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of ‘long-duration power outages.’ 

Monster storm surges of up to seven feet near and east of Isaias’ center are also expected for the Northern Gulf Coast, with towns and cities in Mississippi and Florida’s Panhandle hit the hardest.

However, AccuWeather meteorologists warned that the ‘most substantial impact from the brewing storm will be from heavy rainfall.’

Isaias is forecast to dump three to seven inches of rain across the central Gulf Coast from Friday through the weekend, with isolated totals of up to 10 inches and flash flooding possible. 

Fears of a devastating storm have left shelves empty in towns and cities along the US Gulf Coast, as locals stock up on everything from toilet paper to water and canned food.

Images on social media show long lines at gas stations and depleted supermarket shelves.

Florida local Stephen Page posted on Facebook: ‘Stores are already run over, and shelves are empty at many places.

‘Lines at gas stations are long, and people are in full prep mode. So again, I say, if you haven’t started, now is the time!’

Another Floridian, Stephanie Michelle, said she experienced panic buying at the grocery store.

‘The store was full, the parking lot was full, shelves were empty, and the carts were all full! People were everywhere, and traffic was a nightmare,’ she added.

The Atlantic has yet to produce a hurricane in 2026, putting the season within reach of a record set in 1905 for the latest first hurricane.

If forecast models are correct and Isaias develops into a hurricane, it would be deemed a record-breaking storm.

Meteorologist Matt Devitt said on X: ‘Isaias will likely be one of the most significant storms of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season with a landfall in the US.’

The owners of a Pittsburgh gay bar began receiving death threats after a drag performer appeared in blackface during an ill-fated tribute to late actor Tim Curry.

Blue Moon Bar, which bills itself as “the Friendliest Gay Bar in Pittsburgh,” canceled several performances after photos from a Sept. 23 event circulated online, showing a drag artist wearing makeup widely condemned as racist blackface.

According to reports, the performer was attempting to portray Hexxus, the villain from the 1992 animated film “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” Curry provided the character’s voice.

The act triggered an immediate backlash after images spread across social media. Critics said the performer’s dark makeup closely resembled blackface—an offensive practice the bar should have prevented.

Fellow drag performer Pinapple Honeydew criticized the appearance in an Instagram post, writing, “How this person was even allowed to step on stage wearing this is beyond me.”

“This is actual disgusting, racist behavior being given a stage to perform and no one thinking twice about it,” Honeydew added.

Honeydew also called the performance an inappropriate way to honor Curry, an LGBTQ+ icon who died in August.

“What happened to just wearing a black outfit,” the performer wrote. “Out of all of Tim Curry’s iconic characters, you HAD to do this one??”

“And you HAD to do blackface in order to portray a character no one was going to recognize anyway???” the drag artist continued. “F–king insane.”

Nearly a week after the event, Blue Moon Bar issued an apology on Facebook. “We were just made aware yesterday that this happened last week,” management wrote on Sept. 29.

Bar officials said they were not present during the performance and that two guest hosts, who do not typically oversee the venue’s open stage, had run the event. Management said it was “horrified” and “blindsided” by what occurred.

The statement said the guest hosts “somehow didn’t realize at the time what was happening,” while emphasizing that the bar was not excusing their conduct.

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“Whatever the intent, blackface is racist and harmful and it is never acceptable. We are sorry that it happened in our bar,” management said.

The bar also apologized to anyone offended or triggered by photos of the performance, as well as to those who witnessed it in person.

Blue Moon later canceled its open stage on Sept. 30, saying it and that evening’s host had received too many death threats to safely proceed. “We do not feel comfortable putting on the show this evening,” the bar said in a Facebook post.

Management also posted a warning outside the performer’s dressing room: “Absolutely NO Preformances Based on Race, Ethicity, or Nationality (that is not your own) Will Be TOLERATED!!!”

The unidentified performer told QBurgh that an attempt to accurately recreate the character’s appearance “caused an egregious error that resulted in harm to a community I love and care for.”

The drag artist said they “want to be held accountable” and intended to make amends, apologizing “for the harm caused to the community, the hosts, and the patrons.”

“Intent does not matter when it comes to the effects of what’s been done,” the performer told the publication.

Blue Moon Bar management did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It comes just weeks after an LGBT venue was at the center of another storm in a teacup, when Last Ditch, a lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, briefly became the most notorious bar in America.

The struggling bar’s owners scrapped their longstanding COVID mask requirements for just one night in a week in an attempt to boost business, the Boston Globe reported.

But the move brought out extreme reactions among some members of the local LGBT community, with critics dramatically calling it a “mass disabling event” or even a “eugenicist” attack.

Another said they hoped the bar got “firebombed” for the crime of trying to keep the lights on.