A US man who once appeared on the TV talent competition American Idol has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his wife. Caleb Flynn, 40, was found guilty last week after a short deliberation by the jury, which rejected his claim that an intruder broke into his Ohio home and shot his wife, Ashley Flynn, as she slept.
He was also found guilty of eight additional charges, including aggravated murder and tampering with evidence.
Letters from his two daughters were read in court during the sentencing hearing on Monday, pleading with him to finally admit his guilt and questioning why he killed their mother.
Flynn, a former music pastor, fatally shot his wife, a 37-year-old teacher, in February before staging their home in Tipp City to appear as if someone had broken in through the garage.
Flynn claims he was asleep when he heard gunshots and found his wife dead in bed after finding the garage door open. Their two children, ages 9 and 11, were also sleeping in the house at the time.
His wife’s sister, Kayla Keyt, read a victim impact statement saying the murder had caused his daughters to question their Christian faith and had “shattered a family who trusted you”.
One of his daughter’s letters read: “Dear Daddy, I don’t even know where to start. How could you do such a thing?”
She also said: “Mommy was the perfect person… And then you chose to kill the only mother I ever had.”
The other daughter’s letter began “Dear Caleb”, rather than addressing him as her father, and asked him to “tell everyone what you did it and receive your outcome”.
“You made me feel like an idiot thinking I could trust you,” his daughter said. She added that she continues to have faith in God, and that she will never visit her father in prison.
Flynn sobbed loudly as the letters from his children were read.
The sentencing hearing also included Flynn reading a statement expressing love for his family, apologising for unspecified “decisions” that he made, and again claiming that he did not kill his wife.
“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day. I failed those vows,” he said.
Judge Jeannine Pratt called Flynn an “extreme” risk to the public as she imposed her sentence.
The murder verdict last week followed eight days of testimony, during which several incriminating text messages Flynn sent to his former mistress, Alleigha Botner, were read out and AI-generated songs were played that prosecutors said he made for her.
Evidence presented during trial included police body camera footage and activity on Flynn’s iPhone and Apple Watch from around the time of the murder when he claimed to have been sleeping.
The prosecution also called dozens of witnesses, including Botner, whom he met while she was an intern at his church.
Botner read aloud in court some of their 100,000 text messages, including one where Flynn wrote: “I was up until 4am last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
In another message, he wrote: “I just want her dead and gone.”
Flynn did not testify during the trial, and his defence team called no witnesses.
His lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, has said he plans to file a notice of appeal, telling reporters last week: “There’s a lack of evidence on prior calculation and design.”
Mulligan argued that evidence of infidelity was not evidence of murder and questioned why Flynn was being accused of tampering with evidence because his gun could not be found.
This gun, which had been kept in the console of his truck, has been missing since investigators arrived at the scene and found the truck’s centre console open.
Prosecutor Paul Watkins read a statement from Ashley Flynn’s family in court after the verdict in September, saying: “Ashley loved Jesus with her whole heart.”
“She loved people,” the statement continued. “Most of all, she loved being a Mum.”
Flynn briefly appeared on American Idol in 2013, saying that he loved his wife “more than anything”.
By BBC News
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