TROY, Ohio — Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for the February shooting death of his wife, Ashley, a case prosecutors built on more than 100,000 text messages to his mistress and a staged break-in they said was meant to cover his tracks.
Miami County Common Pleas Judge Jeannine N. Pratt imposed the life term at a sentencing hearing Monday afternoon, with consecutive sentences on firearm and evidence-tampering charges to be served first, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, which cited Court TV’s coverage.
Flynn, 40, maintained his innocence in a tearful statement to the court. Members of Ashley Flynn’s family delivered victim-impact statements.
A jury convicted Flynn on Sept. 29 of all nine counts it considered — aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence, plus firearm specifications — after about two hours of deliberation.
Prosecutors said Flynn shot Ashley, 37, a teacher and volleyball coach, twice in the head as she slept in their Tipp City home in the early hours of Feb. 16, then staged the scene to look like an intruder break-in. Flynn told a 911 dispatcher an intruder had killed his wife, but investigators found no forced entry, nothing stolen, and a gun that was never recovered.
The prosecution’s case leaned heavily on some 107,000 text messages between Flynn and Alleigha Botner, a church colleague with whom he was having an affair, in which he expressed hatred for his wife and discussed wanting her dead, according to trial coverage.
The defense argued the case rested on guesses and speculation, called no witnesses, and Flynn did not testify. His attorney has said the verdict will be appealed.
At a post-verdict hearing last week, Pratt also ordered Flynn to register as a violent offender — a presumed 10-year enrollment subject to challenge by the defense.
