Key Points
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Former American Idolhopeful Caleb Flynn has been convicted of killing his wife.
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Flynn competed on American Idol in 2013.
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Prosecutors had read text messages to his mistress in which Flynn spoke of killing Ashley Flynn.
Caleb C. Flynn, the formerAmerican Idolcontestant accused of killing his wife, Ashley Flynn, was found guilty in an Ohio court on Tuesday.
PEOPLE reports that the jury convicted him of aggravated murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence. He was found to have used a firearm during the crime.
Jurors took just two hours to deliberate, the outlet noted. Flynn shed tears when the verdict was read and after sitting back down.
Flynn, who previously worked as a music pastor and made it to Idol‘s Hollywood Week in 2013, had raved about his wife at the time, just three years after they wed: “I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her.”
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But Flynn was accused of shooting her on Feb. 16, while she and their two daughters slept, despite telling police that someone had broken into their Tipp City, Ohio, home and shot her.
When his trial began earlier this month, Miami County prosecutor Paul Watkins read to the jury texts he alleged Flynn had sent Alleigha Botner, the woman with whom he had been having an affair.
“I was up until 4:00 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail,” Flynn allegedly texted Botner, who testified at the trial. “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.”
Then, on the night before Ashley Flynn’s murder, he allegedly texted to Botner, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I’ll never forget.”
Flynn had pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his legal team argued that he was on trial for murder, not for being a bad husband.
Ashley Flynn’sobituary noted that she was the mother of two girls, a volunteer at her church, a teacher, and a volleyball coach.
“Ashley was known as a shining light of joy to all who crossed her path, effortlessly encouraging others along the way,” the obituary read.
Flynn’s lawyers vowed to appeal, with defense attorney Patrick Mulligan explaining to reporters outside the courthouse, “There’s a lack of evidence on prior calculation and design,”
Caleb Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5. He faces up to life in prison without parole.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
