107,000 texts, AI-made love songs: Ex-American Idol star, lover on trial for wife's murder

An affair that began with a secret church romance. More than 107,000 texts exchanged in 1.5 years. Matching Harry Potter lightning-bolt tattoos. Chilling messages about wanting a wife dead, and an alleged plot to make her killing look like the work of an intruder.

These explosive details are at the heart of the murder trial of former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn, 40, accused of killing his wife Ashley at their Ohio home in February and staging the scene to make it look like an intruder was responsible, CNN reported.

Flynn has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in Ashley's death. Prosecutors allege he was unhappy in his marriage and discussed killing his wife with his younger mistress, Alleigha Botner. Flynn told police that an intruder broke into the home, took a handgun from his truck and shot his wife before fleeing.

But prosecutors have challenged that account, pointing to the lack of evidence of forced entry. The murder weapon has also never been found.

During the trial, Botner spent nearly seven hours on the witness stand this week, reading messages exchanged during their roughly 1.5-year affair. More than 107,000 texts were exchanged between them.

And one exchange left Botner in tears. “I want to kill her, Caleb,” Botner wrote about Ashley in July 2025. “That makes two of us,” Flynn replied.

A SECRET CHURCH ROMANCE

Botner was 21 when she met Flynn at their Ohio church in 2022. She was an intern and Flynn was a volunteer on the worship team. They began a romantic relationship in March 2024, according to CNN.

The affair was secretive and intense. They met at least once a week, travelled to nearby cities where they were less likely to be recognised and discussed getting married, Botner testified.

They even got matching Harry Potter lightning-bolt tattoos. Botner had hers on her forearm, while Flynn's was hidden in his armpit because, she said, “he didn't want Ashley to see”.

The couple exchanged roughly 300 messages a day through iMessage, WhatsApp and GroupMe.

Their relationship began falling apart after Ashley discovered the affair in August 2025 by seeing their messages during a cruise marking her and Flynn's 15th wedding anniversary.

Botner repeatedly asked Flynn to leave his wife, but he refused, citing his daughters, his job with his in-laws and his reputation.

In January, Botner gave Flynn a final deadline. “It’s time for me to put my big girl pants on, be strong and officially move on from you and us,” she texted him.

AI-GENERATED LOVE SONGS FOR BOTNER

The affair also found its way into music.

Prosecutors played two AI-generated love songs that Flynn created for Botner, presenting them as evidence during the trial.

One song contained the emotional declaration, “If somewhere you feel this, if somewhere you’re whole, know that you still own every piece of my soul.”

The song later referred to “the third” and “the us that we lost”, seemingly alluding to the date Flynn and Botner first met. “The third of every month I still say your name,” the AI-generated song said.

‘I JUST WANT HER DEAD AND GONE’

As Ashley came to know about his affair, Flynn's messages about his wife had become increasingly disturbing. He repeatedly referred to Ashley using the crude codename “douche” and wrote, “I just want her dead and gone.”

On March 24, 2025, Botner asked him, “What can I do?”

“Kill her,” Flynn replied.

In another message, Flynn wrote, “If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat.” Botner herself later wrote, “I want to kill her, Caleb.”

“That makes two of us,” Flynn responded.

She became emotional while reading the exchange in court and said she regretted writing the message and did not mean it literally. In another message, Botner made clear she wanted Flynn to divorce Ashley, not kill her, CNN reported.

“I’m not asking that you take her life, obviously, because that’s not what you should do, and I know you actually wouldn’t,” she wrote.

‘I’M NOT SCARED TOMORROW’

Then came February 15 – one day before Ashley was killed.

Flynn sent Botner a series of messages saying he planned to tell his wife he wanted a divorce the following day. “It’s kind of crazy. I’m not scared tomorrow,” he wrote, adding that the situation was going to be a “crap-fest”.

Botner was house-sitting at a pastor's home that night. The next morning, she received a message from a church member asking if she had heard “about Mrs. Flynn”. She was then sent an article about Ashley's death, according to CNN.

“My heart started pounding. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that the day he’s divorcing her, she’s just dead all of a sudden,” Botner testified.

Ashley was found fatally shot at their home in Tipp City, Ohio on February 16.

BOTNER ADMITS LYING TO FBI

Botner's testimony has also given the defence an opening to challenge her credibility. She admitted deleting messages after Ashley's death and initially lying to the FBI about the affair because she feared her reputation and job would be damaged.

“I was selfishly afraid that my reputation was going to be ruined and that I was going to lose my job,” she testified.

She later hired a lawyer and told the FBI the truth, CNN reported.

During cross-examination, defence attorney Emily Smith focused on Botner's messages and her admission that she initially did not believe Flynn was capable of killing his wife.

“I did not believe that he meant it,” Botner said of his messages about killing Ashley. “I don't think he could ever be capable of doing something like that.”

The defence has argued that an affair and angry messages do not prove murder. Prosecutors, however, have presented the texts as evidence of Flynn's alleged motive.

Botner has not been charged in Ashley's death and testified that she was not promised anything for her cooperation.

Flynn remains on trial for Ashley's murder. The trial is expected to continue for another week.