‘American Idol’ alum Caleb Flynn’s ex-mistress reads texts during murder trial: ‘I NEED HER GONE’

Flynn is accused of fatally shooting his wife in February and then staging the crime scene

Published Sep 25, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  4 minute read

Alleigha Botner, testifying at Caleb Flynn’s murder trial. Photo by CourtTV /YouTube

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The highly anticipated trial for Caleb Flynn, a former American Idol contestant accused of killing his wife, Ashley Flynn, began on Sept. 17.

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But perhaps the most shocking thing to come out of it in the first week of the expected two-week trial is testimony from Flynn’s former mistress, Alleigha Botner.

Flynn is accused of fatally shooting his wife in February and then staging the crime scene, with Ohio prosecutors pointing to his affair as a motive for the killing.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

His defence team acknowledged his affair but told jurors that while his behaviour made him “easy to dislike,” the prosecution lacks key evidence, including a murder weapon.

On Thursday, Botner concluded two days of testimony about her affair with Flynn, and spent hours reading from the more than 100,000 text messages she and the defendant exchanged before Ashley’s killing.

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How did they meet?

Botner was 20 when she met Flynn at their Ohio church in the summer of 2022.

She testified that she initially did not know he was married because he didn’t wear a wedding ring.

Their romantic relationship began in March 2024 and continued until the following winter, she detailed.

They saw each other at least once a week, and travelled to nearby cities so as not to be recognized, and even discussed getting married in the future.

The pair exchanged more than 100,000 texts during their relationship — about 300 a day — on various private platforms including iMessage, WhatsApp and GroupMe.

Matching tattoos

Botner, now 24, noted that one of the first things they bonded over was their love of Harry Potter.

They eventually got matching tattoos of a lightning bolt — hers on her arm and Caleb’s in his armpit so Ashley wouldn’t be able to see it, she told the court.

The vile names

In some of the text exchanges she read aloud in court, Botner noted the disparaging comments about Ashley, including “b***h,” “wh*re,” “s***” and “spawn of Satan.”

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In one text, Botner referred to Ashley as “Ash-s***” and in another, she wrote, “douche needs to go,” to which Caleb allegedly replied, “please take her out.”

Ashley and Caleb Flynn. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook) Photo by Ashley Flynn /Facebook

They both wanted her dead

The messages exchanged showed Caleb and Botner repeatedly discussing him leaving Ashley, with Botner growing increasingly impatient that he had not done so.

“I just want her dead and gone,” he wrote in early 2025.

He even asked Botner to help, and on March 24, 2025, she asked her lover, “What can I do?”

Flynn responded: “Kill her,” referring to his wife.

“If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That’s how dark and hateful I feel,” he wrote on May 16, 2025.

Botner sobbed as she read aloud one message from July 2025: “I want to kill her, Caleb.” She told the court as tears streamed down her face, “I didn’t mean it.”

In another message she read aloud, Botner wrote: “I need her gone, Caleb.”

He responded to that message, “That makes two of us.”

Alleigha Botner testifying in murder trial of ex-lover. (CourtTV/YouTube) Photo by CourtTV /YouTube

Botner backtracks

In a text from August 2025, Botner informed Flynn that she just wanted him to divorce her, not kill her.

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“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. But to make the divorce happen, it would change everything.”

Botner has not been accused by authorities of any crime. She told the court that she has not been offered anything in exchange for her testimony.

Flynn would give up his daughters for mistress

Botner also testified that Flynn was allegedly “willing to sacrifice” his daughters for her.

In September 2025, amid the escalating tension between the two over Caleb not leaving Ashley, he allegedly wrote: “I think what I’m willing to sacrifice is my daughters, a quarter million dollars, salaried job, a place to live, possibly a church that I serve at.”

In a text message allegedly sent the following month, Botner read to the court: “me leaving douche means ruining my daughters’ lives and yet I will still do it.”

A few days later, he allegedly texted Botner: “I’m willing to flip my life upside down, to lose a job, to lose a salary, to lose a house, to lose my daughters full time and to go through this hell that will come with leaving her.”

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Ashley Flynn and her daughters. (Ashley Flynn/Facebook) Photo by Ashley Flynn /Facebook

Ashley’s sister testified that the couple’s daughters, who were 9 and 11 at the time of the killing, were heartbroken for their mother after learning about Caleb’s affair.

“They were shocked, they were upset for their mom because they said, ‘She loved daddy more than anyone else in life. So why did Daddy not love her as much?’” Ashley’s sister testified in court earlier this week.

However, the eldest child was “not surprised” upon learning the name of their father’s mistress, she testifed.

Flynn has been barred from any interactions with his two children under a no-contact order.

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What happened the morning of Ashley’s killing?

On Feb. 16, police arrived at the couple’s home following a 911 call about a robbery in progress and found the elementary school teacher and volleyball coach fatally shot at the scene.

Ohio authorities released more than six hours of body- and dash-cam footage, including video of Flynn reacting to his wife’s death.

He was arrested three days later and charged with Ashley’s murder.

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