Caleb Flynn, a 40-year-old former American Idol contestant and church worship leader, has been convicted of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, who was shot twice in the back of the head in their Ohio home on 16 February 2025. A jury unanimously found him guilty of aggravated murder, murder with a firearm specification, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence after deliberating for less than three hours, and he now faces life imprisonment without parole. The case garnered significant attention due to Flynn's public profile and the deeply troubling circumstances, including damning messages he sent to his mistress expressing his desire to kill his wife. Sentencing is scheduled for 5 October.

Prosecutors argued Flynn shot his wife as she lay in bed and then staged the scene to resemble a burgled house, whilst the defence claimed an intruder was responsible. Key evidence included over 100,000 messages between Flynn and his mistress, Alleigha Botner, 24, in which he wrote, "If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat," and stated he was "thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail." Digital forensics proved particularly damaging: Flynn's devices recorded 196 steps during the hour before the 911 call and 346 steps whilst he claimed to be calling it, contradicting his assertion that he had been asleep in his daughters' room. The murder weapon—a 9-millimetre handgun prosecutors believed Flynn kept in his truck—was never recovered. The defence presented no witnesses, whilst prosecutors called dozens.