Alleigha Botner stopped as she read one of her own messages to the jury in Caleb Flynn's murder trial. "I just wish I didn't say this," she said before reading what she had written to Flynn about his wife, Ashley: "I want to kill her, Caleb." Flynn's reply, according to the message shown in court, was: "That makes two of us." Botner testified that she did not mean it.
The exchange raises a question at the center of the trial: Were the couple's messages expressions of anger during an affair, or evidence that Flynn intended to kill his wife? Prosecutors have presented the texts as part of their case against the former worship leader. His attorneys argue that cruel words and infidelity do not prove murder. Flynn has pleaded not guilty.
Ashley Flynn was shot twice in bed at the family's Tipp City, Ohio, home on February 16 while the couple's two daughters were asleep in the house. Flynn called 911 and reported a burglary and shooting. Prosecutors allege that he killed Ashley and made the scene appear to be a break-in; the defense disputes that account.
Botner, 24, testified that she and Flynn had an affair and exchanged more than 100,000 messages. Reading the July 2025 exchange aloud on Thursday, September 24, she became emotional. Asked about other messages in which she wanted Ashley gone, Botner told the court, "I always meant divorce." She also testified that she did not believe Flynn was capable of killing his wife.
That explanation matters because Botner was a participant in the conversations the jury must assess. The defense pressed her on her own words and on whether Flynn might have said he hated Ashley to please her. Botner acknowledged that he might have. She also admitted that she initially lied to the FBI about the affair to protect her reputation.
Prosecutors, however, have asked jurors to consider the messages together and in the months leading to Ashley's death. Botner testified that she had repeatedly pressed Flynn to leave his marriage. She said she believed he planned to discuss divorce with Ashley on February 16, the day Ashley was killed. After hearing of the shooting, Botner asked Flynn in a message whether he was behind it, according to her testimony.
The affair also unfolded in a church setting. Botner was a staff worship leader at Christian Life Center in Dayton, while Flynn served there as a contracted worship leader. Flynn had previously appeared on American Idol, advancing to Hollywood Week in 2013. Their public roles have drawn attention to the case, but the jury's task is to decide what the evidence establishes about Ashley's killing.
Both sides rested their cases on Monday, September 28. The messages leave a disturbing record of what Botner and Flynn said about Ashley. Whether those words help prove the prosecution's allegation against Flynn is the question the jury must resolve.
