Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - American Idol Star Wails Over Wife's "Death": Bombshell Sentence

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

Caleb Flynn, an American Idol wanna be learns how long he will be in jail today. He was arrested, tried and convicted for murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn. Prosecutors say he fatally shot her in their home, then staged the scene to look like a home invasion. His two children were home at the time.  Ashley Flynn, 37, was shot twice in the head.   Caleb called 911 claiming an intruder had broken in. He told police the console of his truck was open and the gun kept there was missing.  Prosecutors detailed an affair Caleb had be in for the last 18 months. He met Alleigha Botner when she was an intern at  Caleb's church. Prosecutors presented over 100,000 text messages between Caleb and his mistress, which included hatred toward Ashley and wishes for her death.        Joining Nancy Grace today:  Randolph Rice  - Former Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense & Civil Attorney at Rice Law, website: ricelawmd.com, IG, FB, X: @ricelawmd Dr. Janie Lacy  -Licensed Psychotherapist and CEO of Life Counseling Solutions, Author of "How To Heal From A Toxic Relationship: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Mental Health and Happiness", Host of "Let's Talk About It with Janie Lacy” Podcast on YouTube, janielacy.com, Instagram & Facebook: @JanieLacy   David Sarni  - Former NYPD Detective, 27 years at NYPD, Adjunct Professor John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Instagram: dsonthemedia, TikTok: DS08296, Facebook: David Sarni, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-sarni-ba002910a   Jeff Gentry  - Forensics-Certified Bloodstain Pattern Analyst, Senior Crime Scene Analyst and Death investigator, Former Toxicology Lab Analyst, Author: "Forensic Science: Applications to Death and Crime Scene Investigations" ; TikTok: @jeffreygentryBPA, FB: Jeff Gentry Bloodstain Pattern Analyst,  Website: Evidenceoverassumption.com  Nate Eaton  - News Director, East Idaho News, Emmy-nominated journalist.  Host of 'Courtroom Insider' on Youtube Dave Mack  -  Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It's Hammer Time after the American Idol star wails over his wife's death. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

Somebody broke into my home. Somebody broke in my home. I'm not going to my wife. She's in the bed. She's in bed. I rubbed her leg and said her name she was not answering. And I didn't know what to do. I froze.

It was scared. Joining us tonight straight out of the courtroom, courtroom insider star, Nate Eaton. The judge brings down the hammer, Nate Eaton. What happened in court? Caleb Flynn will be spending life in prison without the possibility of parole. Judge Janine Pratt just handed down the sentence as Caleb Flynn sobbed through the entire. higher hearing this afternoon. Ashley Flynn's family read statements from their daughters saying, Daddy, how could you do this to mommy? She was the best thing that ever happened to you.

The judge did not mince words. She called his actions abhorrent. She said that they were evil, and she said that he deserves a way he deserves to go to prison for the rest of his life. You want to sit down? No. Okay. Take it down. Is she gone? Look at me. Look at me. Okay. Right now I need you to breathe, okay? Do you have any family that you can call? Okay, where's your phone at? Is she gone? Is she gone? Yes. Yes, American Idol Star, she's gone. Because you killed her. You shot her twice in the back of the head as she was lying asleep in your home that you shared with your girls who were asleep in the next room. Is she gone? My rear-in. What am I going to do? What am I going to do with my daughters? You're going to tell them one day when they come to visit you behind bars, how you kill their mother

and make up some sad, sloppy excuse about why you did it. That's what you're going to do with your daughters. Oh yeah, it's hammer time. This guy, the American Idol star in front of a judge in the last hours who brings down the hammer. And why shouldn't he, with texts like these incendiary, inflammatory texts, complete

disregard for his wife's life. His wife, the mother of his children. Listen to this. Why cater to Ashley and what she effing wants? I'm so done with you. We have to get rid of I need you. You're

my everything. Yeah. I wonder how long she'll be visiting him behind bars. Did Ash keep those screenshots of our messages? What if she recovered them from recently deleted? This could be super bad if she has them. What? Don't worry about her finding them. Worry about homicide finding them.

The day of, just hours after his wife is dead, he writes, I choose you, I'm free. Actions will come tomorrow. Why can't it be you? Why couldn't I have met you and married you and had kids with you? Throughout, straight out to Nate Eaton, these texts, both of them refer to his wife as I'm telling you, number one, play that body cam of all of his lies and the hyperventilating and the crying and the all of that to show what a liar he is.

He can't say anything in court to. race. All those lies from my mind. It's like a horror movie playing. Oh, look at him. He's kneeling. He's kneeling in pain and suffering. Translation, I afraid they'll figure out he did it. These, oh, please, just stop. This guy, forget singing. You should go into acting. You'll have plenty of time for that behind bars to hone those skills. All of the body cam shows he's a big, fat liar, and all of the texts, referring to his wife as d'i and more shows his complete disregard for her life. And today he won't in mercy? Are you kidding me? Describe the effect that that video and those texts had on the jury.

The jury saw right through it, Nancy. A hundred and seven thousand text messages between Caleb Flynn and his mistress, Aaliyah Botner over the series of months. You said that they called her D.S. They also called her Spawn of Satan. They called her witch. They called her names far worse. This was going on as Ashley Flynn is raising their daughters,

as they're going to church together. Remember, they all went to the same church. Caleb Flynn met Aaliyah Botner through church. At one point, they talked about how they just wished that Ashley Flynn was dead while they got their wish, and now Caleb Flynn is headed to prison. You know, I don't get it. By the way, guys, let me formally introduce Nate Eaton.

He is the news director and a star at East Idaho News Emmy nominated. He is a star of courtroom Insider on YouTube in the courtroom from day one in the American Idol murder trial. Randolph Rice, you're a veteran trial lawyer, you and I have both worked on death penalty cases. Here's the deal. Isn't it a day late and a dollar short to tell the judge how good you are, what a good boy you are, after the judge saw all that BS technical legal term. I don't know if they teach you that in law school in Maryland, but it's all BS.

Anything he could have driveled out any letter of character, I don't care. It's all destroyed by that body cam and those texts. I mean, really? If you called your wife a douche, I would come prosecute you myself. Nancy, certainly didn't help him today, but I certainly think that the judge also took into facts or consideration in her mind as to the evidence that she heard during this trial. And certainly there may be some questions or may have been some questions in her mind during the sentencing. Certainly didn't play out that way.

But I got to think that the judge thought about the lack of the gun, the gunshot residue missing. Where's the blood spatter? Those are things I got to think that the judge at least thought about for a second today during sentencing. Okay. Put him up, please. What did you say, Randolph Rice, the judge? should have considered today in sentencing? Nancy, even though the fact that the jury found him guilty, the judge still today has to think about,

you know, she was sitting in this courtroom. She saw the evidence and she saw the lack of evidence. So in her mind she maybe partly could have considered that in making this sentence. Oh, I'm sorry. What? Okay. You're telling me what the judge should consider. She sat through the trial. So you're saying the judge should reconsider the fact there was no GSR, gunshot residue translation. He washed his hands as he was staging the scene.

I guess next you're going to tell me the judge should consider he's got a really bad cough. Where are you asleep now, sir? I have that he's that cough? So do I. Your mom was telling me that you've got the same thing more than I do. I've got a cough too. He's got a cough. Sarnie, help me. Did you hear Randolph, or I say the judge, she sat through Judge Pratt,

Janine Pratt sat through the entire body of evidence. She heard it all. She's watched him snot and snivel and carry on the entire trial. He's talking about his daughters. He didn't care about his daughters when he murdered his wife in the home with them under the roof. Sarnie, gunshot residue. Oh, there he is crying again. That's from Nate Eaton, Everett, insider. David Sarny, could you please, with all of your 27 years of experience in NYPD, Professor John Jay College of Criminal Justice, could you explain how easily you can get rid of GSR gunshot residue? Thank all the police advocates for body-worn cameras because you could now document things that responding officers could never do in person or by paper. So this is a

treasure trope of information you have here. As far as the gunshot residue, think about this and the story that he put out, that someone came in the house, shot his wife, and left. And when he spoke to the officer's gunshot residue isn't an issue, it's primarily the facts there. That could be missed, but the reality is this. If someone's coming into your house to shoot your wife, where does she go? The perpetrator allegedly goes into his garage and into his vehicle, removes a firearm, from inside the console, doesn't touch anything else, walks into the house, fires shots.

He's the only, and also remember that he's the only person that knew on that 911 call, he fired that two shots were fired. No one could tell otherwise. The perpetrator then leaves the scene, and then he wakes up and then does all this. The gunshot residue is inconsequential because you didn't find any bloody clothing.

Who's to say that he didn't have, he did not shoot her without a shirt on? and just took a shower. These are things that the little things that come into play when you talk about investigation. You can have an affair. You can, we investigate shootings and murders a lot. The little pieces that came into, the 911 call,

the response by the officers at the scene, his interrogation later on, all these bits and pieces, plus the forensic digital evidence that recover, laid out what he did that night. And that's what this was. This was a cold, cold-blooded murder. That's what you see,

and that's what the investigation. investigators be able to determine by the brutality, circumstances, and the facts. Not speculation, facts. Eating well shouldn't be complicated, but somehow it turns into recipes, prep, cleanup, and half your Sunday gone. Factors solves all that. These are fresh, ready-to-eat meals designed by dieticians, delivered to your door, and ready in just minutes. No prep, no cleanup, no excuses. And it's not just about convenience. You're getting real food, balanced nutrition. and zero artificial stuff. Meals that help you stay on track for all of your goals

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author of Forensic Science Applications to Death and Crime Scenes Investigations. You can find him at Evidence Over Assumptainment. Docton.com. Jeff Gentry. What about his cough? Come on. Tell me about gunshot residue. How easily you can get rid of it.

You can go, it's gone. Yeah, gunshot residue is fantastic when you have it, and it can be interpreted. The concentration of gunshot residue is going to determine how close a firearm was in proximity to somebody's hand that was holding it or the victim who was shot. But in this type of case,

if you're shot from a distance, you wouldn't anticipate there being much gunshot residue on the victim themselves and gunshot residue on the suspect if you're wearing gloves or if you're wearing clothing that could block the gunshot residue from being deposited on your skin all you have to do is wash your hands and change your shirt and it's gone so it can be very difficult to analyze i mean if you do have it and it's in high levels good concentrations on the the suspect or the victim wonderful it's great forensic evidence if you have it and can interpret it but if it's not there it doesn't mean that you weren't the shooter it just means that you had ample time to clean up

where you had ample time to change your clothing and wash your hands. So it doesn't really make or break this case. It absolutely does not. Come on, though, Gentry, you can't blame Randolph Rice for trying because, you know, with body cam video like this, he's really scraping the bottom of the barrel, but he's doing it really well. Okay, first we heard about his cough.

You think the judge cares? Judge Jeanine Pratt does not care about your cough. Then he tries to get sick. sympathy over his own daughters, manipulating them as well. I was here. And I heard of the dogs shake her, move her color. Yeah. And it won't be up in both my rooms was sick.

Yeah. My love was one of them that got up. So I went to their room and laid out with them for them for help them. Yeah. That's what I heard of. Okay. From you hearing a gunshot, did you see him, like, I was like, I said in my rear end. I froze.

I said you froze. When I finally got off, the door leading, the guidance was open. Okay. But I didn't see. But he froze. He froze. My rear end. So, throwing himself at the mercy of the judge, Judge Jeanine Pratt today. You know, I don't get it to Dr. Janie Lacey joining us,

licensed psychotherapist, CEO of Life Counseling Solutions, author of How to heal from a Toxic Relationship, and she's a star of Let's Talk About it with Janie Lacey. Dr. Janie, why is it that so often we see the spouse that one time go sleep with the children, coincidentally, the night their spouse is murdered. I saw it with Moscow Mule Mom and Corey Richens who murdered her husband. That night of all nights, she went down the hall and slept with her children.

Had no idea. Her husband was killed. Again, here we see the American Idol, Star, down the hall sleeping with his girls. I bet they can't testify to that. The night his wife was targeted by an crazy, intruder killer that comes in the home, no sex attack, no theft, no nothing, just comes in, shoots her and leaves. But he was sleeping with his children that night of all nights. And the sob story, I don't know, that that would have totally rubbed me the wrong way. The only thing that would have

worked with Judge Janine Pratt is for him to stand up and say, I did it, I was wrong, I was selfish, I'm going to live with this the rest of my life. It's ruined my relationship with my children. That's the only way he'll do it. But he's still sniveling and snodding like he didn't do it. Well, what we're looking at is the ultimate performance. And when we also think about those that will try to connect with their children and the face of telling a story, you're touching on the hearts of many people as parents

and you're looking at the innocence. But when we're looking at all these these teeth, I think about like are these feel these tears real Nancy and and the question is who they're for. You know, and I think about in my my office, I agree for many for another person and grief for yourself. They look completely different. And grief for a wife in particular, it sounds like you're saying her name and it sounds like my girls lost their mother. But I think what we have seen is the courtroom watched was a man who cried hardest at the exact moment. And let's think about it.

The consequences landed on him, the verdict, the handcuffs, the hearing about what follows him for the rest of his life. And I've never evaluated him. So I won't diagnose him. But I can tell you the difference between remorse and self-pity because I see both of them every week. Right. Remorse moves towards the people you hurt and self-pity. Like, it just curls inward. So remorse says, like, what have I done to them?

And self-pity looks like what's happening to me. And I think what we're seeing is just nothing but self-pity, Nancy. Oh, dear, great. What is that, Nate Aiton? Why is he cringing in court? That's when they showed the photos of his wife, the autopsy photos, Nancy. This was one part of the trial. I looked at the jurors who were focused on those images, and two of the women looked at Caleb Flynn as he cried, and they didn't show much emotion. The jurors, in fact, the look on their face was one of, it appeared to me, disgust.

Remember that when Caleb Flynn called the police, Nancy, he, He said, my wife's been shot twice. They had medical experts, doctors on the stand that said when they responded to the scene, they were not able to tell how many times she had been shot because her hair was in the way, because it was bloody, because sorry, there was brain matter there. So how did Caleb Flynn know that she had been shot twice? But the autopsy and the medical experts when they responded to the scene did not know. Later they confirmed it when they did the autopsy that she had taken.

two bullets in her head. Another question that, another issue, I think, another point here that I think the jurors really took note of, and Judge Pratt as well. Can I see him cringing in court again? Oh, there you go. Owry! Look what I did.

Oops, did I say that? Really? This guy gets the Oscar. You know, Randolph Rice, that's a really good point because typically the medical examiner, oh, by the ways, that's from Nate Eaton and courtroom room insider. Typically, the medical examiner has to shave the victim's head so they can carefully

appreciate or examine the gunshot wounds to the head. And if you look at her hair, it's long and thick and dark and it was completely matted with blood and brain matter. There's no way he could have known how many times she had been shot and then tried to lie about it. I'm Sure, Judge Pratt was thinking about that when she brings down the hammer in court today. And Randolph Rice regarding autopsy photos, it's very difficult to get autopsy photos into evidence because they are inflammatory and incendiary. And you run the risk of the jury having such a horrific reaction that they become more inflammatory than they are probative.

In other words, it gets the jury more upset than it proves anything. but a good prosecutor can find a way to get them in. And when that jury looked at her shaved scalp with her, literally the medical examiner has to pull the skin off the head to examine the wounds and the trajectory path and then replace it for burial if that's possible, you show a jury that autopsy photo, it's over. It's over, Rice.

Nancy, I'm sure you got a lot of autopsy photos in when you're a prosecutor. And also to the point of that, when you were married for that long, you know your partner's body, you know what is wrong with it. So I don't find it strange that he could be able to identify that there were two holes in the back of her head. He'd seen the back of her head a thousand, a million times before this. Moreover. Covered in blood and brain matter? You certainly know what your wife looks like. You certainly know what your wife would look like.

like if she had two holes in the back of her head. And it's kind of like a drunk driver when they ask him how many beers they had. Two. He could have might have just said two just because he saw two. There might have been three. There might have been four. There might have been one. But he just said two.

So that's something that I don't think that the judge should take that, you're taking that much consideration today. You know, you really are amazing, Randolph Rice. You are. That's how you win so many cases. You somehow are taking the fact that only the killer would know how many shots were underneath all of her hair. that was matted with blood and brain matter.

And you're turning it around to he knew his wife so well, he would have known how many bullet holes were in her head. I like the way you did that. I don't believe it, but I like it. Okay, let's see what you've got to say about this. Because we heard Nate Eaton describing the jury responding their reaction to those autopsy photos. You should have seen them when this was played in the courtroom.

Love at first side of the scare They said time is a thief But your love to dance Seems not close to the... Okay, Nate Eaton Nate Eaton joining us He's been in the courtroom from day one And it all culminated in the last hours

When the judge brings down the hammer On the American Idol Star He's joining us from East Idaho News You were talking about the jury reaction When they saw the autopsy photos? I saw the jury responding to when those songs were played songs, Flynn wrote for his church mistress.

They were out again, having monkey sex and every nook and cranny they could probably in the church. I don't know where all they did it, but they did it. What did the jury do? Please describe. There she is, a so-called worship leader. I don't know why she's not charged, but she's not. What was the jury reaction when those songs were played?

the songs he wrote for his mistress while he's married. Well, you say he wrote, that might be too generous of a term, Nancy. He used AI to come up with the tunes, and he actually did it twice. So they played the same lyrics twice with different moods because he wanted to have different moods. There was a lot of... Put him up. Put him up. Put him up. Whoa, whoa. The same lyrics.

Twice, did you say, with different moods, M-O-O-D-S? Correct, yes. So they played the same... What kind of moods? Sexy moods? What kind of moods you've got to tell me, Nate? Desperation was one. I need you.

I want you. The other was a little bit more upbeat, a little bit more. We can be together. We can spend our lives together. A lot of smiles, but trying to contain it. That's what the jurors were doing, trying not to laugh. And if you actually watch, while those songs were played, we have it. We've posted the video.

The camera panned the gallery, Ashley Flynn's family. was in the courtroom. Her mom, her dad, her sister, her brother-in-law, they were trying really hard not to burst into laughter. This may have been the one moment of the trial where there was a little bit of brevity or a little bit of kind of funny feeling like we cannot believe that this man who's sitting there had these songs written for this mistress. And this was six, seven minutes of the trial where they played this song twice and they were able to see that Caleb, Flynn was desperate for her. He sent her these songs, and Leah Botner, after she had ignored him for some time, after he had failed to meet the deadline that she had given him, that he promised,

I'm going to leave her by this point, I'm going to file for divorce by this point. Yet again, he failed. He didn't leave her. She says, we're done, the mistress, and then he sends her these AI generated songs. Because what I saw Nate Eaton was a lot of eye rolling and looking around uncomfortably. Randolph Rice, you know you've lost your jury when they start looking away every time you look at them. That's a bad sign and the eye rolling and the stifled laughter. That is not good, Rice. Well, that's what the defense should have done more of here. They needed to get a bucket of sand and throw it in the eyes of this jury and they certainly weren't able to do that. I'm also very disappointed. They didn't call it. That's your trial tactic? In this case, it had to be.

Throw sand in the eyes of the jury. It had to be in this one. And you know that. It's just This is the state's burden. The defense should have come in here much stronger and distracted this jury, brought in experts to contradict the statements made by the prosecution's witness. We needed witnesses or experts rather to talk about where's the gun, talk about why is there no blood splatter. Why didn't we have these things on the defense's part? Jeff Gentry joining us. He is the senior crime scene analyst and death investigator joining us tonight and author. Jeff, did you hear Randolph Rice? You, You know it's desperate when the defense attorney, they don't have a theory.

There's not SOD, some other dude did it like who? Who? What other dude? You don't have insanity. You don't have self-defense. So his suggestion, and I don't blame him, he's right, is distract the jury, throw sand in their eyes. Okay, can I circle back to you about the scene itself?

Because it's really hard to distract a jury from what gentry is about to say. I appreciate your defense attorney trying to muddy the waters. I mean, that's what they get paid to do in most cases. And nothing against him, of course. But in this case, he talked about the gunshot wounds and that this man should know his wife. And that just by knowing his wife, he would automatically know that there are two gunshot wounds. That is impossible. I've examined thousands of bodies at scenes.

I've examined thousands of bodies in the autopsy room. And I know just how difficult it can be to identify a gunshot wound, even when you know someone has been shot. let alone trying to identify a gunshot wound on somebody that's bloody, they have a lot of hair. And if those gunshots are in close proximity to one or the other, it's almost impossible out of a scene with a reasonable amount of confidence to say that it's two gunshot wounds. And that's in a somewhat controlled environment. This is a guy coming in in shock, allegedly, and identifying two gunshot wounds. That is just impossible. So that doesn't make any sense at all that you would use that is any form of evidence. And this guy,

this suspect, he's pathetic. I can't believe that these people go as far as to murder their wives or murder their significant others. I'll never understand why someone can't just say it's over and leave them where they have to have that control over someone where they go as far as to kill them. So I appreciate your Dunspins attorney trying to stir things up, but it's not going to work in this case. And remember, the judge heard all of this first go around. Don't you know, Natey, that after they played those songs that he wrote for his sex monkey mistress, okay, after they played those in the courtroom, you know, she had to take a recess and go back in her chambers with her staff in secret, shut the doors, let the blinds down, and laugh her head off and go, did you hear that? You know, she had to have that reaction, yet today they want mercy. actually when they played those songs Nancy it was at the end of the day so court adjourned it gave everybody a time to go home and think about those songs but the reality of the matter is that Ashley Flynn's family sat through this trial and not only had to hear those songs they had to hear those degrading text message of a hundred and seven thousand which they only admitted maybe a twentieth of them a hundredth of them there were 34 books how many Next, these two exchange, you know, it's, you know what we're doing here?

We're talking about the outlandish portions of the trial, like his body cam, ridiculousity, the faking, all of that. We're talking about the songs and how it was almost like a spoof in the courtroom. You know why? Because it's easier to talk about that than it is to talk about this mom of these little girls going to bed, looking forward to the next day. I remember when I was raising the twins at that age, when I tried to go to sleep, I'd be thinking,

oh, tomorrow morning, I got to do this, and they got to take this project to school, and I got to thaw this out to cook for supper, la, la, la, la. And you're thinking and you're planning about the next day for your children, and life just seems to stretch out, like this beautiful path that you're going to walk with them. And that's how she went to bed.

and she never woke up. And in the middle of the night, he murdered the mother of these children in cold blood and then staged the scene. So, yes, nobody wants to talk about bullets ripping through her head, killing her in her sleep. And now these girls will be raised without parents.

Their mother is nothing but a memory to them. That's what this family has had to live with. And yet today, in front of a judge that has endured all of this evidence, along with the jury, along with the victim's family, they want mercy. I hope the judge replayed this in her mind. Do you have any text messages from? I don't even text messages all the time.

She sends me a meeting picture and it takes up my storage. It doesn't know about you. You got any history with her. She had to text me today and she sent me a calendar to fix. But I was deleted. Eating well shouldn't be complicated, but somehow it turns into recipes, prep, cleanup, and half your Sunday gone. Factor solves all that.

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Everywhere you go. Always free. Download the free IHard Radio app today. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I don't even text messages from. I delete text messages all the time. She sends me a million pictures. and it takes up my storage.

It doesn't know about you. You got any, uh, any, uh, history with her. She had to text me today and she sent me a count and it's fixed. Uh, last night, I wish I deleted. Nate Eaton, that is the interrogation tapes of Caleb Flynn. That's Detective Mike Morgan, do a really good job, by the way. Nate Eaton joining us, East Idaho News. Who is she?

Who is she that he is referring to? I assume the mistress, because, Why would he delete photos of his wife is sending? Well, that actually was a reference to his wife. He was saying that his wife sends him a lot of photos, so he has to delete them because it takes up his storage. His wife, that weekend, it was Valentine's Day weekend, had just gone out with his two daughters.

They had a good time together. They got pampered. They got facials. Valentine's Day weekend, they spent the time together. So the detective is saying, how can you don't have any history with your wife here on your phone? Where's all the texts? And he said, oh, I had to delete him because of that.

Well, after they obtained warrants, how many texts did they find with the mistress? 107,000. 34 books were brought into the courtroom, Nancy. Remember this. 34 books, and they brought up book after book after book to the mistress. And they'd say, go to page 42 and read line 10. And the defense argued, and they likely presented this argument before the judge during Senate scene is, well, we only, they picked and chose the text messages.

They didn't present the whole picture. They chose the most inflammatory ones to the jury. There were other text messages that weren't as bad, where they didn't speak badly of his wife. At the end, clearly it didn't matter because they found him guilty, and the judge issued the sentence. But that's a part of this trial that we'll never forget. She got some mud on her, too. I'm very surprised they didn't charge her and Nate Eaton. How come?

Well, she went on the stand, and we thought maybe she got immunity. Maybe she cut a deal with the prosecutor, but she did not. She came forward. She testified on their behalf. And I think that's probably one of the main reasons they haven't charged her. She was so cooperative. She admitted that what she was doing was bad. She said that she knew nothing about the murder.

And that the last time she ever spoke with Caleb Flynn was that final text message before Ashley Flynn was shot. She cut all communication off afterward and then cooperated with the authorities. Oh, like, I'm supposed to give her a gold star for that. Listen to her. I just wish I didn't say this. I didn't mean it. He says, I want to kill her, Caleb.

Who said that? Me. Next message. I said it's so bad. Next message. He said that makes two of us. That's from courtroom insider. That's Nate Eaton.

So Nate Eaton, you're kind of painting her as if she's pristine as a lily. Covered in due in the early morning. B. She just said in writing, I want to kill her. You're right. I'm not defending her in any way, Nancy, other than the fact that she came forward and said, I'm willing to testify against this guy. She said she didn't mean that text message. And maybe Caleb's defense would have been she was more involved than we thought, but he didn't want to throw her under the bus because they never accused her of anything.

So, yeah, I don't know what it was, but she was on the stand for five hours. She hasn't spoken to the media. She hasn't said anything other than leaving the courthouse. And she's moved away from Ohio. Yeah. She needs to move somewhere where there's not an extradition treaty. Okay. In court today, the defendant whining, crying, begging for forgiveness.

You know who he brings to mind? Does anybody remember Dahlia DiPolito? You've got to see this. Is your husband, Michael? Okay, I'm sorry to tell you, man. He's been killed. He's been killed, man. Try to find out.

Oh, it goes on and on and on. She tried to kill him twice. That we know of. That's from ABC. The crying and the hysterics, Nate Eaton, that he put on, the show he put on during the body cam video, during the interrogation,

shows his duplicitous nature. He will lie at, will and is pretty darn good at it. So the judge listened to none of that today. He is a known liar and a proven killer and the disregard for his wife and his children as evidenced in those texts to me were the final blow. What I can't get out of my mind, Nate Eaton, is the autopsy photos. Looking at the victim in life, this beautiful young. mom with her world ahead of her and those autopsy photos. And isn't it true that he was basically a leech that her parents had given them money? They were giving them half the business, Nancy.

This is a family business that her parents had built up very successful business. And as a gift, they were going to give Ashley and Caleb half of the business and Ashley's sister and her husband the other half. They had prepared for this. And this, and this was, was going to bring him three to four hundred thousand dollars maybe even more per year and so he had it all he had a beautiful wife he had two children he had a successful career thanks to her and her family he was set and so i think that's why he saw himself in a corner that he couldn't do anything if he wanted to be with his mistress and so that's why he ended up doing what he did so all of that i'm sure came into play and this family who has been there every day sitting through this trial

as members of their church have been praying in the hallway before every day in a circle asking for support for this family. I mean, they're just such a great family so full of faith and to have this happen to them. It's just so heartbreaking. My star, she is beautiful. Ashley is just beautiful on the inside and the outside. Dr. Janie, I don't get it. He had everything, this beautiful home, a little. loving and beautiful wife, the children, the parents were, her parents were giving them tons of

money, hand over fist. What's not to be happy about? They're all healthy, they're alive. I don't get it. Why is it so hard for people to look around and go, wow, I remember when I used to pray for all this to happen to me. And now it's happened. I've got this home. I've got these children. I got it all. all unhappy. That's kind of a rich people problem. Unhappy. I'm so sad that I'm living in this gorgeous home with this beautiful wife and these children. I don't get it. What's to be unhappy about? You know, I think a lot of times when these situations happen, Nancy, the question is always, well, he could have just filed for divorce, right, if he wasn't happy. And why does a man kill the mother of his children instead of just walking out?

and finding his happiness. And what I would say to that is because divorce would have cost him the one thing that he wasn't willing to give up, and that's his image. You know, let's look at what the prosecutors laid out, right? Leaving Ashley meant leaving the family business, as we just outlined, it meant stepping off the stage of the church. It meant being known as the worship pastor who left his wife or a 24-year-old from the worship team.

I would imagine that in his mind there were two ways out of this marriage, one where he's the villain and the one where he's the victim. them and the jury found he picked the one where he gets the sympathy. And that's entitlement, Nancy. It's the belief that you should get the new life without paying the price of your own choices. Divorce, right? It would have cost him his reputation.

He decided Ashley should pay for it instead. And, you know, and I think about the women, you know, who watch this. Like, here's what I would want women to take from that is like, watch how a man handles being wrong about small things. Like someone who can't tolerate being the bad guy ever about anything is showing you something very important. David Sarny, what strikes you the most about this case? And all your years at NYPD, facts jump out at you as being more relevant or more probative than others.

What hit you in the face? Well, the 911 call. I think the 911 call was such a big issue. You know, when you hear it, and that's where you get all the information you have for this case, is the initial contact with the 911 operator and the witness, the quintessential witness, that scene. And what always stuck out in my head and the little things matter when he said two shots. And during that investigation, when the preliminary investigation starts with the primary responding officers get there, they say a lot. And they ask questions. And one thing that

stick out to me is one of the officers asked one of the one of the responding EMS units, how long do you think she's been dead for? Because they had a real presumption that this, this individual, the witness was actually a suspect. And that's what I saw on this. Every little piece, and that's what it is. You take little pieces and you build the case. And that's why this case got and found Caleb guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. You know, another thing, I noticed David Sorney, you know, when your children are sick or when they're hurt,

I always, I remember when John David, my son had a horrible, horrible blow to the head. And I picked him up. and I carried him down three flights of stairs to the car and took him to the ER. What struck me is that he never seemed to touch the victim. He said he went in and rubbed her leg and put a towel on her head. What? But never did he pick her up and hold her or try to perform CPR? And that really struck me.

That really struck me, David. Because he shot her, and that's why. And he tried to explain himself away what he did. And everything he said made no sense. And that was the whole point of this whole investigation. The denial one call, how he responded to the officers on scene, how he spoke to investigators. All the things did not add up. That's why detectives and investigators are trying to find the truth.

It's not about emotion, not about speculation. You find the truth. And the truth came out with this. You didn't need the firearm. He equivocated about the firearm, too, because he said he told him about the guns that he had in his house, except for the 9mm that he kept in the gun and his console in the truck. And again, the piece also, if someone is coming in to burglarize your apartment, your residence, your garage, it is going to be torn up.

That console looked immaculate. So how did that individual know to pull a gun from inside? And that is the only item that we've ever believed to have been stolen from the house was that firearm. That's another thing that stuck out to me. How he responded to his kids and dealing with the kids after the incident. the freezing, the dog's not barking. You know, there were a lot of little itty-bitty pieces. But our idea and investigators have to do is tie up those loose ends with facts,

with evidence support, what they believed in at the time that Caleb Flynn was responsible and is responsible to murder of his wife. In the last hours, Judge Janine Pratt brings down the hammer on the so-called American Idol star, Caleb Flynn. And what I learned after my very first murder conviction is that, yes, you get what you want, you get the conviction, you get the sentence, and then you turn around and you look in that courtroom, and everybody walks out with a broken heart because nothing can ever fix it. Tonight, we remember an American hero, Lieutenant Eddie May's Bernie P.D.

Missouri, dead in the line of duty after 30 years leaving behind his wife, now widow, Jamie, and children, Aaron and Candice. American hero, Lieutenant Eddie Mays. Thank you to our guests for being with us tonight, and please join us in our thoughts and prayers for Ashley's family, because now the trial and the sentencing is over, and they have the rest of their lives to live with us. out her. Nancy Gray, signing off for tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow night, and until then. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.