The Ben Mulroney Show - Ashleigh Banfield Unpacks Murder Trial of Former American Idol Contestant

Episode Date: September 26, 2026

In this segment from on "The Ben Mulroney Show," Ben welcomes back Ashleigh Banfield, host & creator of the "https://www.youtube.com/@DropDeadSerious" podcast. They unpack the Ohio murder trial of former American Idol contestant, Caleb Flynn. His former mistress takes the stand and the testimony is jarring.   If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/bms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, on youtube -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BenMulroneyShow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Insta: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠   Executive Producer:  Mike Drolet Reach out to Mike with story ideas or tips at [e-mail] Enjoy   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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He got a golden ticket, which when he bypassed the next rounds and went straight to Hollywood week. He didn't get past that part. But that sometimes can be enough publicity to jumpstart someone's dreams of startup. It did not happen for that man, but he credited his wife with. with getting him that far. He spoke of her effusively.

But I guess his feelings changed because he was charged with her murder and stands on trial for that murder and that accusation as we speak. And in typical fashion, I always find out about these trials when they've already started. So then I've got to go back and call this. Our next guest who typically covers them with the seriousness and dedication and due diligence that they deserve. So please welcome Ashley Banfield to the show, the host and creator of the Drop Dead series podcast.

Ashley, welcome. Hi, how's it going, Ben? It's going well. It's going well. I'm so glad you're joining us because I'm, like I said, I like so many people, play catch up with these very sizzling, headline-grabbing court cases from the United States that don't pop on my radar immediately. So tell us who are the big, what are the dynamics we need? to know about and where are we in the trial?

So I'm just going to give you a disclaimer. If you watch my podcast or listen to it, drop dead serious, you better be prepared for a lot of F bombs because I am so angry with the facts of this case, the details of this case and this dirtbag. I have to be honest with you. I can't hold back. So you're not just by virtue of what you just said there. I'm suspecting you've judged him and you found him guilty.

Well, I have not. I have looked at the facts in the case as the case is still ongoing, right? The trial is still ongoing. There's testimony today. What I will tell you is as an observer of trial and courtroom coverage for four decades. I don't think this guy stands a chance. Caviata, I said that about OJ. Okay. The facts of this case, Ben-Loney are what we call in the business bad facts. It is horrendous what this so-called worship pastor. Yeah. Yeah, he's, so from what I understand, he found himself a mistress who also worked at his church and they started a torrid affair, as I pointed out before the break where they were occasionally meet at her apartment and sometimes in the, what is it, the parking lot of the Chipotle? A very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very

very, very, very, and the back and forth texts, which were read in, uh, by the, by the former mistress in in the a courtroom in front of her parents, the victim's parents, that's, that is over the top. Well, it's humiliating as it should be for her and for Caleb Flynn, the so-called worship pastor. I barf in my mouth a little every time I say that, by the way. But I know she's no picnic either, Ben. I mean, let's be honest. She knew exactly what she was getting into, professed to the court. I didn't know he was married when I first got going with them, but then I did. And Apparently it was okay for a church pastor to be having a tort affair with two little girls and a wife. And so, you know, I have, there's no love loss, no tag sales for this one.

And yes, absolute and utter humiliation. But Ben Mulroney, can I just say, you're going to send your lover 300 texts a day. And yes, that's the number. Maybe you should be prepared for them to come back in your face someday. Yeah. For a guy who, because so much of the post-crime scene was set by the body cams, by the cops who showed up. When he called, I guess he called and said, there was an intruder that killed my wife and I was in the other room with my kids. And they show up and he looks terrified because he's worried that the intruder is still there.

I mean, he put a lot of, he put a lot into his performance. And then he hugs the wife. hugs his mother-in-law. So moments after he's killed the wife, allegedly, he's hugging the mom. So he thought this part out. But it seems odd to me that he would not have thought that he would have had to deal with all of the text messages.

Is there any suggestion that the mistress knew anything about his plan? So that's a big question. And obviously his defense attorney was trying to plumb that while she was on the stand suggesting, so you said stuff like, I want to kill her too, or how can we get this done? Things like that.

She professes, well, I thought it meant divorce. I thought the whole it was divorce and that the killing texts were all fantasizing. Good one. I've heard that a bunch. So listen, she's not on trial. She's not charged. I think in the community of moral reprehension,

she's been convicted, and I think rightfully so. It's not illegal to convict us, here just you and me talk and convict her morally. She did that to herself. But no, I think there is some suggestion by Caleb Flynn's defense attorney that she may have been party to it. But it doesn't matter.

Yeah. They're trying to dirty her up. And all it's doing is dirtying the both of them. What's his defense here? Because he's saying that he's innocent. He's not guilty. Yeah. I think that's his defense.

Honest to God, I haven't heard anything yet. And can I just be honest? It's not up to a defendant to defend themselves. in court. I know that sounds counterintuitive. It is only up to the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone did the crime. And that's why oftentimes you don't see a defendant take the stand because they don't have to. And truth be told, so many of them are guilty anyway, it is a bad idea to take the stand. And even if you're not guilty, it's not a great idea to take the stand because anything you have said can and use will be, you know, can and has been

used against people all the time. And that's why you have a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. So I don't expect this fellow to take the stand. because he's hopeless. Yeah, but actually, if the case... But if the state puts together, a cobbles together a narrative that is devastating to his chances, doesn't he, isn't his only option

to come and poke holes in that? Like if they've, if they've established beyond a reasonable doubt that he did it, then isn't his only shot at getting out poking holes in that established doubt? I mean, I guess you could, Ask OJ, right? He didn't take the step either and it worked well for him and it looked like it wasn't gonna. I mean, honest to God, when you have a client who is this reprehensible, first of all, he's despised, right? Every juror in there.

Yeah. This guy's a worship pastor and all of these messages and the names and I can't, I don't think I can repeat them here, but I do on my podcast. But I mean, honestly, on the public airwaves, I don't think I can say the name that he called her. those jurors have been hearing them over and over and over hundreds of times. And so they'll hate him, right? So him getting on the stand is just going to dig himself a deeper hole. There's really no way for him to tell a story at this point because everything that comes out of his mouth just sounds ugly and sounds like another lie.

Well, because his defense attorney was saying, like, we all know somebody who's cheated and he's not on trial for being a bad person. He's on trial for a murder. And just because you hate him doesn't mean you can put him in jail for a crime that we're going to show you he could not have committed. But that's and that's logical. But if you're telling me that these jurors are filled with animosity, that's a feeling that's hard to get over. It's your gut. They don't check their common sense at the door when they go into the jury room, okay?

And honest to go, I'm going to tell you something, it's not just cheating. This loser, and I will call him a loser, he lost an American Idol and he's a loser in life as well. He actually gave the dates. And look, Ben, let's be reasonable. You and me and everybody listening. How many times do you think it's possible for it just to be a coincidence for a guy to say tomorrow, February 16th, it all ends, will be free? Yeah. I think it's happened on Fab 16.

Yeah. So let's be clear. There were so many coincidences in all of this. And the mistress just conveniently loses her phone and her laptop on the same trip in different places at different times and different circumstances. right around the time of the murder. These are coincidences that reasonable people, even some unreasonable people will say, nah, not buying it.

All right, Ashley, we're going to have to leave it there. But if people want to pick up what you're dropping down, they can find the Drop Dead podcast pretty much everywhere, correct? Drop dead serious. But like I said, put on your earmuffs if there's kids around. I'm pretty mad about this one. No, absolutely.

Well, listen, I appreciate your passion. I appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us. You bet, man.