American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn’s wife, whom he was convicted of killing on Tuesday, had saved a photo showing her husband’s face crossed out just weeks before her violent murder.
The image, which was shown to jurors during the 40-year-old father’s trial, showed Ashley Flynn posing beside Caleb smiling — but he had a massive “X” scratched over his face, according to The Sun.
The picture was saved on Feb 2., exactly two weeks before Caleb shot Ashley in the back of the head while she slept in their bed and then staged a phony break-in at their Tipp City, Ohio home as a coverup.
The Miami County jury found him guilty after deliberating for just 2.5 hours on all 11 counts against him, which included tampering with evidence and other related crimes, in addition to aggravated murder. He is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Flynn devised the disturbing plot following a yearslong fling with Alleigha Botner, 24, whom he met in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at the church where he served as a music pastor.
Flynn staged the crime scene to make it look like a home invader broke into the couple’s house, and shot his 37-year-old wife while his two pre-teen daughters were asleep down the hall.
“The evidence never pointed to an intruder. The evidence pointed to the defendant,” Ohio Prosecutor Paul Watkins told jurors during his closing arguments.
During the tense, nine-day trial, prosecutors revealed a cache of more than 100,000 text messages Caleb exchanged with Botner — including a message she was made to read aloud in court in which he talked about killing his wife so he could be with her.
Hours before the killing, Flynn texted her: “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” the messages showed.
Flynn appeared on the competitive singing show, “American Idol” in 2013 and gushed on TV at the time about how much he loved his wife, who was a teacher and volleyball coach.
Sentencing has been set for Oct. 5.
