A former "American Idol" contestant on trial in Ohio is charged with murdering his wife and then tampering with the evidence to make it appear as if an intruder did it.
In a 911 call in February, Caleb Flynn can be heard saying, "Somebody broke into my home and shot my wife. My wife’s got two shots to her head, there’s blood everywhere … oh my god, oh my god."
Other WRAL Top Stories
The call captured Flynn pleading to 911 dispatchers at 2:31 a.m. for police to get to his home immediately.
"The door to the garage was wide open," he said. "Please hurry."
Police arrived minutes later, going room to room but finding no intruder.
Officers asked Flynn if there were any firearms in the house. Bodycam video captured him answering, "A shotgun and a 22, and, like, a pellet gun. And I have a handgun in my truck glove box."
A short time later, his wife's mother arrived at the couple’s home, where she was greeted by a seemingly hysterical Flynn.
Caleb and Ashley Flynn had been married for almost 16 years with two young daughters.
Caleb Flynn told police he was sleeping that night on the couch because of a bad cough when he thought he heard something. He then went into his daughter’s room.
"I laid down with them for I don't even know how long, and that's when I heard it," he told police. "When I finally got in the door leading to the garage was open, but I didn't see anybody."
Caleb Flynn gained notoriety as a contestant on "American Idol" in 2013, when he advanced to the Hollywood round. In one interview, he credits his wife in part for his success.
"The thing that makes me unique, you know, I absolutely love the lord," he said. "I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty ... I love her."
The Flynns were popular in their Tipp City community in Ohio, where Ashley Flynn was a substitute teacher and a middle school volleyball coach.
Caleb Flynn was a former music pastor.
Three days after Ashley Flynn’s killing on February 19, Tipp City’s police department said in a statement that federal authorities were now part of the investigation, as well as county and state partners.
That same day, with police and prosecutors questioning Caleb Flynn’s intruder theory, authorities arrested and charged him with the murder of his wife.
On Friday, February 20, he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A month later, the former pastor was indicted for the murder of his wife as well as felonious assault, tampering with evidence and intimidation of a victim or witness in a criminal case.
Caleb Flynn’s bond was ultimately set at $3.5 million.
Prosecutors have not yet offered a motive for the killing.
His defense attorney, Patrick Mulligan, released a statement after his arrest, saying Caleb Flynn was “disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment."