Transcription
The case of the former American Idol contestant, loving father, and husband accused of shooting and killing his wife with their young daughter sleeping close by just went to a whole new level.
"All right," step evidence. "What's that?"
A grand jury has indicted Caleb Flynn on nearly a dozen charges, including four counts of murder. The potential new evidence in this case of a seemingly perfect family shattered by violence. We're on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stewart.
When Caleb Flynn got a golden ticket on season 12 of American Idol, this was back in 2014. In a segment, he was asked what makes him unique. And this was his response. Quote, "I absolutely love the Lord. I love my wife more than anything." That same person, Caleb Flynn, is now facing almost as many charges as years since he made that statement. He is now accused of his wife's murder.
Flynn appeared before a judge today after the grand jury indicted him on 11 charges. This is a picture of Flynn in court sitting with his attorney Thursday per WHIO TV. Authorities say he shot and killed his wife Ashley inside their home on February 16th. It was around 2:30 in the morning that a very emotional and flustered Flynn called 911. And as we go over these new charges and where this case could go next, I want to bring you along with this investigation and how we got to this point.
"Oh my god."
"Miami County 911."
"Oh my god. Somebody somebody broke into my home. Somebody broke in my home. Not my wife."
"Are they still in there?"
"I I don't know. I don't know."
"Okay. What's the address?"
"Ohio. Please hurry. Please hurry."
"What are What are you seeing?"
"My wife is she got two shots to her head."
That was the start of the 911 call from Caleb Flynn and you can hear him specifically tell the dispatcher that his wife was shot twice. Law enforcement rushed to his house. All of this took place in a in a small and quiet town, Tip City, Ohio. It's a community north of Dayton, the home where this violence took place. It's typically a peaceful community, a place that where you would raise children on a cul-de-sac.
"Okay."
"I've checked this right here."
"Okay. They're still sleep."
"Okay. Have you checked Have you checked on them?"
"The the 911? Yes. right now. No one else comes in here. Period. Every door. No one."
"Okay."
"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."
"Oh my god."
"Hey, S. Can you You want to sit down?"
"No."
"Okay. Take a breath."
"Is she Is she gone?"
"Look at me. Look at me. Take a breath."
"I can't."
"Look at me. I need you to breathe. Okay. not touch."
"What do I do with my daughters? What do I do with my daughters?"
"Right now? Right now, I need you to breathe. Okay."
Now, the Flynn's have two young daughters. Both of them are roughly elementary age, and you can hear Caleb say that the girls are still in their rooms as police arrive. Now, the inside of the house, a lot visually has been redacted uh as far as the body cam that's been released by authorities in Tip City. Um, the audio though, that is very clear and you can hear some of the conversation that the officers are having with Caleb Flynn and you also hear as they go through the home different pieces of evidence that they pick up. But the audio drops out when they are specifically questioning Caleb about his wife and about what he may have seen inside the home.
Caleb allegedly told investigators that someone broke into their house in the middle of the night and shot and killed Ashley. Her body was found in the bed. All of this taking place with their two daughters sleeping nearby. Now, that 911 call, I think that's going to be really important as this case goes forward. Not just because it it just shows you the emotion of what Caleb says took place, but in that call, you can hear him say the girls are still sleeping.
"My daughters are here. My My daughter's in here."
"Where is she at?"
"She's in the bed. She's in the bed."
"Are you with her?"
"I am in the room. I'm looking at her. Yes, please."
"Do you guys have the door locked?"
"We have the the doors to the garage locked, but into the house. Yes. Please. Oh my god."
Now, Caleb told investigators that he has guns in the house and he says that he keeps a handgun in the center console of his car.
"Yes. One person only."
"Oh, that door is open over there."
"Back. That back door is open. Is that lead outside? Cuz I can't see. Is that a closet outside?"
"Okay."
"The center console truck."
"It is."
"Should we have him Hey, look at this. Watch out. Oh no, it's paint."
"Do you see any blood on along the truck at all?"
"Hey, is someone watching him? Somebody needs to be watching him."
Now, in cases like this, and especially if you follow true crime and and you're a regular here on Law and Crime, you know, it is no surprise that police do look to the significant other when you have cases like this. And it's no surprise that police in this situation, they wanted someone to keep an eye on the spouse, even if that spouse is claiming that they are in some ways a victim because they were inside this home when they say someone came in and committed this terrible act of violence. But you see the police here saying that they want to keep an eye on Caleb.
Now, Caleb was also very clear with some specifics, not just the two gunshots that he said that his wife was hit by, but he also specifically said that the door to his garage was open. And you have to wonder, are pieces of information like that are they too specific? How did he know that? That that was the door that this intruder allegedly came in from? And again, you have to wonder why didn't he wake up the girls to make sure they were okay after this person allegedly broke into their house and killed his wife.
Now, even though we don't specifically hear Caleb tell officers what he saw on that night that Ashley was shot on the body cam video, police do seem somewhat suspicious of his story from the jump.
"The girls okay?"
"Yes, girls are okay. Okay, you're good. Sit down."
"Do I call my Do I call anybody?"
"Hold on, honey. God."
"Do you want to let him"
Now, police had dogs that tried to track down this alleged violent intruder that Caleb was talking about. They also put drones up in the air in the day after Ashley was found dead. Police said they were working a theory that this was a burglary that had turned violent, but the dogs didn't find anything. The drones weren't able to pick up any sort of evidence of an intruder that was on the run after allegedly killing Ashley.
Now, as this investigation went on though, and police said that they followed that theory that there was a violent burglary, you had people in this community who really stood by Caleb's side. This is crime scene video per WHIO TV.
Now, when we talk about Caleb, he's not only someone who was once on American Idol. He made it out of the kind of blind audition round that you do in front of people like Simon Cowell. So, he gets the golden ticket and then the next round is when he was eliminated. This was before any of the live shows that you saw. Certainly still an accomplishment. Talks about, you know, how good of a musician Caleb Flynn was. And he was really a fixture in their local church. Both of the Flynn's were a fixture in the faith community in the Dayton area in Tip City, Ohio. Because Caleb was also a member of the church band. He was a worship leader for a period of time. Uh, it is now believed that he was working for a flooring business in the area. His wife Ashley. She was a very key part of the community. She was a middle school volleyball coach and she was also a substitute teacher. And one thing that has stood out, and I've talked about this before in previous episodes, is just how the community could not even fathom the idea in the hours after Ashley was found dead Caleb Flynn would be the person responsible.
And when you look at the body cam video, there is a woman who has not been officially identified who comes to the house to comfort Caleb. Watch this.
"Come on. I don't understand. Apple squad looked at you come just look at The girls The girls don't know the girls are safe."
"Can I just"
"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do to do either."
"I don't know what to do either."
"I'm just total I'm in shock."
"I feel good."
"Yeah, I think maybe."
"Do you want to sit down on the on the steps?"
And then you have the moment at the Tip City Police Department. It appears to be either the next day or hours later that police walk into the lobby and they put Caleb Flynn under arrest. And as that happens, there is a man who is standing with Caleb and he just cannot believe that Caleb Flynn would be the one accused of this.
"All right," step evidence.
There's still a lot that we don't know in this case, but prosecutors are alleging that the sobbing, the convulsing, the story of a violent intruder entering the Flynn's home in the early hours of the morning and killing Ashley Flynn, according to prosecutors and police, the FBI was also in this investigation. They believe all of that was an act. And it appears that a grand jury agreed with the evidence that has been laid out by prosecutors and authorities because a grand jury just indicted Caleb Flynn on some very serious charges.
This is the new 4-page 11-count grand jury indictment. Flynn appeared in court for an arraignment on Thursday. Caleb's now accused of aggravated murder and three counts of murder in the death of Ashley. Now, that is a total of four different murder counts in a case where allegedly there is just one victim. And we're going to talk in just a moment about how he could be facing multiple murder counts in the death of one person. Flynn is also facing two counts of felonious assault, three counts of tampering with evidence, and two counts of intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case. Now, it hasn't been released to authorities say Flynn allegedly intimidated. There are firearms specifications attached to the murder charges.
In the news release from authorities in Tip City, they write, quote, "If convicted, Flynn will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole." It's important to note that the death penalty is legal in Ohio, but no one has been executed in the Buckeye State since 2018. At his new arraignment Thursday, Flynn's attorney entered a not-guilty plea on the 11 charges Flynn is now facing. Originally, Flynn's bond was set at $2 million. The judge decided that the bond would now be set at 3.5 million.
Ashley Flynn would have turned 38 years old just a little more than a week after her death. Her family held a private memorial service to honor her life. And this is the statement that the family released in the wake of Caleb's arrest. And it goes like this. Quote, "Our hearts are shattered. Ashley brought endless light to our world and we are trying to navigate this immense loss. Our family believes this arrest was made carefully and not without serious consideration. After speaking with both local police and federal authorities, we trust the proper steps were taken and the process is being handled appropriately. We kindly ask for privacy as we work through this complex situation. We are clinging to our faith just as Ashley did each and every day."
Joining us now to talk more about this case and what could happen next is Safa Robinson Ferrer, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. It's always great to have you here on Law and Crime. What does this indictment mean now for Caleb Flynn?
The indictment means that he's been formally charged by way of a grand jury and essentially there was enough probable cause or reasonable cause to believe that a felony occurred in this particular case. Multiple counts of murder, uh, firearm activity, witness intimidation, and things like that. And so, ultimately, what happens is the prosecution will put together proof or evidence before a grand jury to get an indictment if there is enough evidence. Now, there's been a term that many people have probably heard that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich, which can be very true. However, I think with the evidence that we've seen to this point, which includes body camera footage, there that tells me that there's certainly some some teeth to the allegations that the government is bringing forth.
And it at least from what he had said, his own words is that his wife was shot twice and then he was facing um two charges of aggravated assault. And I think that's changed a little bit with this, but he's facing four different types of murder counts. Well, there's three that are very similar where it's the the three counts of murder and then there's one count of aggravated murder, but there's only one victim who lost her life in this case. I know states can be different um, you know, with different statutes, but typically why is someone how could they be charged with four counts of murder when there's only one victim?
Yeah. So ultimately and what I think is the case here is that there are a number of theories that the prosecution is going with and the evidence was sufficient to fit enough of those theories which led us to four counts of murder. So we have the aggravated murder which indicates to me that there was some sort of aggravating factor. Whatever Ohio's definition of that would be sufficient. So it could be aggravated because it's a family offense. This is his wife. Or it could be aggravated because of the nature of what occurred. You know, is it extremely or incredibly heinous? You know, are there aggravating things that took place where this is not just a typical murder, but it heightens it because of the gruesome nature of the of the act or anything like that? And then we have those additional three counts of murder which ultimately include uh two counts of what we would call a New York felony murder where during the commission of a crime or during the commission of an act of violence, this murder ultimately took place as a result of that activity and also knowingly and purposefully planning this murder against his wife or that's what the allegation speaks. So that is the reason why we see those multiple counts of murder and would certainly seem that whatever evidence was presented certainly was enough at least to get the prosecution over the hurdle initially to those charges.
I know we still would have a a long way to go, but I mean theoretically he could be found guilty on these four counts of murder as well and face sentences for each and every charge even though there's just the one victim who is Ashley Flynn in this case.
Absolutely. And so he can be found guilty on all charges. And what I think is going to be interesting here is, and I think what the defense will likely do is make a request for something that we call as a bill of particulars, asking the prosecution to particularize how they intend on proving each and every element of the offense. And so if the government's theory or the prosecution's theory is that he pre-planned this murder, which is where we also get the aggravated murder from, and he did a number of acts that ultimately led to her murder, which acts specifically caused the death. And so that's going to be something that the defense is going to be arguing is that what the government is alleging in the indictment is not exactly the manner of death. And the way that they find that out or at least get to that point to argue that is by way of something that we call as the bill of particulars.
So Safa, there are some specifications on each of those murder charges for the for the use of a firearm. Why do those matter? You know, if certainly if he's accused of murder, that's as serious a charge as there is. Like why does that specification have an impact on any of this?
Well, so ultimately the states and and in this particular case, Ohio has specific carveouts for when an individual is murdered with a firearm. When we see scenarios like that, when there are allegations of use of firearms and the commission of a murder, then the government is able to bring about charges that are consistent with that. There may be other charges where you just have a traditional murder where, you know, maybe there was a choking incident that ultimately led to a murder or some sort of other act, maybe a fight and things like that. And again, when we're talking about firearms, those can certainly escalate and be an aggravating factor into a murder. And so, Ohio seems to have delineated the use of a firearm in the commission of a murder as opposed to your traditional murder scenario.
And when you see aggravated murder, you see these specifications. Um, Ohio is a state that does have the death penalty. I'm not sure how often it's actually used, but where are we in the point of the proceedings now that he's been indicted where a prosecutor may have to make a decision if they want to pursue that? Does this case even though fit something that seems like it could be a death penalty case?
Any case where there's murder and there's a death penalty and it's a death penalty state certainly could qualify. How often the government or the prosecution is willing to use that just depends. I think we see that a lot more in scenarios where, you know, we have serial killers and things like that. Would that fit this scenario where there is just intimate partner violence is is to be determined. And if it is a a a capital murder state, one of the things the prosecution can do to try to force a plea is to use that death penalty factor as leverage and essentially say, "Hey, if your client pleads guilty to one count of murder, then we will move sentencing and ask for life in prison and take the death penalty off the table. But if he does want to go forward and litigate this case, then the death penalty is on the table. And that will come in later. Usually after the after there's the guilty verdict, then we get to the penalty phase and ultimately that sentence will be determined either by a judge or by a jury.
There are these other two charges that really stood out to me as well, which is two counts of intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case. And we don't know at the time we're recording this who these witnesses are or who he is being accused of intimidating. Um, we do know that the couple's two young daughters were in the home allegedly sleeping when all of this took place which is um, you know, one of the more difficult parts of this story. But when I watch the body camera video like he does not come across to me Caleb Flynn as like when I think of an intimidating certainly if you're accused of murder that's certainly terrifying. But like when you think of traditionally an intimidating person like you know this big person big mean person who's like you know that he just doesn't seem intimidating to me I guess if if I had met him on the street is like I'm trying to like dance around it. He just doesn't come across to me as this big tough intimidating guy. But here he is facing a legal term of intimidation. What does that typically mean in terms of of of how you can meet the threshold of intimidating someone in a case like this?
Absolutely. So what ultimately can happen is although he may have this demeanor that may or may not have this demeanor that's larger than life or his physical presence can be intimidating to a person there has to be an accompanying act. So particular to particularly in a scenario like this, what you might see is an individual say, "Hey, you know, if you testify against me, I'll kill you." Or, "Hey, if you agree not to testify against me, then I'll give you $5,000." So ultimately what what tends to happen is that the defendant or an individual will try to sway a person or intimidate a person by way of words or an act to get them to not cooperate with the prosecution or give out certain evidence or have certain conversations with law enforcement that ultimately would be detrimental to the the case for the defendant.
So it would have to be more than just telling someone not to testify. Like would there have to be like the threat that comes with like there's an or else to it?
And and that to your point too that is actually sufficient when you tell if somebody especially if they're under subpoena like to go before the grand jury to give testimony and you tell somebody do not go and testify against me then the government in theory could bring a charge that you're trying to intimidate the witness. If that person goes to the government and says, "Hey, John Smith told me that, you know, if I don't come in and testify or he told me not to come in and testify um before you, but I'm here anyway, then the government's wheels are going to start spinning and think, hm, let's charge this as a witness intimidation." Now whether the proof is sufficient is another question because to get an indictment that's one thing but to get a conviction based off of those charges with the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is something completely different. So just because somebody is accused of something by way of grand jury or through an indictment doesn't mean that that gets the government over the hurdle of proving each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
And and I want to bring up the body cam video now because, you know, we've seen a lot of cases where people are accused of horrific crimes. And I feel like body language is always very tricky to try and diagnose even if you're a body language expert because you could look it's just very subjective to how you know you could look at him and say that he's somebody who I'm sure there's people who feel one way about it. They believe that he did it and then there's other people that could look at this. I mean he's incredibly emotional. You know he's alleging that someone came into the house and did this. That's terrifying. Um, from the former prosecutor point of view for you, like when you watch Caleb Flynn in this body camera video, like what are some of the things that that stick out to you?
A couple of things that stuck out to me is certainly his behavior. I mean, you know, he calls 911 and ultimately what I'll back up and say is that when you have cases where, you know, a husband or a wife has been murdered. Traditionally speaking, the spouse is the first person that's going to be investigated no matter the circumstance. You know, we know he he called 911. I think it's a little odd that at 2 something or 2:30 in the morning, someone is breaking into your house and killing your wife as opposed to, you know, committing acts of violence against the entire family. And realistically speaking, we don't see random acts like that as often as you would think. We see those scenarios where, you know, there may be drug dealers and things like that or there may be a home invasion type scenario where someone comes in, kills one of the the individuals in the home or kills everybody in the home and that's that. So, I think that's odd. That stands out to me. Not only that, but he ultimately tells law enforcement that he has a number of firearms or shotguns and things like that. And we know that he kept a firearm in his truck, which keeping it in the truck versus keeping it at home inside the home is a little odd and that stands out as well. And not only that, and I don't know if we know this information as of yet, but what type of caliber of weapon was used to commit this crime and was that the same weapon that could be used? And I think when the police officers had gone into the vehicle, they noticed that the center council or wherever the firearm was located was actually left open. So all of those things as a former prosecutor make me think that this person could have had something to do with this specifically because there are firearms in the home and we know that there could be a motive. You know, we don't know what that is as of yet. And when you tell police officers that there's a firearm that you keep stored in your your vehicle and then at 2:30 in the morning they go to that vehicle and it's actually open. Those are things that would make anybody go hm.
Yeah. And and I think too like when you know I remember one part of the 911 that's a couple parts that like stood out to me was he didn't go to check on the kids. You know, the girls are still sleeping, too. You know, and you're just thinking like, you know, you go through this bit where, you know, and and also Ashley Flynn was in the bedroom. Where was he? And then, you know, if if a burglar came in and did it and he had very specific details about that and then, you know, you would think and and I've never been in that situation that that the kids would be the first thing you would go to, but they're still all of it. So, I can see why people on the outside might look at that and be like, that's a little suspicious. You know, on the other hand, like he's incredibly emotional, and we've seen plenty of cases where you think like that someone should be a little bit more emotional in a in a situation like this, and then there's just people, whether it's when he's arrested, there's someone there who just seems so shocked and confused that he would be the person, you know, saying, "What evidence is there?" And then there's a woman who comes and comforts him outside of the house. Um, from as a criminal defense attorney, like, how could you use this body camera video if this is going to be shown in court? Like how do you look at it through that lens and try to if we get to the point where there's a jury that you can maybe stop some of the damage that the prosecution could do when they play it?
Yes. So, first things first is he called 911. If he wanted to hide the fact that he committed this murder, then why would he be the one to call 911? Then we get to the body camera footage and ultimately see that he has a highly emotional reaction in response to what occurred with his wife. And we've seen in scenarios and of course everything can be subjective where individuals who are not as emotional because there's some sort of intention there in terms of wanting to commit that act towards their spouse or to their partner. But that's not the case here. He's highly emotional. He's breaking down. He's crying. He's on the ground. He's cooperative with law enforcement. He's telling them everything that he needs to tell them so that they can further their investigation, including having firearms in his home. And it's not illegal for him, at least at this point that we know of, to possess those firearms. And if he wanted to conceal the fact that it was him and you know, we're disputing that, then certainly he would not have allowed them in his home. He wouldn't have called 911. He could have packed his daughters up and left and been on the run. So those are the things that the defense ultimately would use as leverage to say, "Listen, the government can say XYZ that he killed his wife, but you know what? Is a man that killed his wife actually going to be trying to call 911, trying to, you know, save her or be emotional with regard to, you know, how this act occurred? There's no motive. There's no indication that there's a motive. So, all of those things would be used with the body cam. And then you hear one of the officers in the body cam start to say, "Keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on him." And that's where we say, you know what, that officer seemed to have some sort of bias even though he was cooperative with that officer where she felt that he needed to be watched because that officer already had it in her mind that he was a criminal and that he was responsible for this act and he was not.
Yeah. And and I think it'll be interesting to see how that because you assume that that's going to be, you know, a major piece of evidence is this. This is how he how he responded, his demeanor, how the jury sees it. We'll wait and see. I think one question, too, is where's the the alleged murder weapon? You know, where where did that go?
Absolutely. That and that's going to be the biggest thing here is what type of weapon was used to commit that that murder and was it the same weapon as the weapon that was located in the vehicle? If it was not, then we have other questions because where was it located? What was her time of death in conjunction with the time that he called 911 and the time that the police responded? Would that have been enough time for him to maybe discard the weapon? Also, you know, a lot of times people nowadays, they have ring camera footage or footage on their homes. So, if he had footage on his home or any of the other neighbors, if we know that he left and came back, that ultimately may come into play and we may see those things come in the future. So, that could answer a lot of questions.
Yeah. And we'll see what happens next. Incredibly sad case. You think of these two young girls now without their mom and their dad is facing some very serious charges. Um, Safa Robinson Ferrer, always great to have you on Law and Crime. Thanks for breaking down this case with us. We appreciate it.
Thank you.
That will do it for On the Case presented by Law and Crime. Subscribe to us on YouTube and Spotify. And you can also find our episodes streaming on Peacock. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time.