A mistress testified in Caleb Flynn’s Ohio murder trial.

Witness testimony and messages offered by the state are evidence for the jury. They are not findings. A not-guilty plea is not a conviction. Alleigha Botner’s Wednesday account is testimony in that trial, and testimony is not a verdict.

Former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn is on trial in Ohio. He is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, in the back of the head inside their Tipp City home on Feb. 16, 2026, and of staging the scene to look like an intruder break-in. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, Alleigha Botner testified she had an affair with Flynn for roughly a year and a half. She told jurors Flynn repeatedly talked about wanting Ashley dead, including statements she attributed to him such as wishing he could kill her and not go to jail, and that he was “thinking about ways to kill her.” What a witness attributes to a defendant is testimony. It is not a finding that he said it, and it is not a finding that he killed Ashley Flynn.

Prosecutors walked Botner through messages recovered from the relationship. Reporting puts the exchange at more than 100,000 messages. Botner also testified Flynn once showed her a gun in the center console of his truck. Investigators have not recovered the gun prosecutors allege was used. Botner admitted she initially lied to the FBI about the relationship when interviewed days after the killing, saying she feared for her reputation and job. Fox News reported, as of Sept. 24, that she is expected to return to the stand Thursday. An expected return is a schedule. It is not more proof. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.