Emily Bashforth
Published February 21, 2026 4:00pm
Updated February 21, 2026 6:44pm
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American Idol star Caleb Flynn was arrested three days after his wife Ashley’s death (Picture: Facebook)
Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn has been charged with murder after his wife was killed at their home.
Ashley Flynn died on Monday, with her partner making a 911 call to say she had been shot in the head.
The 37-year-old teacher was pronounced dead at the scene by police, who thought they were responding to a burglary at her Tipp City, Ohio, home.
‘Somebody broke into my home and killed my wife,’ Flynn, 39, cried on the call at around 2:30am, urging authorities to ‘please, please hurry’, saying he was not sure if the intruder was still inside the property.
‘She’s got three shots to her and blood everywhere,’ he added.
Claiming to have been with their children at the time, Flynn also stated that his wife’s face was ‘white as a ghost’ and sounded panicked as he told the dispatcher from the bedroom where her body was found: ‘I don’t think she’s breathing.’
He has pleaded not guilty to killing the Ohio teacher and mother of his children (Picture: Tipp City police)
At one point, before breaking off the call, he was heard pleading with her: ‘Ashley, baby, baby, please. Oh my God!’
Flynn was then arrested three days later on Thursday evening.
He has been charged with murder, two counts of felonious assault, and two counts of tampering with evidence.
Police issued a statement confirming his detainment. A suspected motive has not been publicly disclosed.
The TV hopeful, who appeared on American Idol’s 12th season in 2013 but failed to advance to the next round, pleaded not guilty in an arraignment yesterday, and he is being held on a $2million (£1.5m) bond.
He told Judge Samuel Huffman: ‘I just want to take care of my daughters. I’m not a risk.’
Flynn, of Tipp City, appeared on American Idol’s 12th season (Picture: American Idol/YouTube)
Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News, his lawyer said: ‘Caleb Flynn entered a plea of not guilty this morning and looks forward to defending this case. We are both disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case.
‘When the government runs out of leads or can’t develop leads and looks at a surviving spouse in cases such as these, the chance of a wrongful conviction increases.’
His legal team said his bond was ‘unnecessarily high’, questioning the ‘thoroughness’ of the investigation.
Currently, the couple’s children, who were at home asleep at the time of the shooting and remained in their bedroom until the cops arrived, are with Ashley’s mother.
Flynn will return to court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing.
A medical examiner’s report containing details on the nature of Ashley’s injuries is yet to be released, but she appeared to have at least one gunshot wound to the head, and two spent shell casings were recovered from the foot of the bed where her body was.
Ashley has been remembered as a ‘shining light’ (Picture: Facebook)
She was shot with a 9mm handgun, although officers are looking into ‘inconsistencies’ in the crime scene.
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They’ve noted that there were signs of forced entry, but a large fridge was placed in front of the garage side door, which ‘would’ve had to be pushed’ for someone to get in.
Authorities have also said that Flynn ‘led officers astray by the staging of the crime scene’.
Meanwhile, inside his 2024 Ford pickup truck, the centre console was found open – the same place where Flynn said he stored his own handgun.
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In tributes following the fatal shooting, mother-of-two Ashley has been honoured as ‘a shining light of joy’. She coached middle school volleyball and was a church volunteer.
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