'American Idol' alum Caleb Flynn's mistress provides motive, says prosecutor

Key Points:

• Caleb Flynn, a former "American Idol" contestant, is accused of murdering his wife Ashley Flynn in their Ohio home on February 16, allegedly shooting her in the back of the head and staging the scene as a break-in; he has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges.
• Flynn's former mistress, Alleigha Botner, testified about their year-and-a-half affair and presented over 107,000 messages exchanged, many containing explicit discussions about Ashley's death, including Flynn expressing desires to kill his wife and asking Botner to "take her out."
• Prosecutors view Botner's testimony as providing a clear motive for the murder, highlighting Flynn's repeated statements about wanting Ashley dead and his plans leading up to the day of the killing, including telling Botner "It's happening" and "February 16th – day I'll never forget."
• The defense argues that prosecutors have cherry-picked damaging messages out of context from a large volume of communications and contend Flynn's references to February 16 were about leaving his wife, not killing her; they also highlight the lack of a murder weapon, eyewitnesses, and gunshot residue on Flynn.
• Former prosecutor Josh Ritter notes that while the defense may raise reasonable doubts, Botner's testimony is critical as it addresses the key question of motive, which prosecutors hope will be central to jurors' deliberations.