Kayla Keyt, the sister of Ashley Flynn, delivered a devastating message to Caleb Flynn at his sentencing Monday, accusing the former “American Idol” contestant and pastor of hiding behind a deeply religious public image while secretly living a very different life.
Flynn, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of aggravated murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in connection with Ashley’s killing.
Ashley, 37, was found fatally shot in her bed in the early hours of Feb. 16. Her two daughters with Flynn, then 9 and 11, were in another room only feet away.
“When Ashley died and we learned that you were responsible, we were as shocked as anyone,” Keyt told Flynn during her victim impact statement.
Caleb Flynn sobbed through much of his sentencing hearing Monday, during which he was given life in prison without the possibility of parole for the cold-blooded murder of his wife, Ashley.AP
“We trusted you”
Keyt said her family had completely trusted Flynn, whom she once considered a brother.
“We trusted you, we believed in you, we honestly would have laid down our lives for you,” she said.
That betrayal, she explained, was made even more painful because Flynn had presented himself as a man devoted to Christianity and faith while allegedly concealing his actions behind closed doors.
Keyt said one of her greatest fears was that Flynn’s conduct would cause people in their church community to question whether their faith was genuine.
The impact, she said, has reached far beyond Ashley’s immediate family.
According to Keyt, children in their Christian community in Tipp City have been left frightened since Ashley’s murder. Some, she said, still run into their parents’ bedrooms in the morning to make sure nobody has broken in and shot their mothers.
“You shattered the innocence of so many children,” Keyt said, explaining that many of them had been forced to learn words such as “murder,” “affair” and “burglary” for the first time.
Ashley’s family whole-heartedly “trusted” and “believed in” Flynn — up until he was arrested for her murder, her grieving relative revealed in court Monday.Facebook / Ashley Flynn
Ashley’s daughters lost almost everything
Ashley and Flynn’s daughters are now living with Keyt and her husband.
Keyt said the girls lost not only their mother but also their father and almost everything they owned on the night Ashley was killed.
“They lost their mother, their father, and pretty much everything they ever owned except the clothes on their backs all in one night,” she said.
“I forgive you because I refuse to allow what you did to destroy another part of my life by filling my heart with hatred and bitterness,” Ashley’s sister, Kayla Keyt, said in a victim impact statement addressed to Flynn.AP
She described how one of the girls had recently been lying beside her, crying into her shoulder because she missed her mother and could not understand how her own father could have done what he did to their family.
The sisters’ pain was also reflected in statements from Flynn’s daughters that were later read aloud in court by Keyt’s husband.
One daughter condemned her father for “sinning big time” by having an affair with a “dirty girl,” while the other said she would never visit him in prison.
Flynn’s affair became central to the case
In victim impact statements read by a relative in court, one of Flynn’s young daughters blasted him for sinning “big time” by having an affair with a “dirty girl,” while the other vowed to never visit him in prison.Ashley Flynn / Facebook
Prosecutors argued that Flynn killed Ashley because he wanted to begin a new life with his longtime mistress, Aleigha Botner.
Botner was 20 when she first met Flynn, who was working as a music pastor at the church where she was an intern. She is now 24.
During Flynn’s murder trial, Botner testified about their relationship and became emotional while describing the affair. Prosecutors also presented text messages exchanged between the pair that included discussions about wanting Ashley dead.
Flynn, meanwhile, had initially told police that an intruder had entered the family home and shot his wife while he was in another room.
He was ultimately convicted after prosecutors argued that the burglary story was fabricated.
Family waited for Flynn to confess
Keyt said Ashley’s family had spent months hoping Flynn would eventually admit responsibility.
Instead, she said, he allowed the case to proceed to a highly publicized trial, forcing the family—including his own daughters—to hear painful details about Ashley’s murder in court.
“For months, our family prayed that you would confess and own up to all of your actions, but you didn’t,” Keyt said.
She added that Flynn’s decision meant the disturbing details surrounding Ashley’s death, as well as statements he made about Ashley and her family, were now permanently available to the public.
That could have consequences for his daughters in the years ahead, Keyt warned, saying they may one day find details about the worst night of their lives while searching the internet.
“I do forgive you”
Despite her anger and grief, Keyt told the court that she had chosen to forgive Flynn and Botner.
“I do forgive you. I’ve forgiven both you and Alleigha,” she said.
But she made clear that forgiveness did not mean excusing what happened or eliminating the need for consequences.
“I forgive you because I refuse to allow what you did to destroy another part of my life by filling my heart with hatred and bitterness,” Keyt said.
She added that she believed in a God who was both merciful and just.
“Justice is not mine to carry, but forgiveness is,” she said.
Flynn continues to deny killing his wife
Flynn sobbed repeatedly during the sentencing hearing, including while delivering his own lengthy statement.
He spoke about the pain of being separated from his daughters and apologized for breaking his marriage vows.
But despite the conviction and the life sentence, Flynn continued to deny that he killed Ashley.
“I did not kill my wife,” he told the court, adding that he would continue to fight for his innocence “as long as the Lord allows me to.”
The statement came after a jury found him guilty of the charges arising from Ashley’s death, bringing the criminal case to its sentencing stage with Flynn now facing life behind bars without the possibility of parole.