MIAMI COUNTY — Jurors heard more testimony about a mistress and the search for a missing murder weapon.
News Center 7 was in the courtroom for day 5 of Caleb Flynn’s murder trial.
Flynn said someone broke into his home, shot and killed his wife as their two young daughters slept.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
News Center 7’s John Bedell has been following this story since February.
On Wednesday, we heard about how investigators discovered the affair between Caleb Flynn and Alleigha Botner.
It was FBI agents who testified about the affair and they also talked about why they felt that they had to interview the mistress.
The defense had questions about the follow-up work investigators did after interviewing her twice.
“We needed to conduct an interview with all potential witnesses involved in this case,” said Special Agent Sarah Deamron of the FBI.
The jury in Caleb Flynn’s trial heard from the FBI about the two times they interviewed Flynn’s mistress, Alleigha Botner.
She was a worship leader at the Flynn’s church.
“The focus of our discussion was on her relationship with Caleb Flynn,” Deamron said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- LIVE UPDATES: Prosecution calls more witnesses on Day 5 of Caleb Flynn murder trial
- Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years in prison after sexual assault retrial
- Springfield city manager returning to role with ‘renewed energy’ after being reinstated
One FBI agent said, at first, Botner was not being truthful the first time they interviewed her four days after Ashley’s murder.
“She denied having a sexual relationship or an intimate relationship with Caleb Flynn,” Deamron said.
FBI agents testified they got a tip about Ashley’s death from her aunt, which led them to one of Ashley’s friends.
“Who had stated that she had confided in her about a potential infidelity between Caleb and Ashley,” Deamron said.
The FBI also testified about a text they found on Ashley’s phone about Botner.
“That had indicated that there was a contentious relationship between her and Ashley,” Deamron said.
A Dayton Police Detective assigned to an FBI Task Force testified Botner was house-sitting for her pastor in Vandalia the night of Ashley’s murder.
He said he got three home security camera videos from a home right across the street that showed Botner’s car that night.
“Leaving the driveway right in the area of, I believe it’s like 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.,” said Detective Zachary Farkas of the Dayton Police Department.
JURY SELECTION: Prosecutors, Defense continue questioning to seat jury in Caleb Flynn murder trial
“This is on February 15?” asked Miami County Prosecutor Paul Watkins.
“This is on February 15,” Farkas answered. “Returning back to that location at just after midnight on February 16.”
“Pulls directly into the garage,” Farkas continued. “And then it appears that the garage door closes…I believe 10 a.m. on February 16. We have the vehicle leaving the garage and then driving out of the driveway.”
After that, the defense questioned investigators about how they followed up on that property and Botner’s car.
“Did you ever do a search of 1518 Hurst?” asked Emily Smith, Caleb Flynn’s defense lawyer.
“We did not, no,” Farkas said.
“Did you ever do a search in the area surrounding 1518 Hurst?” Smith asked.
“No, we did not,” Farkas said.
“Did you ever conduct a search of Alleigha Botner’s vehicle?” Smith asked Farkas.
“We did not. Not that I’m - I did not, no,” Farkas said.
DAY 2 OF TRIAL: Prosecutors say over 100k of texts part of evidence in Caleb Flynn Murder Trial
Defense asked about this, and the FBI admitted they did not search the home Botner was house-sitting, nor her car.
Investigators detailed the hours they spent looking for the gun in the Flynn house. In the yard, a field, and wooded areas near a bike path close to the home, with no luck.
Several local and federal law enforcement officers testified that the damage to the side garage door was inconsistent with the break-in story Flynn gave police.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
News Center 7’s John Bedell knew something was up based on some of the things he observed at the courthouse during the lunch break, but he couldn’t tell exactly what that was.
We knew exactly what was stirring when they called Caleb Flynn’s mistress to the stand as the second witness in the afternoon.
She read messages she exchanged with Flynn where he said he wanted to kill his wife.
The prosecutor handed Botner several of the 34 inches-thick binders with messages between Flynn and her in them.
Because of the volume of messages, Prosecutor Paul Watkins asked at one point, “How did you do anything else?”
DAY 3 OF TRIAL: Law enforcement, coroner’s office testify in Caleb Flynn murder trial
Caleb referred to his wife Ashley in these messages in ways we cannot repeat online.
In her more than two hours of testimony on the witness stand, Botner revealed bombshell information.
“It just started with little things, and then it grew like cancer, and I found myself in a place I never thought I would be,” Botner said.
Her testimony took up all of the afternoon as she described her relationship with Flynn.
“How would you describe your feelings for the defendant today?” asked Watkins.
“I hate him,” Botner said.
“Have you ever felt differently about him?” Watkins asked.
“Yes,” Botner said.
“When? And how did you feel?” he asked.
“When we were in a relationship, and I thought I was in love,” she said.
“Why the change from love to hate?” Watkins then asked.
“Because I believe that he murdered his wife,” she told the court.
Botner said she was 20 when she met him at their church in December 2022.
She said the relationship was professional until it turned sexual in March 2024.
Botner testified that as the affair progressed, so did Caleb’s disdain for his wife, Ashley.
DAY 4 OF TRIAL: Ashley Flynn’s family testifies on Day 4 of Caleb Flynn murder trial
“How often would he make statements about wanting Ashley to die?” Watkins asked Botner.
“That’s probably at least once a month,” she said.
Then Botner said Caleb’s words escalated.
“Can you describe what he said when he was stating things about wanting Ashley to die?” Wakins asked.
“Yes. He said that he − wishes he − if he could kill her and not go to jail, or get arrested, forget exactly what he said, then he would do it,” Botner explained to the court.
Botner testified she kept giving Caleb deadlines to leave Ashley. Deadlines she said he blew past only to keep working to hold onto their affair as recently as January, a month before Ashley’s murder on February 16.
“He told me he was going to divorce Ashley on February 16,” she said. “And he was walking through the steps of what he was going to do in the morning. And he told me that he actually was going to do it this time and that his actions will prove it.”
An observation News Center 7’s John Bedell had Wednesday was that this was the first day we did not see Caleb Flynn cry during testimony.
The jury has heard a lot about Alleigha Botner and her affair with Caleb Flynn during this trial, but actually hearing from her is an entirely different thing for the jury.
The jury will hear more from her when trial resumes with her testimony on Thursday morning.