MIAMI COUNTY — Caleb Flynn is waiting to learn his punishment after a jury took just about two hours to convict him of murdering his wife.
For months, he claimed a burglar broke in and shot and killed his wife in their Tipp City home as she and their young girls slept.
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News Center 7’s John Bedell has followed this case since February and covered most of the trial.
We got reaction from people in the community about the end of this trial.
There were lines down the side of the courthouse each day in Troy for people wanting to get a spot in the gallery.
The trial got national attention.
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The main thing we heard on Wednesday afternoon was relief that this high-profile trial is over with.
Some in the area of downtown Tipp City followed Caleb Flynn’s murder trial.
“Yes, all the way,” said Lisa Coy of Bradford. “We didn’t catch it during the day, we watched it in the evening.”
Others told us they didn’t follow it.
“We knew about the case, we knew about the murder, yeah,” said Denise Robinson of Brookville. “I was also surprised that the deliberation was very short.”
After seven days of testimony and then closing arguments, the jury in Flynn’s aggravated murder trial deliberated for two hours and 11 minutes before they came back with guilty verdicts across the board Tuesday afternoon.
People at the courthouse who watched the trial in person every day talked to us about what they thought the verdict meant for Miami County.
“I think the verdict is don’t mess around with the state because they will find out,” said Theresa Watkins of Casstown.
Watkins told us she has a sense of closure now that the trial’s over.
“Yes, because if something happens again, it’s not going to be swept under the rug,” she said. “They will get to the bottom of it.”
The emotion we heard from several people in Miami County on Wednesday, on and off camera, was a sense of relief.
“Yeah, I’m glad it’s over,” Bradford said.
“I think that the citizens of Tipp City are very relieved that it’s over,” Robinson said. “They’ve gotten a lot of negative attention, and I think they’re hoping that it’s just finally over and they can get back to some kind of normal type of life.”
Flynn will learn his punishment when the judge sentences him Monday at 3 p.m., but his lawyers have already said they plan to appeal.
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FULL CALEB FLYNN MURDER TRIAL COVERAGE:
JURY SELECTION: Prosecutors, Defense continue questioning to seat jury in Caleb Flynn murder trial
DAY 2 OF TRIAL: Prosecutors say over 100k of texts part of evidence in Caleb Flynn Murder Trial
DAY 3 OF TRIAL: Law enforcement, coroner’s office testify in Caleb Flynn murder trial
DAY 4 OF TRIAL: Ashley Flynn’s family testifies on Day 4 of Caleb Flynn murder trial
DAY 5 OF TRIAL: Caleb Flynn’s mistress testifies during Day 5 of murder trial
DAY 6 OF TRIAL: Mistress of Caleb Flynn continues testimony on Day 6 of Murder Trial
DAY 8 OF TRIAL: State, defense rests case in Caleb Flynn murder trial
DAY 9 OF TRIAL, THE VERDICT: Caleb Flynn found guilty on all counts in murder of wife, Ashley