Ashley Flynn case: Husband in jail on suspicion of murder; bond set at $2M

Feb. 20—A former music pastor is accused of killing his wife, a beloved Tipp City Schools volleyball coach and substitute teacher, and staging the scene to look like a home invasion.

Caleb Flynn, 39, was arrested Thursday evening and is charged with one count of murder, two counts of felonious assault and two counts of tampering with evidence in Miami County Municipal Court. His bond was set at $2 million during his arraignment Friday morning from Miami County Jail.

Ashley Flynn, 37, was found shot to death after crews were called around 2:30 a.m. Monday on a report of a burglary in progress with a resident shot in the couple’s house in the 900 block of Cunningham Court, where police said there were signs of forced entry. She had been shot two times and was pronounced deceased at the scene, Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins said.

The chief announced Caleb Flynn’s arrest the same day the couple’s church, the Christian Life Center, announced a celebration of life for Ashley Flynn was scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at the church, 3489 Little York Road in Butler Twp.

“The family and community deserve a thorough, professional and compassionate investigation into this very sensitive matter,” Adkins said in a statement released Thursday evening. “As a result of the investigation, probable cause existed to charge Caleb Flynn with the murder of his wife. Due to the ongoing nature of this case, specific investigative details will not be released at this time.”

He was booked at 5:07 p.m. into the Miami County Jail, according to online jail records.

Defense attorney L. Patrick Mulligan of Dayton law firm Moermond & Mulligan said he questions the thoroughness of the investigation given the speed of his client’s arrest.

“It denies him the opportunity to be at the funeral for his wife, which is an unspeakable tragedy,” Mulligan said.

There is a ground swelling of support in the community for Caleb Flynn, Mulligan said, including from his wife’s family, where he had been staying along with his daughters and pet dogs before he was taken into custody.

The criminal complaint filed Friday morning indicated Ashley Flynn was shot with a 9mm handgun, and that officers were led astray “by the staging of the crime scene.”

Caleb Flynn called 911 to report a burglary and said his wife was shot in the head and unresponsive. He also told dispatchers that he was not sure whether an intruder was still in the house, according to an affidavit.

When police arrived, the side door to the garage on the north side of the house was open and Ashley Flynn was found in bed in the master bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. Two gun shell casings were found on the floor near the foot of the bed, the court document read.

Inside the garage, the center console to a 2024 Ford pickup truck was open. This is where Caleb Flynn told police he kept his handgun. Also, police reported that the side door to the garage had a large refrigerator in front of it “that would’ve had to be pushed to open the door,” the affidavit stated.

Caleb Flynn, the couple’s two elementary-aged daughters and two Goldendoodles also were home at the time of the shooting.

“The two children in the home had not woke up and was still in their bedroom throughout this incident,” the court record said.

Tipp City police contacted the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for assistance, and representatives from the Miami County Victim Witness Program also responded to the Flynn residence.

Once Ashley Flynn’s mother arrived to take the girls, Caleb Flynn agreed to speak voluntarily with detectives and was taken to the Tipp City Police Department around 4:30 a.m. Monday, the affidavit read. There were no further documents filed on what he told police during questioning, nor how long it lasted.

The deadly shooting sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Tipp City community and spread safety concerns.

Tipp City police on Wednesday night released a statement that there is no information indicating the community is in danger.

“Investigators believe this was an isolated incident targeted at this specific residence,” the statement read.

Cunningham Court residents described the Flynn family as wonderful, active neighbors who have lived on the cul-de-sac for about four or five years.

Ashley Flynn was a graduate of Tippecanoe High School and Lee University, a private Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. She coached girls volleyball at Tippecanoe Middle School and was a substitute teacher for Tipp City Schools, where she formerly was an elementary school teacher. For the past year she also taught at LifeWise Academy, a nonprofit that provides weekly Bible-based lessons to public school students off campus.

The Flynns previously were staff members of the Christian Life Center, where Caleb Flynn served as a music pastor and worship leader.

Originally from Braham, Minnesota, Caleb Flynn also is a Lee University graduate.

He appeared as an “American Idol” contestant for the 12th season of the reality TV singing competition in 2013. During an interview, he shared: “I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, he is a vice president of sales at Richard D. Smith & Sons Inc., a family-run single source supplier for commercial flooring and worship seats, according to the business website.

In the days following the shooting, Tipp City police remained on scene around the clock. The department is the lead agency in the homicide investigation. In addition to the BCI, the department has been receiving assistance from the FBI, Miami County Sheriff’s Office and Miami County Prosecutor’s Office.

Tipp City man, former American Idol contestant, charged in wife’s death

The husband of a woman who was killed in her Tipp City home has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with her death.

Caleb Carl Flynn, 39, is currently facing one count of murder and two counts each of felonious assault and tampering with evidence in the Feb. 16 death of Ashley Flynn, 37, Miami County court records show.

Ashley Flynn was found dead in her home in the 900 block of Cunningham Court in Tipp City early in the morning Feb. 16, Dayton-area TV station WHIO reported. A 911 caller, later identified as Caleb Flynn, said someone broke into their house and shot Ashley Flynn, and children were inside the home, the Dayton Daily News reported.

Police investigators said only the couple and their children were home at the time of the shooting, according to WHIO.

Caleb Flynn was booked into the Miami County Jail on Feb. 19 and remained in jail the morning of Feb. 20. Court records show he entered a not guilty plea and had his bond set at $2 million.

Miami County court records say Caleb Flynn is suspected of using a handgun and staging the scene to appear like a burglary. There were signs of what appeared to be forced entry at the house, WHIO reported.

According to the Dayton Daily News, Flynn told 911 dispatchers he didn’t see anyone in the house but the garage door was open. The newspaper reported an officer who went to the house found a side door to the garage open. The door had a large fridge in front of it that would have needed to have been pushed to open the door.

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The Dayton Daily News said a report from Tipp City police also showed the center console of a truck in the home’s garage was open and Caleb Flynn said that’s where his handgun had been located.

The Dayton Daily News reported Ashley Flynn was a teacher at LifeWise Academy in Tipp City. She also coached seventh-grade girls volleyball at Tippecanoe Middle School and worked as a substitute teacher for Tipp City Schools, where she formerly worked as a full-time teacher, the newspaper reported.

Caleb Flynn appeared as a contestant on the 12th season of American Idol in 2013, the Dayton Daily News reported. During an interview for the show, he said, “I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her,” according to the newspaper.

Neighbors told the Dayton Daily News the Flynns had two elementary-age daughters who often played outside with the family’s two goldendoodles.

Tipp City has a population of about 10,500 and is located about 30 minutes north of Dayton.