TROY, Ohio — More than seven months after his wife was found shot dead in their Tipp City home, former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn went on trial Thursday in Miami County Common Pleas Court, facing charges that he murdered her and staged the scene to look like a home invasion.

Flynn, 40, has pleaded not guilty. The case is before Judge Jeannine Pratt. The trial is expected to run eight days, with roughly 40 prosecution witnesses.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury on March 18, charges Flynn with eleven counts: one count of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, three counts of tampering with evidence and two misdemeanor counts of intimidation. Several charges carry firearm specifications. At a March arraignment, bond was raised to $3.5 million and Flynn was ordered to have no contact with his two minor daughters.

Prosecutors allege that in the early hours of February 16, Flynn shot his 37-year-old wife Ashley — a substitute teacher and volleyball coach — twice in the back of the head as she slept in their bed, then staged the house to look like a break-in before calling 911 to report an intruder. The couple’s two daughters were home at the time.

Much of the state’s case centers on Flynn’s affair with Alleigha Botner, 24, whom he met when she was an intern at his church, where both served as worship leaders. Prosecutors say the two exchanged roughly 107,000 text messages — about 300 a day — over an 18-month affair, and that the messages show Flynn wanted his wife dead.

In messages cited in court filings, Botner wrote, “I want to kill her, Caleb.” Flynn responded: “That makes two of us.” In another exchange, Flynn wrote that he was “up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.” In May 2025, he wrote: “If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat.” And in February 2025 — almost exactly a year before the killing — he wrote: “I need her to die, to cheat again, to leave.”

Prosecutors also allege that on the night before the shooting, Flynn texted Botner: “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow.”

The state also points to the staged scene: an FBI agent is expected to testify that she found no pry, kick or ram marks on the outside of the door that was supposedly forced — only gouge marks on the inside of the frame, inconsistent with a forced entry. The gun used in the shooting has never been recovered.

The defense disputes the prosecution’s case, arguing investigators failed to establish a concrete physical connection between Flynn and the shooting. Flynn’s attorneys have acknowledged the “ugly, hurtful” messages but argue he was saying things to appease Botner and that the texts do not prove he killed his wife. In a police interview on the day of his arrest, Flynn denied the killing when asked directly.

Opening statements began Thursday. The trial continues this week.