Bombshell witness at American Idol murder trial. Lindsay Clancy back in court. Plus, Cornell lawsuit.

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Good morning, everyone.

Andrea Canning (0:03)

You're listening to the Dateline Morning Meeting.

SPEAKER_3 (0:05)

Is today definitely the closings?

SPEAKER_4 (0:07)

Yes.

Andrea Canning (0:08)

Our producers are swapping tips and story ideas.

Doug Roller (0:11)

Is this best friend still around?

SPEAKER_6 (0:13)

Is the mom still alive?

SPEAKER_7 (0:14)

Even the dentist, we used to have a pretty prominent person in the community.

SPEAKER_4 (0:17)

How does this suburban mom meet this killer?

Andrea Canning (0:22)

Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's October 1st, and here's what's on our docket.

A dramatic new chapter in the case of the two young girls found murdered beneath an abandoned bridge near Delphi, Indiana. Lawyers for the man convicted of killing them are demanding a new trial.

SPEAKER_8 (0:40)

This behavior stops here. This should never happen to another Hoosier again.

Andrea Canning (0:44)

In Dateline Round Up, an update on what's next in the Lindsay Clancy case, and questions hang over Cornell University as prosecutors reopen their investigation into a student's allegations of sexual assault.

Alex Larray (0:57)

The DA said that he'll present the case to a grand jury within 45 days and that the Jane Doe is expected to testify.

Andrea Canning (1:05)

Plus, man's best friend. How can dogs help police solve crimes? A veteran K9 handler gives us the lowdown.

Doug Roller (1:12)

They are picking up so many different odors, and not just odors, but emotions.

Andrea Canning (1:17)

Before all that, we are in Troy, Ohio, where a verdict has been reached in the murder trial of a former American Idol contestant. But not before jurors heard one bombshell witness, his former lover.

For the past three weeks, jurors have listened to the case of Caleb Flynn, a man who first made a name for himself when he competed on Idol 13 years ago. Now, prosecutors have accused him of murdering his wife, Ashley, as she lay sleeping in their bed, and then staging the scene to make it look like a home invasion. His alleged motive, he wanted to start his life over with 24-year-old lover, Aaliyah Botner. Caleb denied that and pleaded not guilty. But in over six hours of emotional testimony, jurors got to hear from Aaliyah herself as she detailed the affair and Caleb's spiral into talk of murder.

SPEAKER_10 (2:08)

How would you describe your feelings for the defendant today?

Aaliyah Botner (2:12)

I hate him.

SPEAKER_10 (2:13)

Why the change from love to hate?

Aaliyah Botner (2:17)

Because I believe that Aaliyah is right.

Andrea Canning (2:20)

On Tuesday morning, the prosecution and defense made their case to the jury one last time in closing arguments.

By the end of the day, a verdict. Here to fill us in on the final days of the trial is Dateline Field producer Justin Rachford. Welcome back, Justin.

Justin Rachford (2:35)

Hi, Andrea. Thanks for having me.

Andrea Canning (2:37)

So we first heard about Aaliyah in the prosecution's opening statement.

She is central to their case, of course, when it comes to motive, and her testimony was highly anticipated. What was the atmosphere like in court, Justin, when she took the stand? I'm sure you could hear a pin drop in there.

SPEAKER_7 (2:54)

Right.

Justin Rachford (2:54)

So everyone at that time had already heard about allegations of the affair. So from the moment that Aaliyah sat down, there was a real sense of uneasiness and I guess morbid curiosity of what would be revealed.

Andrea Canning (3:06)

What did she tell the court about how she and Caleb first met? Where did this all start?

Justin Rachford (3:11)

This started in the church. Aaliyah said that she was a 20-year-old intern when she and Caleb first met at their Ohio Church Christian Life Center in 2022 Aaliyah said that at first the relationship was purely professional, but things changed in March 2024 Eventually, that relationship became romantic and sexual.

Andrea Canning (3:28)

She is a key witness, as we said, for the prosecution. But she also had to admit to a relationship with a married man and father of two kids.

How did the state handle that?

Justin Rachford (3:39)

The prosecution pressed Aaliyah pretty hard on the fact that she knew that Caleb was a married man.

SPEAKER_10 (3:44)

If you knew the defendant was married, how did you morally justify a sexual relationship with the defendant?

Aaliyah Botner (3:51)

It was completely wrong and I shouldn't have. At first, I was strong and I said, this isn't okay, we shouldn't do this. Then he kept pursuing and it just started with little things and then it grew like cancer. I found myself in a place I never thought it would be.