Caleb Flynn Trial Day 1: Defense Admits WHAT About His Marriage?

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

You're listening to continuing coverage in the trial of Caleb Flynn from the Hidden Killers podcast and True Crime Today. Now, back to the courtroom.

Jeannine Pratt (0:11)

Mr. Watkins, as lead counsel for the state, are you ready to offer your opening statement?

Paul Watkins (0:16)

Yes, Your Honor.

Emily Smith (0:17)

You may.

Jeannine Pratt (0:17)

Go ahead.

Paul Watkins (0:33)

I was up until 4 a.m. last night, crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.

If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That is how dark and how hateful I feel. Those two messages are Caleb Flynn's own words. The words about his wife Ashley, words communicated to his mistress. Those messages were sent months apart and before Ashley's murder.

Those words tell you what this case is about. Motive, intent, and the truth behind the lies Caleb told after his wife and the mother of his two young daughters was shot to death in their home. Ashley was not in a position as if she encountered an intruder. She was executed. She was shot in the middle of the night, twice in the back of her head, laying in bed, in a sleeping position.

At the beginning of this investigation, there was a single question. What happened inside the Flynn residence on February 16th, 2026? Has this investigation progressed to competing explanations emerged? You as the jury are tasked with applying the evidence, you hear in this case, to those two competing explanations. As you hear evidence, ask yourself, which explanation does this evidence fit?

The first explanation was Caleb Flynn's report to the county. An intruder entered the residence, made their way through the home to the primary bedroom, shot Ashley and escaped without being identified. The second explanation was not supplied by a witness. It was reconstructed from the evidence collected during this investigation. You're going to hear about evidence that was and was not collected. You will not hear from an eyewitness stash of murder. The gun used has not been recovered. Recovery of the gun is not an element. The state needs to prove it in this case. You will hear Caleb kept a 9-millimeter handgun and his truck constable. The truck was parked in the garage. When officers arrived on scene, the console was up and the gun was missing.

You will hear that Ashley was shot twice with 9-millimeter bullets. You're going to hear about drones, K-9s, the physical scene, an important side garage door, fingerprints, DNA, electronic evidence, and electronic communications. For the reported intruder explanation to be true, a number of events must have occurred. The intruder must have approached the residents without being identified, gained entry into the home without alerting anyone, made their way to Ashley, executed her, made their way out of the residents without being identified, and made their way away from the scene again without being identified. Now Ashley's death establishes the shooting. The remaining events are parts of the intruder explanation. Investigators, therefore, look diligent for evidence that would independently establish those events. Investigators did not discover any evidence of someone approaching the home, of an unknown person entering the home, of an unknown person's movement through the residence, of an unknown person's access to the firearm, of an unknown person's departure from the residence. The problem for that explanation is that evidence does not independently reconstruct the intruder's presence.

Evidence-based construction developed differently. It began with events that could be independently documented. It documents Caleb's years-long relationship with his mistress. It documented Caleb's efforts to delete information up to and including just hours before Ashley's murder. It documented Caleb's words that major life changes were ending. It documented that Caleb was disgusted. The end of his marriage.

It documents movement and activity on Caleb's devices in the hours leading up to Ashley's murder. People lie. Evidence doesn't. His devices, Caleb said he was sleeping. His devices say he was awake in the room.

You'll hear a lot about Caleb's actions during the early morning hours of February 16th, 2026 You hear about app deletion, his Apple Watch movement, AirPod activity, iPhone activity, his Face ID unlocked before calling 911, and electronic evidence that documents the 911 call itself. These evidence, these events do not stand alone. They connect. One documented event leads to another. The evidence interlocks and converges on Caleb. You're going to hear about a door, a door that Caleb once you all believe was forced open by an intruder. You'll hear about damage to a deadbolt area of this door. You're going to hear from an expert FBI tool mark examiner who looked at the door and is going to tell you that tool marks are present on the door frame.