Everything Caleb Flynn and His Family Said at His Sentencing for Ashley’s Murder

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Brueski and Robin Green.

Tony Brueski (0:10)

Caleb Flynn, his sentencing the other day, it was a sight to see.

And with it being a sight to see, I think a lot of us started having a lot of questions about what exactly we were witnessing, especially when Caleb took the stand. We're going to get into that today. We're going to take a look back at his performance, because I don't know any other way to put it, in clips. We're going to break some of that down. We're going to take a look at what his children had to say to him through letters, what came out almost between the lines, if you will. We're going to take a deep psychological look at that. And the letters from his parents too, because those I think deserve a bit of a review. Joining us to do all of this today, Shavaun Scott, psychotherapist and author. Always look forward to our Wednesday conversations. The Velvet Poet. Yes, the Velvet Poet. We're going to put that as your caption, Velvet Poet.

Shavaun Scott (1:12)

I'm getting that on a T-shirt.

Tony Brueski (1:15)

I love it.

Shavaun Scott (1:16)

It's a new title for me.

Tony Brueski (1:19)

I love it. And Robin Drake, retired FBI special agent, chief of the counterintelligence behavioral analysis program and master class instructor. Our panel today to help break down what we witnessed the other day. We're going to start with a clip from Caleb there at the trial. Let me slide my mug out of the way so we can see his mug as he goes through this.

Robin Drake (1:41)

Keep your mug in the way, Tony. I don't want to see his mug.

Tony Brueski (1:43)

Actually, I have some mugs over. Literally, I have mugs over here almost in the way of his forehead. So let's clear the way so we can... I know we all do the same.

Robin Drake (1:50)

Two drinks per...

Tony Brueski (1:51)

Yes. So we can see the head of Caleb Flynn, which won't be hard to do. His first words at sentencing, go to the people he wants to keep, his daughters, his parents, his brother.

Not one word said about the woman. A jury says he killed prosecutors, alleged in their sentencing memorandum that before this moment, Flynn told his daughters their statements. This is a disturbing part, and we're going to get to it a little bit more too, that their statements could mean life or death for daddy and instructed them to deny that they had been coached. That was a new piece of information that came into the ether at the sentencing. His parents wrote the judge asking for mercy, citing his church service and awards, you know, BowlingChamp 1993 Never mentioning Ashley by name.

This is what he said back to all of them when he got a chance to speak. Take a look.

Caleb Flynn (2:58)

First and foremost, to my daughters, I don't know if they'll ever be able to hear this. I want to say, regardless, I love you too, Melissa Pippa, with absolutely everything inside of me. The day you both were born, were days that really changed my life for the better.

I never knew that love this fierce was possible, until Obama, when I held you for the first time. You both are my greatest joy in this life. Please know your daddy is so proud of you, that loves you beyond what words can describe.

I have so many thoughts and dreams of raising you, and seeing you grow up to be my women of God. But unfortunately, I can't. That's why I'm sorry.

Tony Brueski (4:14)

He's sorry he can't raise them. Not sorry for why he can't raise them, or how they got into this position. But he's sorry. He seems to be very sorry for himself.

Do these words, Shavaun, matter to those little girls, that daddy is saying that he's sorry that his dreams of raising them aren't going to happen? It's all about his view on this. Does it matter, I guess, at the end of the day or is this all a performance for Caleb?

Shavaun Scott (4:50)

He's obviously got his preferred narrative about his identity, and he's not going to budge on that.

It's really poisonous. And I, from the letters from the girls, it definitely sounds like they're grounded in reality about what happens, what happened, and who he is. And so, yeah, I look at it as a way to try to manipulate them. And I think even at this young age, they see through that. So I don't see that he's going to get any benefit out of this.