Botner Reads 34 Books of 107,000 Flynn Messages in Wife-Murder Trial
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 24
Botner Reads 34 Books of 107,000 Flynn Messages in Wife-Murder Trial
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 24
Summary
34 transcript books of 107,000 messages were read to jurors as Alleigha Botner testified that Caleb Flynn repeatedly told her he wanted his wife Ashley dead during their 1.5-year affair.
Texts from 2025 showed Flynn escalating from hatred to explicit murder talk, including “Kill her” and “I was up until 4 a.m. ... thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail,” which prosecutors say establishes motive.
February 15 messages had Flynn saying he would tell Ashley he wanted a divorce the next day; Botner said Ashley’s death on February 16 felt like “too much of a coincidence.”
Botner also testified Flynn later gave her an account of the shooting that conflicted with what he told investigators, while the defense argued the case still lacks key physical evidence such as a murder weapon.
The 24-year-old admitted deleting messages and lying to the FBI before recanting on February 26, underscoring both the affair’s secrecy and the credibility fight at the center of Flynn’s not-guilty defense.