Caleb Flynn, a former American Idol contestant and Ohio worship pastor, has been indicted on aggravated murder and multiple additional charges after authorities said he killed his wife, Ashley Flynn, at their home in Ohio on 16 February.
According to Ohio television station WDTN-TV, a Miami County grand jury indicted Flynn, 39, on 11 counts, including aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, three counts of tampering with evidence, and two counts of intimidation of a witness in a criminal case. Several of the charges include firearm specifications.
Flynn was arrested on 19 February, three days after police responded to a 2:30am burglary call at his home near Dayton, Ohio. Audio from the 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital revealed Flynn told a dispatcher that someone had broken into his home and shot his wife.
When officers arrived, they found Ashley Flynn, 37, with two gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initial charges against Flynn included murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence. At his arraignment, Judge Stacy Wall increased his bond from $2 million to $3.5 million and ordered him not to have any contact with his two daughters, who were inside the home at the time of the incident.
Flynn, who appeared on the 12th season of American Idol in 2013, spoke about his wife during an interview on the show and compared her to his favourite contestant, Carrie Underwood, who won the fourth season.
"I absolutely love the Lord. I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty ... I love her," Flynn said during a hometown interview segment on the show. "But, you know, I'm just a normal person who absolutely loves to sing more than anything in the world."
His attorney, L. Patrick Mulligan, told Fox News Digital that prosecutors rushed to accuse his client of murder.
"Flynn entered a plea of Not Guilty ... and looks forward to defending this case. We are both disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case."