Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn has been charged with fatally shooting his wife in their Ohio home and allegedly staging the crime scene to look like a break-in, authorities said.
Prosecutors in Miami County say Flynn, 39, is accused of killing his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn, and rearranging the scene to mislead investigators about what happened inside their Tipp City residence on Feb. 16.
He has been charged with murder, assault, and tampering with evidence, and entered a not guilty plea during a video arraignment from jail on Friday. A judge set his bond at 2 million dollars after Flynn told the court he wanted to return home to care for the couple's two young daughters and insisted he was not a risk, according to CBS News.
Police said officers first went to the house after a 911 call from Flynn, who reported that an intruder had broken in and shot his wife. In the call, later released by authorities, Flynn sounded frantic as he claimed his wife had been shot multiple times in the head and said he did not know whether the supposed intruder was still inside.
Investigators now allege that evidence at the home was inconsistent with a burglary and that Flynn manipulated the scene after the shooting to support his story.
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Ashley Flynn was pronounced dead at the scene when officers arrived in the early morning hours, according to Tipp City police. School officials said she worked as a middle school volleyball coach and substitute teacher and was a mother of two, AOL reported.
Her family released a statement saying their hearts were shattered by her death and that they believe authorities acted carefully in arresting her husband after consulting with local and federal investigators.
Flynn appeared on season 12 of "American Idol" and had described himself in a 2013 interview as a music pastor. His attorney, Patrick Mulligan, said they were disappointed by what he called a rushed investigation and warned of the risk of a wrongful conviction when police focus on a surviving spouse after other leads fall away.
Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins defended the pace and scope of the probe, saying it had moved according to a thorough and deliberate investigative process. Flynn remains in jail while the case is pending, and authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the killing, as per NBC News.
