A female worship leader has resigned “without explanation” following Caleb Flynn’s arrest for the alleged murder of his wife, Ashley.
On Feb. 19, Flynn, a former worship pastor and “American Idol” contestant, was charged with murder, two counts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of tampering with evidence for allegedly shooting his wife, Ashley, in the head and staging the crime scene.
Flynn, 39, served as a worship arts pastor and a worship director at two different churches from 2010 to 2021. At the time of his arrest, he was serving as vice president of sales at Richard D. Smith & Sons in Tipp City, Ohio.
The Flynns attended Christian Life Center (CLC) in Dayton, Ohio, where Caleb served on the worship team and Ashley volunteered.
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Following Caleb’s arrest, CLC leadership chose to forgo livestreaming services for that weekend. Worship services were livestreamed the following week. A portion of the service has since been removed.
In the removed section, captured by Abby Blabby, CLC Pastor Jordan Hansen briefly mentioned Ashley, her family, and the resignation of Alleigha Botner—a worship leader at the church.
“I want to thank you, our church family, for the prayers, support, and love that you’ve shared with me and our staff. We are deeply grateful to rely on God’s comfort, abundant grace and wisdom during these past few emotionally challenging days,” Hansen said.
He continued, “I also want to inform you that Alleigha Botner, one of our worship leaders, submitted her resignation without explanation. We do not know why.”
Botner’s name has been circulating online following Ashley’s death because of rumors that Botner was linked to Caleb. Botner was listed as the church’s worship leader on the church’s website. The page has since been removed.
Hansen told the congregation that Pastor Josh Bonzelaar, who is listed as the church’s weekend services team leader, “will continue to oversee and lead weekend services, tech and worship, as he has for these past few years.”
“We continue to support, care, and pray for Ashley Flynn’s family,” Hansen said. “She and her extended family mean a lot to me personally and to our church. Her life and faith have impacted thousands, maybe tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands.”
Hansen shared that the church will also continue to “fully cooperate with law enforcement as they carry out their difficult work during this ongoing investigation.”
