Caleb Flynn’s daughters were ‘nervous’ after speaking with him following mother’s death, grandmother testifies

Caleb Flynn’s two preteen daughters seemed nervous after speaking privately with their father days following their mother’s fatal shooting, according to testimony in his murder trial Tuesday.

Jill Smith – the girls’ grandmother and the mother of the victim, Ashley – testified that her son-in-law had asked to see his daughters several days after his wife was fatally shot inside their Tipp City, Ohio, home in February. Flynn was living separately from his girls while their home remained an active crime scene.

Flynn previously told police he was lying in the girls’ bedroom when he heard gunshots.

The girls – now 12 and 10 years old – later told their grandmother they went for a walk around a pond, Jill Smith said. When they returned, they appeared “nervous,” she testified.

Later, while they were alone, one of the girls told Jill Smith she was indeed “very nervous,” the grandmother testified. She asked why, she said, but she did not testify about her granddaughter’s answer or the content of their conversation at prosecutors’ direction.

Jill Smith said she then “marched” the girl to her father and said, “She’s afraid to tell the truth. Tell her to tell the truth.”

According to Jill Smith, Flynn responded, “Of course, baby, you’re supposed to tell the truth.”

Jill Smith said her granddaughters again seemed “super nervous” as they drove away, noting they would soon be questioned by police and family and children’s services.

Flynn’s defense attorneys declined to cross-examine his mother-in-law, who was one of several of Ashley’s family members to testify Tuesday, the third day of testimony in Flynn’s murder trial.

Collectively, they described the shock of her death , as well as the defendant’s alleged actions before, during and after the night of her killing. Flynn’s sister-in-law and father-in-law also testified about his work for their family’s business, including his $200,000-a-year salary and how he stood to earn more in the future.

Prosecutors have accused Flynn of fatally shooting his wife on February 16, pointing to a yearslong affair as motive for the killing. In their opening statement, prosecutors alleged Flynn believed if he could successfully frame a “faceless” intruder for his wife’s murder, he would be able to keep his relationship with his mistress, full custody of his daughters, his “lucrative” job at his wife’s family business and his position as a worship leader.

An affair, a missing gun and 100,000 messages: What we learned on Day 1 of testimony in Caleb Flynn’s trial

Flynn’s attorneys admit he had an affair but deny that he killed Ashley, arguing in their own opening statement that he is “not on trial for being a bad husband,” and that prosecutors lack key evidence, including the murder weapon.

After Ashley’s death, Flynn told authorities he believed an intruder had broken into the home and shot his wife while he lay in their daughters’ bedroom. When police arrived, the center console of his pickup truck was ajar, and a gun Flynn kept inside was missing, prosecutors said.

He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and several other charges. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could face a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Tipp City Police Enforcement

Ashley’s sister, Kayla Keyt, said she “tag-teamed life” with her sister, and thought of her brother-in-law as family, testifying she “would’ve done anything for him.”

“We did life together all day every day because he was part of the family business.”

Keyt’s father ran a flooring and furnishing company, which Flynn had worked for as a salesman for about three or four years, Keyt said. He made about $200,000 a year.

Her father was going to retire, she said, so the family met with a financial advisor in August 2025 to make a plan for Ashley, Keyt and their husbands to inherit the business. After that meeting, Keyt said she showed her husband and Flynn a spreadsheet showing the potential growth of the company.

“If we continue to grow, you could make upwards of, you know, up to $300,000 to $400,000, if we keep going that way,” Keyt told them, according to her testimony.

She said the defendant later asked to see the spreadsheet again.

Capt. Tony Smith of the Tipp City police also testified Tuesday that Flynn was the sole beneficiary of a $100,000 insurance policy on his wife’s life.

From Frings & Bayliff Funeral Home

Under cross-examination, Keyt said she believed police had arrested the wrong person when they took her brother-in-law into custody for Ashley’s killing, saying she “trusted Caleb with everything I had in me.”

She acknowledged hearing rumors that he was having an affair and said they had made her angry. “I just knew in my heart that he was completely innocent. I really believed that with all my heart.”

Keyt said she didn’t learn of Flynn’s affair – with a fellow worship leader at the church both families attended – until an interview she had with the FBI, describing her brother-in-law’s behavior as “pretty revolting.”

The Flynns had a good marriage, Jill Smith testified, though it appeared to be “strained” in the months before Ashley’s death.

“You could tell there was not a lot of peace in their home, and I couldn’t pinpoint why – and I don’t think she could pinpoint why,” she said.

Flynn’s daughters have been told their father was having an affair, Kayla Keyt said.

“They were shocked,” she testified. “They were upset for their mommy because they said: ‘She loved daddy more than anyone else in life, so why did daddy not love her as much?’”

The two girls have also been told their father is accused of killing their mother, Keyt said, though they initially rejected those conversations for the first couple of months. Keyt said she tells the girls: “Police have sufficient evidence on your dad that points to him as the person who killed your mom.”

Ashley’s father, Todd Smith, described learning of his daughter’s death while he was out of the country. When his wife relayed Flynn’s narrative of how Ashley had purportedly been killed, he remembered thinking parts of it did not line up – such as why the family’s two dogs didn’t bark at the purported intruder in the home.

“Nothing makes sense to me,” Todd Smith testified. “Why would somebody break in, go in and get into the truck, go walk in there, shoot my daughter, and then run out? If it was a burglary, why weren’t they going around the whole house?”

Jill Smith described the moment Flynn told his daughters their mother had been killed.

“He said: ‘Someone broke into the house and hurt Mommy, and she’s in heaven,’” the grandmother testified. “The girls just started screaming and crying, and they were crawling all over him saying ‘No, no Daddy.’”

One of the girls then said, “I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I know God’s got a plan and He’s gonna work this for good,” Jill Smith testified. The other said Ashley was now “with her best friend Jesus.”

据周二在卡莱布·弗林谋杀案审判中的证词显示，在母亲被枪杀几天后，卡莱布·弗林的两个十几岁的女儿与父亲私下交谈后显得很紧张。

吉尔·史密斯（Jill Smith）——女孩们的祖母，也是受害者阿什利（Ashley）的母亲——作证说，她的女婿在妻子于二月份在俄亥俄州蒂普市的家中被枪杀几天后，曾要求见女儿们。弗林（Flynn）在案发现场期间一直与女儿们分居。

弗林此前告诉警方，他当时躺在女孩们的卧室里，听到了枪声。

吉尔·史密斯说，这两个女孩——现在分别是12岁和10岁——后来告诉她们的祖母，她们去池塘边散步了。她作证说，她们回来时显得“很紧张”。

后来，她们单独相处时，其中一个女孩告诉吉尔·史密斯，她确实“非常紧张”，祖母作证说。她说，她问了原因，但应检方指示，她没有就孙女的回答或她们谈话的内容作证。

吉尔·史密斯说，她随后“押着”女孩去见她父亲，并说：“她不敢说真话。告诉她要说实话。”

据吉尔·史密斯说，弗林回应道：“当然，宝贝，你应该说实话。”

吉尔·史密斯说，她的孙女们开车离开时看起来又“非常紧张”，并指出她们很快就会受到警方、家庭和儿童服务机构的询问。

弗林的辩护律师拒绝盘问他的岳母，她是阿什利的几位家庭成员之一，于周二出庭作证，这是弗林谋杀案审判的第三天。

他们共同描述了弗林去世带来的震惊，以及被告在案发当晚前后涉嫌实施的犯罪行为。弗林的嫂子和岳父也作证讲述了弗林在家族企业的工作情况，包括他每年20万美元的薪水以及未来更高的收入潜力。

检方指控弗林于2月16日枪杀妻子，并指出其长达数年的婚外情是杀人动机。在开庭陈述中，检方称弗林认为，如果他能成功陷害一名“身份不明”的闯入者，使其背负谋杀妻子的罪名，他就能保住与情妇的关系、两个女儿的完全监护权、在妻子家族企业中“收入丰厚”的工作以及他作为敬拜领袖的职位。

婚外情、失踪的枪支和10万条短信：我们在卡莱布·弗林案庭审第一天的证词中了解到了什么

弗林的律师承认他有婚外情，但否认他杀害了阿什利，并在开庭陈述中辩称，他“不是因为做了坏丈夫而受审”，而且检方缺乏关键证据，包括凶器。

阿什利死后，弗林告诉警方，他认为有入侵者闯入家中，在他躺在女儿卧室时枪杀了妻子。检察官称，警方赶到时，发现弗林皮卡车的中央扶手箱门半开着，他放在车里的一把枪也不见了。

他已对加重谋杀罪和其他几项指控拒不不认罪。如果最严重的指控成立，他可能面临终身监禁且不得假释的刑罚。

蒂普市警察执法部门

阿什利的妹妹凯拉·凯特说，她和姐姐“携手共度人生”，并将姐夫视为家人，并作证说她“愿意为他做任何事”。

“因为他是家族企业的一员，所以我们每天都一起生活。”

凯特的父亲经营一家地板和家具公司，弗林曾在该公司担任销售员约三四年，凯特说。他年收入约20万美元。

她说，她父亲即将退休，所以2025年8月，全家人与一位财务顾问会面，制定计划，让艾什莉、凯特和她们的丈夫继承公司。凯特说，会面后，她给丈夫和弗林看了一份电子表格，表格显示了公司的潜在增长。

据凯特的证词，她告诉他们：“如果我们继续发展下去，你们就能赚到，你知道，高达 30 万到 40 万美元，如果我们继续这样发展下去的话。”

她说，被告后来要求再次查看该电子表格。

蒂普市警察局的托尼·史密斯上尉周二也作证说，弗林是他妻子人寿保险10万美元保单的唯一受益人。

来自弗林斯和贝利夫殡仪馆

在交叉询问中，凯特表示，她相信警方逮捕了错误的人，因为他们逮捕了她的姐夫，指控他杀害了阿什利，她说她“完全信任卡莱布”。

她承认听到过关于他有外遇的传闻，并表示这些传闻让她很生气。“但我心里清楚他是完全清白的。我发自内心地相信这一点。”

凯特说，直到她接受联邦调查局的问询时，才知道弗林与两家同属一个教会的另一位敬拜领袖有染。她形容她姐夫的行为“非常令人作呕”。

吉尔·史密斯作证说，弗林夫妇的婚姻很好，尽管在阿什利去世前的几个月里，他们的婚姻似乎“很紧张”。

“看得出来他们家不太平静，但我说不出原因——我想她也说不出原因，”她说。

凯拉·凯特说，弗林的女儿们被告知她们的父亲有外遇。

她作证说：“他们很震惊。他们为妈妈感到难过，因为他们说：‘妈妈爱爸爸胜过爱生命中的任何人，为什么爸爸不爱她呢？’”

凯特说，警方也告诉两个女孩，她们的父亲被指控杀害了她们的母亲，尽管最初几个月她们都拒绝接受这些说法。凯特说，她告诉女孩们：“警方掌握了足够的证据，证明你们的父亲就是杀害你们母亲的凶手。”

阿什利的父亲托德·史密斯描述了他在国外得知女儿死讯时的情景。当他的妻子转述弗林对阿什利遇害经过的描述时，他记得自己当时觉得有些地方说不通——比如为什么家里的两只狗没有对着闯入家中的所谓入侵者吠叫。

“我百思不得其解，”托德·史密斯作证说。“为什么有人会闯入我家，钻进卡车，走进屋里，开枪打死我女儿，然后逃走？如果是入室盗窃，为什么他们不把房子翻个底朝天？”

吉尔·史密斯描述了弗林告诉他的女儿们她们的母亲被杀害的那一刻。

“他说：‘有人闯进房子，伤害了妈妈，她现在在天堂，’”祖母作证说。“女孩们开始尖叫哭泣，爬到他身上，喊着‘不，不，爸爸。’”

其中一个女孩接着说：“我不知道是怎么回事，也不知道为什么，但我知道上帝自有安排，祂会让这件事朝着好的方向发展。”吉尔·史密斯作证说。另一个女孩说，艾什莉现在“和她最好的朋友耶稣在一起”。