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

By Nicki Brown, CNN

(CNN) — 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.

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.

Flynn sole beneficiary of wife’s life insurance policy, police say

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.

Daughters ‘shocked’ to learn of father’s affair, victim’s sister says

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.”

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