TROY, Ohio (Court TV) — At a hearing scheduled for a motion requested by his defense for a gag order in his case, Caleb Flynn abruptly changed course and withdrew the request.
Caleb Flynn appears in court for a pretrial hearing on April 10, 2026. (Court TV)
Flynn, 39, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Ashley Flynn, 37.
Last month, Flynn’s attorneys filed a motion requesting a non-dissemination order in the case, which would have prevented the release of “police reports, video, audio recordings, lab reports, written statements, or any other evidence or discovery” until the case was fully adjudicated. The motion argued that the gag order was necessary to protect the defendant’s right to a fair trial after some evidence had already been released to the public and was “shared online, garnering thousands of views and comments.”
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Judge Jeannine Pratt had ordered all parties not to speak about the case pending Friday’s motion hearing.
But at the outset of Friday’s hearing, Caleb Flynn’s attorney, Patrick Mulligan, told the Court, “It is our intention to withdraw the motion.” Mulligan did not offer any further information about why the defense was no longer seeking the non-dissemination order.
Pratt asked both sides whether they would be prepared to go to trial, currently scheduled to begin on April 28. Both sides said yes; when asked whether they had other motions to discuss, Mulligan answered, “At this point, no, we haven’t found anything worthwhile of filing a motion so far.”
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Caleb Flynn was arrested in February after detectives said he killed his wife with a 9 mm handgun and then attempted to stage the scene to look like a burglary. When the defendant called 911, he reported that Ashley Flynn had been shot by an intruder.
The defendant, who described himself as a “music pastor,” appeared on the 12th season of TV’s “American Idol,” but he was eliminated in the preliminary rounds.
Caleb Flynn is due back in court for a final pretrial hearing on April 16.
