FBI joins Ashley Flynn case: Husband starred on ‘American Idol’

The FBI is among agencies assisting with the investigation into an early Monday shooting that devastated a Tipp City family active in the community, schools and their church.

Ashley Flynn, 37, was found dead in her home in the 900 block of Cunningham Court after police were called around 2:30 a.m. for a reported home burglary. Results are pending from an autopsy performed Tuesday, but Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins said she was shot twice.

Adkins said his department remains the lead agency in the investigation, which he has called a “complex case.”

“We’re not built as a homicide team. We’re built as a public service team. So that’s why we needed extra manpower,” he said.

The Tipp City Police Department has fewer than 25 full-time officers and serves a community of around 10,500 residents, according to the department’s 2025 Annual Report.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded in the early morning hours following the shooting, and Adkins on Tuesday called in other agencies.

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

“We have also reached out to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, Miami County Prosecutor’s Office and the Dayton FBI office, who are also assisting us not only for manpower purposes but also additional resources and expertise in certain fields that can help in this situation,” Adkins said.

Investigators are working as swiftly as they can, but not at the expense of doing their due diligence to make sure they are collecting all of the evidence, he said.

A lot of tips have been coming in, as well as video clips from neighbors, which Adkins said he encourages.

“There may be that person out there that just has enough that, you know, that’s what we needed to help us.”

Cunningham Court residents described the Flynn family as wonderful, active neighbors who have lived on the cul-de-sac for about four or five years.

Flynn coached seventh-grade girls volleyball at Tippecanoe Middle School and worked as a substitute teacher for Tipp City Schools, where she also was a former teacher, according to the district. For the past year she served as a teacher for LifeWise Academy in Tipp City, a nonprofit that provides Bible-based education to public school students away from campus during school hours.

She and her husband, Caleb, also were former staff members of their church, the Christian Life Center in Butler Twp., where Caleb Flynn worked in music ministry. Although no longer on staff, they remain active members.

While still working as a music pastor, Caleb Flynn in 2013 appeared as a contestant on the 12th season of “American Idol.” During an interview, he shared: “I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her.”

Neighbors said the Flynns and their two elementary-age daughters are often seen outside with the family’s two Goldendoodles. They have a volleyball net set up in the backyard, a basketball hoop along the driveway and they would often toss a softball outside as well.

At Christmastime, the Flynns made cookies and sent the girls to deliver the goodies to their neighbors.

The tight-knit Tipp City community is rallying behind the Flynn family. There have been prayer vigils and an online fundraiser seeking to raise $50,000 in one day blasted past that, raising more than $80,000 as of 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Now, neighbors say they hope police solve this case quickly so Ashley Flynn gets justice and the family can have peace.