Ashley Flynn's Family RIPS 'Crybaby' Caleb Flynn During Sentencing — Full Statements

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: to the man i used to call my brother when ashley died and we learned that you were responsible we were as shocked as anyone we trusted you we believed in you we honestly would have laid down our lives for you and because of that one of my greatest fears was that people would look at you and what you had done and begin questioning whether any of this christianity faith jesus was real how could someone profess to love jesus while living an entirely different life behind closed doors it would absolutely break ashley's heart to know that an entire group of children in tip city the likewise program christian life center and beyond have now experienced such fear that some of them still run to their parents bedroom in the morning making sure that no one broke in and shot their mother you shattered the innocence of so many children many of them having to learn the words murder affair burglary betrayal for the first time there is also another consequence of your choices that i don't think you will ever fully comprehend for months our family prayed that you would confess and own up to all of your actions but you didn't instead you chose to drag us through a nationally televised trial and now the grotesque details of what happened to ashley and the evil and vile things that you said about her and our family are permanently public we can shield alissa and ava today but we cannot erase erase the internet someday your daughters may search their mother's name or yours and discover details about the worst night of their lives that we have had desperately tried to protect them from they lost their mother their father and pretty much everything they ever owned except the clothes on their backs all in one night and they did absolutely nothing to deserve any of it before i say anything else there's something i know ashley would want me to say to everyone listening and watching today as we all know ashley loved her best friend jesus with everything in her more than anything she wanted people to know him and know the hope of heaven she used to talk about wanting to make heaven crowded so one of the my greatest fears after learning what had been done by caleb was that people would look at you someone who publicly professed christianity and begin questioning whether any of it was real and that is what would break ashley's heart most of all and i also know that if ash could speak today i believe she would say please please do not let what happened to me make any of you turn away from the faith don't judge jesus by the actions of people who claim to follow him look at jesus himself and today we as a family know without a doubt ashley is experiencing the very heaven she spent her life telling everyone else about just a few nights ago however one of ashley's daughters was laying beside me sobbing into my shoulder as they both often do because she missed her mommy and could not understand how her own father could have done this to all of us then she looked at me and asked why should i even believe in jesus if he allowed this to happen to us and there it was my greatest fear ashley's own daughter was questioning the jesus her mom had spent her entire life teaching her to love i let those words sit for a moment and then i told her sweet girl i'm going to teach you something that i know your own mother would want to teach you christianity isn't about following jesus because he promises to fix everything heal everything or prevent terrible things from happening we live in such a broken world that it is the exact reason why jesus came down on this earth to sacrifice himself on our behalf so that he can live amongst us to comfort us when we are hurting we follow jesus because of who he is for he is faithful and trustworthy and he does not promise a probably free life but he does promise that he will never forsake us and he will walk alongside of us and comfort us every step of our journey through the valley of the shadow of death and so even if jesus does nothing else beyond else for us beyond what he's already done dying on the cross so our sins could be forgiven and rising again so we could have the hope of heaven that would be enough and sweet girl that's why your mommy is where she is right now she's in paradise because jesus died for her and because of his sacrifice and resurrection when her life on this earth ended she ran straight into the arms of her best friend jesus but i also told her that even in unimaginable suffering god still leaves reminders of his goodness goodness everywhere the sun warming our skin beautiful flowers and colorful trees food on our table that we don't have to beg for a warm hug from someone who loves us i told her to imagine every one of those little blessings as a tiny daisy it's very easy to miss them if you don't watch out for them but if we gather them one by one eventually we look down and realize we're holding an entire bouquet of blessings a reminder that even in the darkest season of our lives god is still good and beyond all of those little daisies we still have the greatest gift of all the cross the resurrection and the hope of heaven that is what matthew and i will spend the rest of our lives teaching our four daughters true christianity is seeking the face of jesus for who he is not simply his hand for what he can give or do for us and caleb you took ashley from this earth you took a mother from her daughters you shattered a family that trusted you and you created pain that alissa and ava will carry in some form for the rest of their lives but you did not take jesus from them you did not take heaven from ashley and you did not destroy our faith and despite everything i've just said i want you to know something else i do forgive you i've forgiven both you and alia not because what happens should be ever excused or forgotten and certainly not because there shouldn't be severe consequences i forgive you because i refuse to allow what you did to destroy another part of my life by filling my heart with hatred and bitterness i serve a god who's both merciful and just he tells us that vengeance belongs to him and i trust him with that justice is not mine to carry but forgiveness is and god promises that he can work even the most horrific circumstances for good and for his glory and we are already watching him do that through an entire community rallying around us to support us which has been nothing but a gift straight from heaven itself and through the opportunity for matthew and i to raise four beautiful girls and love them unconditionally and i i'm going to spend the rest of my life carrying forward what mattered most to my sister ashley wanted people to know her best friend jesus and that this broken world is not the end of the story ashley spent her life wanting to make heaven crowded so we will teach these girls to love deeply to forgive to tell the truth even when it hurts to choose what is right even when nobody is watching and when life feels unbearably dark we will teach them to look down and start gathering the daisies because somehow even after everything that has happened god is still leaving blessings everywhere so i can think of no greater way to honor my sister than to continue what she started to raise her girls to know jesus her best friend and to remind anyone that will listen that even in the darkest story of our lives there's still the cross there's still the resurrection and there's still the hope of heaven and until we see ashley again we will keep gathering the daisies [00:08:06] Speaker 2: i heard a statement this past week that stayed with me he said you're not betrayed by your enemies you're betrayed by the people that you trust the most and so here we are betrayed by one of the people that i trusted the most caleb's lies and deceit ended in the most self-centered act i could ever imagine someone who trusted someone we trusted deeply took the life of ashley one of the most impactful people i've ever had the privilege of knowing my wife and i are now raising four beautiful girls who are learning how to live together in a life that none of us expected elissa and ava do not know what the road ahead holds and honestly neither do we there's no road map for helping children understand that their father murdered their mother while they're sleeping just 50 feet away they repeatedly ask why he would do such a thing how could he take their mother away and rob them of a lifetime of memories with her we obviously don't have an answer that can make that understandable or ease their pain nearly every day we watch as ashley's daughters visit their mother's graveside watching them i watch them cry and talk to her they often lie on the grass in front of her tombstone imagining in their innocence that it will bring them just a bit closer to their mom ashley should be here for their proms birthdays holiday traditions wedding dress shopping and for the everyday memories in between despite her very best efforts kayla cannot take ashley's place in those moments she will do everything she can to love and comfort them with the same selfless care that ashley gave them but ashley's absence will always be felt individually of course i'm learning along the way while running a business now on my own i've also been learning how to bring two grieving girls into our home supporting a larger family and reassuring my own daughters as their lives have changed too my wife and i are trying to meet the needs of each girl individually while also carrying our own grief it's impossible to quantify what caleb's actions have cost our family or what they will continue to cost us in the years ahead but for my part i will embrace the responsibility of helping raise elissa and abo i want to show them what a loving honest and faithful father looks like and what a god-centered servant-hearted marriage can be that is a commitment that i intend to live out every day the responsibility i care most about now is how i can love and raise these girls in a faith-filled home i cannot undo what caleb has done i cannot take away their grief or give them back the moments they should have had with ashley but i can be there for them day after day and show them father's love through my actions i've always been taught that how we respond to life is what matters the most and here i am now more than ready to respond with open arms i've always loved being a dad of girls helping raise these girls alissa and ava is a responsibility i never expected and one i certainly don't take lightly caleb's decision created permanent loss that has created permanent consequences for our entire family ashley's daughters and countless others therefore for the safety of my family and the community around us i respectfully ask the court to give caleb a home in prison for a sentence that reflects the full extent of the law this will reassure us that he will never be able to enter any of our lives again i'd honor to read one of the girls statements and before i start i'd just like to say they they certainly have their mother's gift of writing and this is straight from their heart totally unedited and this is avis dear daddy i don't even know where to start how could you do such a thing i looked up to you i loved you with all my heart and then you lied to everyone mommy was the perfect person the absolute perfect person what did she ever do to make you hate her so much she loved you and she cared for you she took care of you she loved you with all her heart she was my best friend and then you chose to kill the only mother i ever had i miss her so much so so so much you have no idea how could you cheat on her and go to that awful girl named alia i never liked her she was just a girl who put on a microphone to her mouth and spoke words with the tune mommy may not have been a professional singer but she had the voice of an angel and she was an angel she has been she is and she always will be and plus daddy affairs are a big sin but there is still a chance there's a choice for everything in life all you have to do is tell god that you're sorry and that you want to confess and repent to him i promise you don't want to take away your punishment but you will have a life in heaven someday i cry and cry every day and my heart breaks to see the people i love hurt i've seen images pictures and videos of you everywhere on youtube my heart aches to see you hurt but then i think it was your choice it was your choice to have an affair it was your choice to go off with that dirty girl it was your choice to leave the perfect woman ashley it was your choice to lie to everyone it was your choice to leave your only two daughters it was your choice to hide everything from everyone and it was your choice to kill the only mother i've ever had unfortunately that was a choice that cannot be erased even though i really wish it could and look you and aliyah sinned big time but you still have a chance to tell god that you are sorry i pray every night for you and aliyah to confess to jesus that you sinned and this is my prayer every night dear jesus thank you for dying on the cross for us and for our many blessings jesus i pray that you would help daddy and aliyah to repent to you and confess that they sinned please help them to realize what they've done to stop lying and to tell the truth to you in jesus name amen i promise you daddy that is every single night please tell jesus that you're sorry and as i said before it's not going to change your punishment but it will determine your eternal reward someday remember there's still a chance there's a choice for everything i hope you will bring jesus back into your heart love ava [00:15:52] Speaker 3: okay okay i'm reading on behalf of elissa dear caleb this is your daughter elissa i love you deeply with all my heart and it's sad that you can't love anyone but yourself i wish that you could come to understand that actions have consequences and you have a lot to pay so please you have already caused so much pain to your family and the world the least you could do is tell everyone you did it and receive your outcome also please repent to god the one who created you your time isn't over did you really even think about how much pain you would bring your own two daughters by the way ashley flynn was the best thing that ever happened to you you had the best life ever and you decided to throw it away for a girl who was half your age how could you stand in that church and sing about how much you love god when you knew all the secrets you had inside and watch your girls cheering you on and your wife who believed in you so much and loved you more than life itself you truly don't understand how much you hurt my life and i wish you could feel the pain i have been through something so tragic and to know that with my father was just shocking you made me feel like an idiot thinking that i could trust you but god has been working through me and i have changed also our family has never been stronger and through all of what you put me through god is gonna work something out for good and by the way i don't plan on coming to see you alissa flynn [00:18:22] Speaker 4: your honor jill and i are standing here today to speak on behalf of our entire family but more importantly we are here to speak for our incredible daughter ashley since she cannot there are no words to measure the depth of the hurt the betrayal pain and trauma that has been caused by the murder of our daughter ashley the mother of our two precious granddaughters alissa and ava ashley had a profound impact on everyone she met and brought so much light to our family our friends our church and our community since her passing we have received hundreds and hundreds of cards and messages sharing the beautiful ways that she touched their lives to have ash's life which was so vibrant and full of love cut short by such a senseless unimaginable selfish act has radically changed our lives forever we truly miss and cry for her every single day okay god cannot be mocked a man reaps what he sows actually loved jesus more than anything in the whole wide world and she is now reaping what she sowed and living with him now and we cannot wait to be with her again someday jesus tells us that if we want to be forgiven of our sins we must forgive others their sins and i want you to know that jill myself and our whole entire family that's here and everywhere we forgive you for taking ashley's life and also for what you have done to all of us we will not let anger or bitterness consume the wonderful memory of ash your honor when we while we choose forgiveness for our our own hearts we still desire absolute justice for ashley because of the violent nature of her murder compounded by a lack of responsibility confessional remorse we as a family ask you to sentence him to the fullest extent of the law he took our daughter a sister a granddaughter an aunt a cousin a teacher a coach a friend and a loving mother and the consequences should match the lifelong impact of this loss thank you your honor for your consideration and for allowing us to honor ashley's memory [00:21:09] Speaker 2: thank you