Sister of Ashley Flynn said family boarded up their home following killing

Kayla Keyt, Ashley Flynn’s sister, said she and her husband bought wooden boards to bar the doors and windows of their home in the days following Ashley’s killing on February 16.

Keyt was one of several Flynn family members who testified on Tuesday, September 22, in Caleb Flynn’s murder trial in Miami County Common Pleas Court. She said the days after her sister’s death were marked by severe grief and panic after she was told that an intruder possibly broke into her sister’s home and killed her.

“If someone is targeting Ashley, maybe they are targeting me, or the Smith sisters,” Kayla said. “It didn’t make sense. Matthew went to Menards and got boards to bar over the doors. We barred our front door, our garage door, and our sunroom door. Our girls slept in our room in our bed. Matthew locked our bedroom door and barred it shut, and the windows.

“I couldn’t sleep. Every moment we woke up. Our neighbors were so kind. They had a team of people circling our cul-de-sac to protect us. A neighbor called for a sheriff’s deputy because of how afraid we were.”

Caleb has been charged with murder and aggravated murder in his wife’s death. He’s also facing several related charges, including felonious assault, tampering with evidence, and intimidating a witness, victim, or attorney.

Family Members Testify

Jill Smith, Keyt and Ashley’s mom, said she arrived at the house after the shooting to get the couple’s two daughters, who had been sleeping in their bedroom at the time of the shooting. Smith described the girls as extremely groggy. She took them home where Caleb arrived later and told them their mother had been killed.

Todd Smith, Ashley’s father, testified he was in Quebec, Canada, on a snowmobile trip. Shortly after arriving, he took a call from his wife that his daughter had been murdered. They immediately returned home. Smith said he had called his wife back, thinking he may have dreamed the conversation. He said he employed Caleb at his company, which built furniture for churches.

“It was the longest ride of my life,” Smith said. “I called Jill 100 times. She started to tell me the story. All I could think about was that nothing in that story made sense to me. Why would somebody break in, get into the truck, and walk in and shoot my daughter and run out?

Smith Google searched, “Can a Christian man snap and kill his wife?” during the ride home. He said he spoke with Caleb on the phone. Caleb told him he was sorry. They didn’t discuss Ashley’s death.

Matthew Keyt, Ashley’s brother-in-law, also testified. He said he had known Caleb since they attended Lee University in Tennessee, where they both met Ashley and Kayla.