Botner said she didn’t know he was married at first, in part because he did not wear a wedding ring.
Testimony resumed on Wednesday in the Caleb Flynn murder trial.
Taking the stand, Flynn's former mistress, Alleigha Botner, 24, revealed details about their nearly two-year relationship and who she thinks killed Ashley Flynn.
"Why did it change from love to hate?" Prosecutors asked. "Because I believe that he killed his wife," said Botner.
Botner walked into the courtroom without looking at Flynn.
Botner is named for having an affair with Flynn. Botner said she didn’t know he was married at first, in part because he did not wear a wedding ring.
“It just started, little things, and then it grew like cancer, and I found myself in a place I never thought it would be. So I never morally justified it. I just did it," said Botner.
Botner testified that she first met Flynn in the summer of 2022 when she was 21, and he was 36 or 37.
Botner said their relationship changed from professional to personal in March 2024, then became sexual around May 2024. She testified the relationship lasted about a year and a half. She said they called it quits in December 2025.
Botner said she took a trip to Clearwater, Florida in January 2026 as a solo getaway trip to spend time alone with her dog after Caleb and Botner had ended things.
Botner said she dropped the cellphone while kayaking on the Florida trip, and that she accidentally left her laptop on a plane.
"I do these things a lot. Anyone who knows me knows that I lose things," she said.
Botner testified Flynn told her Ashley had cheated on him, that he viewed Ashley as a “roommate,” and that he stayed married because of his daughters.
In other testimony, Botner testified that Flynn expressed negative feelings about Ashley just about every day, including saying he hated her and wanted her dead, using derogatory names for Ashley in their messages. Botner also said all the same things about Ashley.
"He said that she wasn't worthy of being called her first name. So he said that we're going to refer to her as 'douchebag,'" Botner said.
Botner said other words referred to Ashley were b****, w****, s***, and spawn of Satan.
Prosecutors said two days before Ashley was killed, Flynn messaged Botner saying, “I’m finally free of Ashley.” Botner testified she believed Flynn murdered his wife.
Flynn said he was going to get a divorce on February 16.
“It seemed like too much of a coincidence that the day he’s divorcing her, she’s just dead all of a sudden,” Botner said.
Botner admitted she initially lied to the FBI because she feared reputational damage and losing her job. She said she became more truthful after agents told her they had found messages on Ashley’s phone.
The prosecution let Botner read text messages from various app platforms, and lyrics from a song Botner said Flynn wrote for her.
Prosecutors claim there were 107,000 messages exchanged between Botner and Flynn.
Botner was still testifying when court ended Wednesday; she returns Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
