'American Idol' Star Caleb Flynn Texted Mistress He Was 'Thinking of Ways to Kill' His Wife Before He Was Accused of Her Murder

Prosecutors have laid out a trail of alarming text messages they say Caleb Flynn sent to his mistress in the year before his wife's death. The 40-year-old is accused of killing spouse Ashley Flynn.

"I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail," the American Idol alum allegedly wrote to his mistress.

Prosecutor Paul Watkins read the message aloud during opening statements on Friday, September 18, in the murder trial.

Investigators said they uncovered more than 100,000 messages between Caleb and his mistress over the course of a year.

The night before Ashley was killed, Caleb allegedly sent one more message. "I choose you. I'm free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I'll never forget," he wrote.

Paul told the jury the pattern in the messages was unmistakable. "Caleb stating he hated Ashley, wanted her gone, wanted her dead, wanted to be free of her and wanted a future with his mistress instead," he expressed. "Those words tell you what this case is about: Motive, intent, and the truth behind the lies Caleb told."

Caleb called 911 the morning of his wife's death. He claimed an intruder had snuck inside their house and targeted Ashley. Throughout the ordeal, the couple's two young daughters remained asleep inside the residence.

"Somebody broke into my home and shot my wife," he told the dispatcher, according to the call obtained by Oxygen.com. "My wife, she's got two shots to her head. There's blood everywhere."

Paul offered a starker account in court. "She was executed," he told the jury, describing Ashley as shot twice in the middle of the night.

Investigators say no evidence supported the intruder claim. A 9mm handgun normally kept in Caleb's truck was missing.

Defense attorney Emily Smith conceded that Caleb had an affair but argued that alone doesn't prove murder.

She told the jury the investigation had been rushed and grew biased against Caleb once detectives learned of the affair.

Caleb has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and witness intimidation.

At his arraignment, he told the judge, "I just want to take care of my daughters. I'm not a risk."

Caleb appeared on season 12 of American Idol in 2013, where he described himself as a "music pastor." He was eliminated in the Hollywood rounds.

Caleb went on to build a reputation in his community as a church leader in the years that followed.