Flynn, 40, was found guilty last week of murdering Ashley, 37, after prosecutors argued that he shot her while she slept and staged their Tipp City home to make it appear that an intruder had broken in through the garage.
Flynn had claimed he was asleep when he heard gunshots before finding his wife dead in their bedroom, with the garage door open. Their two daughters, who were aged nine and 11 at the time, were also in the house.
The jury rejected his account and convicted him on eight additional charges, including aggravated murder and tampering with evidence.
Evidence presented during the trial included police body-camera footage, activity recorded on Flynn’s iPhone and Apple Watch, as well as messages exchanged with his former mistress, Alleigha Botner.
Botner, whom Flynn met while she was an intern at his church, read some of their messages in court. In one message, Flynn allegedly said he had been thinking of ways to kill his wife without going to prison. In another, he wrote that he wanted her “dead and gone.”
During Monday’s sentencing, letters from Flynn’s daughters were read in court. One questioned how he could kill their mother, while the other urged him to admit what he had done and said she would never visit him in prison.
Flynn sobbed as the letters were read. He later apologised for unspecified “decisions” but continued to deny killing Ashley.
Judge Jeannine Pratt described Flynn as an “extreme” risk to the public before imposing the life sentence.
His lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, said he plans to appeal the conviction.
Flynn briefly appeared on ‘American Idol’ in 2013, where he spoke about his love for Ashley.
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