Devastating pain: Courageous sister exposes the FINAL CRUEL ACT that brother-in-law Caleb Flynn inflicted on Ashley Flynn’s entire family and their two daughters: “Our family prayed for him to confess and take responsibility for his actions, but he didn’t. Until the very end, he dealt a DEVASTATING BLOW to our entire family. Ava and Alyssa’s future has truly been ruined because of a selfish father!”
Ashley’s sister Kayla’s letter to Caleb Flynn:
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 Tipp City, the LifeWise 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 Alyssa and Ava today, but we cannot 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 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 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 mommy 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 problem 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 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 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 Alyssa 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 have forgiven both you and Alleigha. Not because what happened 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’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. 
