Caleb—who competed on season 12 of American Idol in 2013—continued to maintain his innocence during his sentencing, telling the court, “I have unfortunately lied about a lot of things over the last couple of years, but as I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying. I did not kill my wife.”
He added, “I will continue to fight for my innocence as long as the Lord allows me to.”
Shortly after Caleb’s sentencing, his attorney Patrick Mulligan said in a statement to E! News that they “will file a Notice of Appeal once the sentencing entry is filed.”
“This will begin a long process with the goal of overturning his convictions,” he continued. “Since the case was tried and the judge was required to make numerous decisions, his appellate team will have arguments to put forward.”
Caleb was arrested on Feb. 19, just three days after he’d called 911 claiming that someone had broken into his home and shot his wife.
A key piece of evidence prosecutors presented was his affair with a 24-year-old woman from his church, including an August 2025 message he wrote to her saying, “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
While he never denied cheating on his wife, Caleb and his attorneys maintained that he did not kill her.
