Texas pro cyclist murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong returned to court again Monday in a pretrial hearing, with a defense expert taking the stand days after two homicide detectives were grilled in court.
Armstrong is accused of shooting gravel cycling star Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, who investigators allege was a perceived romantic rival who had gone on a date with Armstrong’s live-in boyfriend, Colin Strickland, another professional rider.
The 34-year-old former yoga instructor’s defense is asking the court to throw out evidence that her attorney says was collected unconstitutionally.
After a snafu over an unrelated warrant Austin police had used to take Armstrong into custody shortly after the slaying, she was not read her Miranda rights. And despite asking to leave multiple times after she had been told she could, and asking for an attorney, police continued questioning her.
Moriah “Mo” Wilson, left, and Kaitlin Armstrong.
(The Wilson family/ U.S. Marshal Service)
The interview was later cited by detectives in the affidavit seeking a warrant for her arrest on murder charges, which the defense is also challenging as misleading and insufficient.
Testifying during Monday’s pretrial hearing was former Plano Police Lt. Douglas Deaton, an expert witness for the defense who previously signed an affidavit condemning the warrant.
Kaitlin Armstrong, left, pictured during an interrogation with Austin Police Department Detective Katy Conner in May.
(Austin Police)
In court, he called the affidavit “borderline character assassination,” according to FOX 7 Austin, and argued that it showed the detectives’ inexperience.
Armstrong is due back in court on Nov. 9.
FUGITIVE KAITLIN ARMSTRONG: TIMELINE OF AUSTIN MURDER SUSPECT’S DISAPPEARANCE AND CAPTURE
She was arrested on a Costa Rican beach following a 43-day manhunt in the wake of Wilson’s murder. She had allegedly dyed her hair and assumed a new identity.
Wilson’s friend found her slumped over in a pool of blood in the bathroom of the Austin apartment days before the gravel cycling star was expected to compete in a race in Hico. She had “multiple gunshot wounds.”
Earlier that evening, Wilson had gone swimming with Strickland at the Deep Eddy Pool and then to the Pool Burger, a bar and restaurant across the street. Strickland drove Wilson back to her friend’s place on his motorcycle and had misled Armstrong about his whereabouts throughout the evening, according to the affidavit.
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Court filings show Strickland, Armstrong’s boyfriend, repeatedly told detectives he did not believe she would have shot Wilson, and that he did not think she was the jealous or violent type.
