The Texas woman accused of fleeing the country and getting a nose job after allegedly gunning down a professional cyclist turned romantic rival in Austin last year stalked her using a GPS fitness app and shot her through the heart, prosecutors said in opening statements Wednesday.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 37, is on trial for the murder of Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, a 25-year-old star on the gravel cycling scene who had gone out swimming and to dinner with the suspect’s boyfriend, fellow pro Colin Strickland, just before her shooting death.
Caitlin Cash, Wilson’s friend with whom she was staying while visiting the Texas city for a race, called 911 after she came home and found the carnage on May 11, 2022, according to courtroom testimony.
TEXAS ‘LOVE TRIANGLE’ MURDER SUSPECT KAITLIN ARMSTRONG’S SHORT-LIVED ESCAPE ATTEMPT CAUGHT ON VIDEO
Kaitlin Armstrong listens to opening statements during the first day of her trial at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Police found Wilson slumped over in a puddle of blood in Cash’s apartment bathroom, according to prosecutors.
Cash, in tearful testimony, told the court she first thought that her friend was lying down to cool off – but knew something was wrong when she got closer and saw the blood.
Kaitlin Armstrong stood over Mo Wilson and put a third shot right in Mo Wilson’s heart.
She had been shot multiple times – including once in the forehead, once in the temple, and once through the heart, Travis County Assistant District Attorney Rickey Jones told the jury in an opening statement captured by FOX 7 Austin.
Travis County prosecutor Rickey Jones delivers the opening statements during the first day of Kaitlin Armstrong’s trial at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
“The last thing Mo did on this earth was scream in terror,” Jones said to jurors. “You will hear those screams.”
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A nearby security camera picked up the sound of Wilson’s terrified cries followed by two gunshots, Jones said, accentuating the allegation by clapping his hands and shouting, “Pow! Pow!”
Anna Moriah ‘Mo’ Wilson smiles after a gravel cycling race. (The Wilson Family)
“After 45 seconds of silence, Kaitlin Armstrong stood over Mo Wilson and put a third shot right in Mo Wilson’s heart,” he said.
Wilson, a college skiing star, had picked up gravel racing several years ago, Jones told the jury. She quickly found success – growing into “one of the best in the world” at the sport, and was visiting Texas for a race at the time of her death.
Meteor X Giordana’s Colin Strickland holds his arm up in victory as he crosses the Men Pro 1-2 in first with a time of 4:16;03 Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, at the Hotter’N Hell Hundred race finish at 310 Texas 79. (Lauren Roberts/Times Record News)
That’s how she met Colin Strickland, another pro cyclist and Armstrong’s live-in, on-and-off boyfriend, according to Jones.
Armstrong had access to Strickland’s iPhone text messages through his iPad and Mac laptop, according to investigators, and also allegedly stalked Wilson’s whereabouts through Strava, a GPS-linked fitness app for cyclists and runners. On May 2, according to Jones, she even logged into his Gmail and Instagram accounts on her own phone.
Colin Strickland seen outside his Austin, Texas, home on June 17, 2022. (MEGA)
Although Strickland told investigators after the murder that he didn’t believe Armstrong was jealous or violent, Jones said in court that he’d changed Wilson’s name in his phone to “Christine Walsh.”
Austin police questioned Armstrong in connection with the shooting the next day – then let her go on an unrelated warrant due to a clerical error.
Defense attorney Geoffrey Puryear gives opening statements during the first day of Kaitlin Armstrong’s trial at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
On May 13, Armstrong sold her Jeep – the suspect vehicle – at an Austin CarMax and took a rideshare to the airport, where she flew to New York, according to prosecutors. There, she met her sister, obtained her passport, and left for New Jersey, where she caught a flight from Newark to Costa Rica and eluded authorities for weeks.
After a 43-day manhunt, Costa Rican police arrested her on an immigration violation and sent her back to the U.S. Marshals to face a murder charge.
Jones also confirmed in court widespread rumors that she’d undergone plastic surgery while on the run.
“She spent $6,425 to change her appearance,” he told the jury. “You’ll also see before and after photos in those medical records.”
Caitlin Cash, right, is embraced during the first day of trial for State of Texas v. Kaitlin Armstrong at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of pro-cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson. Armstrong has pleaded not guilty to murder. Cash, a friend of Wilson, found her body after her murder. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Last month, with the trial date looming, she allegedly feigned an injury and tried to run away from Texas jail guards. She picked her cuffs, ditched her striped jail pants and made it about a mile before they recaptured her, according to an incident report obtained by Fox News Digital.
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One of Armstrong’s defense attorneys, Geoffrey Puryear, in his own opening statement skewered the detectives on the case and said the prosecution had no hard evidence linking her to the crime. He also tried to cast doubts on two key pieces of evidence – DNA and ballistics linking his client to the crime scene, as “inaccurate, unreliable and unscientific.”
“They were so desperate to keep Kaitlin Armstrong in their crosshairs that they had tunnel vision, and they jumped to conclusions,” he said.
Kaitlin Armstrong, left, pictured during an interrogation with Austin Police Department Detective Katy Conner on May 12, 2022. She was released without being charged. By the time police obtained an arrest warrant on May 17, Armstrong had left the state. (Austin Police)
An angry Jones interrupted his remarks repeatedly, accusing him of making arguments during his opening statement, which isn’t allowed – objections that the judge sustained.
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Armstrong, wearing a dark suit and her hair down, pleaded not guilty before the judge Wednesday. The trial is expected to take about two weeks.
Wilson and Strickland allegedly had a brief fling in the past. On the night of the murder, they went swimming together at a public pool in Austin and then to dinner across the street.
