Kaitlin Armstrong, a yoga teacher and real estate agent from Austin, Texas, is currently on trial for the shooting and killing of elite cyclist, Mo Wilson. On May 11, 2022, one of Wilson’s friends found her fatally shot on the bathroom floor a couple of days before her big race.
CBS News reported that Armstrong, the accused killer, was dating another pro racer, Colin Strickland, at the time of the incident. Strickland reportedly went swimming with Wilson earlier on that same day she was murdered. Prosecutors allege that the suspect’s actions were fueled by romantic jealousy.
Armstrong faces a first-degree murder charge and up to 99 years in prison if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty in the same.
Case against Kaitlin Armstrong, explained
The murder trial of Kaitlin Armstrong, the accused in pro-cyclist Mo Wilson’s death, started on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Prosecutors alleged that she murdered Wilson in May 2022 out of romantic jealousy. The deceased reportedly went swimming at a local public pool with another elite cyclist, Colin Strickland, Armstrong’s then-boyfriend. Moreover, Strickland confirmed that he and the victim had briefly dated from late October to early November 2021. The two remained friendly afterward.
According to CNN, at the time of the incident, Wilson, 25, was staying at a friend’s house days before the Gravel Locos bike race. The friend, Caitlin Cash, found her dead with multiple gunshot wounds on May 11, 2022. The pro-cyclist reportedly died of gunshot wounds to the chest and the head.
The outlet reported that Armstrong searched for information about Wilson prior to the shooting and also searched for the latter on an app called Strava. Athletes often use the app in question to track one’s location through GPS.
Strickland told police that he and the 25-year-old went swimming, and he dropped her home at around 8:00 p.m. that day. Surveillance video showed the suspect’s Jeep pass the same house where Wilson had been staying three minutes later. Moreover, GPS data proved that her Jeep circled the block several times around the time the shooting occurred.
Kaitlin Armstrong even sold the Jeep at a CarMax within days after Wilson’s killing and even fled to Costa Rica using her sister’s passport. The alleged killer then spent over $6,000 on plastic surgery, per the CNN report. Police arrested her on June 22 of that same year. She even attempted to escape custody on October 11 this year.
Reportedly, Armstrong pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge that the State of Texas brought against her. Her murder trial continues, and very recently, the court heard the testimony from her former boyfriend, Strickland.
