(NewsNation) — The trial of a woman alleged to have murdered a professional cyclist before attempting to flee the country has captured attention with witnesses testifying to an alleged love triangle between the victim, the defendant and her on-again-off-again boyfriend.
Kaitlin Armstrong is facing first-degree murder charges in the death of professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson. The two women were allegedly both involved with Colin Strickland at various points in time, with prosecutors suggesting Armstrong’s jealousy over Wilson’s involvement with Strickland led to Wilson’s death.
The case captured the nation’s attention when police embarked on a manhunt for Armstrong, who was eventually founding Costa Rica and extradited to Texas, where she attempted to escape from custody before the trial was set to begin.
May 11, 2022: Woman found dead
Police in Austin, Texas, responded to a call to a local home, where they found an unconscious woman with a gunshot wound to the head. The woman, at the time unidentified, died at the scene.
May 12, 2022: Kaitlin Armstrong questioned
Police questioned Armstrong about the murder because her jeep was seen in the area.
May 13, 2022: Armstrong sells her car
One day after being questioned, Armstrong sold her car to a Carmax dealer in South Austin for $12,200.
May 14, 2022: Mo Wilson identified
The woman found dead is identified as Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, a professional cyclist. She was in Texas to compete in a local race.
May 14, 2022: Armstrong flies to New York
Armstrong flew to New York City, according to U.S. Marshals. Surveillance video showed her wearing a denim jacket at the airport.
May 17, 2022: Arrest warrant issued
Police issued a warrant for Armstrong’s arrest. According to an affidavit with the warrant, Wilson went swimming with professional cyclist Colin Strickland hours before her death.
According to the document, Armstrong and Strickland were dating at the time, though Strickland told police they were on a break. During that time, he met and began dating Wilson.
Strickland and Armstrong were living with each other at the time, and police said he had lied to her about what he was doing on the day Wilson was killed.
According to the documents, Strickland’s car was seen dropping Wilson off at the home before Armstrong’s car pulled up one minute later.
May 20, 2022: Search for Armstrong begins
U.S. Marshals begin to search for Armstrong.
May 21, 2022: Wilson’s family speaks
Wilson’s family issued a statement saying that as far as they were aware, the cyclist wasn’t dating anyone when she died.
Investigators found messages on Wilson’s phone that indicated she “still believed she was in a romantic relationship with Strickland” despite Strickland still dating Armstrong.
June 23, 2022: Armstrong’s Jeep found
Law enforcement located Armstrong’s black jeep, which she sold the day after Wilson’s murder.
June 30, 2022: Armstrong arrested in Costa Rica
After a 43-day long manhunt, authorities arrested Armstrong at a hostel in Santa Teresa Beach, Costa Rica. U.S. Marshals said Armstrong was at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, on May 18, where no flights were booked in her name.
Marshals said she used a fraudulent passport to fly to Costa Rica and changed her appearance by dying her hair dark brown. She also had bandages on her nose and bruises under eyes from what was reported to be a surfing accident.
Armstrong was taken back to the U.S. for booking in Texas.
July 12, 2022: Search warrant issued for email account
Police obtained a warrant for an email account allegedly belonging to Armstrong they believed she used as she was fleeing Austin.
Court documents said Armstrong bought a new phone and prepaid debit card at Walmart after her original phone was taken when her home was searched.
July 20, 2022: Armstrong pleads not guilty
In court for the first time, Armstrong pleaded not guilty and her attorneys asked for a speedy trial.
Aug. 19, 2022: Armstrong attorneys accuse police of violating her rights
Documents filed by Armstrong’s defense team asked the court to throw out evidence on the grounds she wasn’t questioned properly. The documents claim Austin Police interrogated her with an “illegal arrest warrant” and failed to inform her of her Miranda rights.
Aug. 26, 2022: Search warrant issued for Armstrong’s belongings
Court documents said that a search of Armstrong’s belongings revealed she had her sister’s passport and a boarding pass from Newark, New Jersey to Costa Rica in her sister’s name. Police also found medical cards and paperwork, including a bill for more than $6,000 of plastic surgery in a medical center in Costa Rica.
Oct. 19 and Oct. 24, 2022: Pretrial hearing
During pre-trial proceedings, Armstrong’s attorneys filed a motion alleging the lead detective on the case had left out critical information when filing the initial arrest warrant.
Oct. 11, 2023: Armstrong’s escape attempt
Armstrong ran from corrections officers while leaving a medical building, leading them on a 10-minute chase. She was restrained and returned to custody.
Oct. 12, 2023: Armstrong charged with additional felony
Armstrong is charged with a second-degree charge for escape causing bodily injury. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said one officer was injured while trying to catch Armstrong.
Oct. 30, 2023: Trial begins
Jury selection begins in Armstrong’s trial.
Nov. 1, 2023: Opening statements
Prosecutors suggested jealousy motivated Armstrong to kill Wilson, using cell phone records to show Armstrong had read texts between Strickland and Wilson and that Armstrong was monitoring Wilson’s movements using an app. Prosecutors also laid out viYoudeo surveillance and ballistic evidence they claim links Armstrong to Wilson’s death.
Prosecutors also repeatedly voiced objections to the defense team’s opening statement, saying attorneys were beginning arguments rather than preventing a roadmap of evidence. Armstrong’s lawyers pointed out there were no witnesses and no video evidence showed Armstrong at the scene. Her lawyers also characterized her trip to Costa Rica as normal travel and not an effort to flee the country.
“Armstrong is passionate about traveling and passionate about yoga. She was known to travel at the drop of a hat, at a moment’s notice,” defense attorney Geoffrey Puryear said.
Nov. 2, 2023: Testimony from police, medical examiner
Investigators testified to the techniques used in the investigation. Crime scene experts took the stand to go over how evidence was collected and an officer testified to the medical examiner’s findings, which showed Wilson was shot once in the chest and twice in the head and face.
Prosecutors also played video evidence from a surveillance camera on three neighbor’s houses, which showed a black SUV prosecutors said belonged to Armstrong driving slowly through the neighborhood. About 30 minutes later, screams are heard on one video, followed by gunshots.
The defense team asked the neighbor whose cameras recorded the sound if he had ever seen Armstrong before. He said he had not.
Nov. 3, 2023: Colin Strickland testifies
Strickland took the stand to testify regarding his relationship with Armstrong, which he characterized as “tumultuous” and said he was unsure if he saw a future between the two of them. On the stand, he described becoming involved with Wilson after he and Armstrong broke up, and that Armstrong had confronted Wilson about it despite the two women having never met before.
Strickland said when he and Armstrong got back together, she would confront him over communication he had with other women. Strickland’s testimony continued Nov. 6, when the defense asked him if he knew Armstrong well.
“No, I do not,” he said.
Nov. 8, 2023 Motion for mistrial denied
The judge denied a motion for a mistrial from the defense. Armstrong’s attorneys claimed the prosecution failed to turn over key evidence.
Nov. 13, 2023: Phone evidence testimony
Investigators testified about evidence obtained from cell phone records. Prosecutors say Armstrong was looking at pictures of Wilson on her phone and had blocked female contacts on Strickland’s phone. Wilson, whose contact Strickland had saved under a fake name, was not blocked.
Prosecutors also submitted evidence that Armstrong bought ammunition and had practiced firing a gun prior to Wilson’s death. Two of Armstrong’s friends also said Armstrong said she wanted to kill Wilson.
Nov. 16, 2023: Armstrong found guilty
Jurors, after deliberating for only a couple hours, found Armstrong guilty of murder in Wilson’s killing.
Nov.17,2023:Sentenced to 90 years
Armstrong was sentenced to 90 years in prison, and given a $10,000 fine by the jury.