(NewsNation) — Colin Strickland was on the stand for a second day Monday in the murder trial of Kaitlin Armstrong, Strickland’s ex-girlfriend, who is accused of shooting to death Moriah “Mo” Wilson.
How will Strickland’s testimony impact the trial?
High-profile defense attorney Mark Geragos says seemingly conflicting answers and out-of-court behavior may play a role.
“There are jurors who are going to take a look at this guy and say, ‘This is their best witness? How am I supposed to believe anything this guy says?'” Geragos said Monday on “CUOMO.”
Armstrong allegedly had been jealous of Wilson’s relationship with Strickland. Text exchanges between Strickland and Wilson on the day she died, where the two talked about getting together to go swimming and get food, were shown to the court.
Strickland said that he chose not to respond to texts he’d been receiving from Armstrong that night.
“You know Kaitlin Armstrong very well, don’t you?” the defense asked him.
“No, I do not,” Strickland answered.
Strickland also had testy exchanges with two photographers, one during a recess and one after the day. He swatting away a camera inside the courthouse, and later stepped on a camera person’s foot outside the courthouse.
Geragos suggested whispers of the encounter may make their way inside the deliberation room.
“If you think jurors don’t hear about that or don’t know about that, you haven’t ever tried a case,” Geragos said. “They know about it, everything that’s going on in that courthouse.”
During court Friday, Strickland said he and Wilson became romantic while he and Armstrong had been broken up. Eventually, though, Strickland and Armstrong reconciled. Strickland has previously testified that the two began to live together in January 2021, and that Armstrong did not move out, even when they had separated.
“So, he looks like a cheater, he lost his sponsorship deals, he is partly responsible for Mo’s death,” Florida state prosecutor Dave Aronberg said. “I don’t think his actions, though, will affect Kaitlin’s ultimate culpability.”
NewsNation correspondent Alex Caprariello contributed to this report.