The Texas yoga teacher charged with killing a pro cyclist last year before fleeing to Costa Rica was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury on Thursday.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, was accused of gunning down 25-year-old Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, a rising star in the world of off-road bike racing, out of jealousy because she suspected Wilson was romantically involved with her boyfriend, champion cyclist Colin Strickland, 35.
The jury deliberated for just over two hours before reaching a verdict.
Wilson was shot three times in a friend’s apartment, in Austin, Texas, where she was staying for an upcoming gravel bike race, at about 9:15 p.m. on May 11. Strickland had dropped her off about 45 minutes earlier, after the two had gone swimming and had dinner at a local restaurant.
Within a day of Wilson’s killing on May 11, 2022, police zeroed in on Armstrong as a suspect. Two of Armstong’s friends, Nicole Mertz and Jacqueline Chasteen, separately called police after Wilson’s killing, advising them to look into Armstrong. Both testified that they had had previous conversations in which Armstrong, shaking with anger, said she wanted to kill Wilson.
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Armstrong then sold her Jeep, flew to New York City and, on May 18 — a day after authorities issued a warrant for her arrest on a first-degree murder charge — used her sister’s passport to fly to Costa Rica. She eluded capture for 43 days, settling in a small beach town, using an alias, dyeing her hair and getting plastic surgery to change her appearance, according to receipts, emails and other records seen by the jury.
While she was a fugitive, prosecutors said, internet searches found on her iCloud account included, “Can pineapples burn fingerprints?” “Moriah Wilson murder,” her own name, and questions about rhinoplasty, or nose jobs.
Federal marshals arrested Armstrong on June 29 at a hostel where she had been staying.
Armstrong faces a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison for the murder.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
