Elite Cyclist’s Murder Trial Begins: Jealousy, Unlawful Flight, and Plastic Surgery Add to Drama

In a courtroom in Austin, Texas, the opening arguments of a highly charged case unfolded Wednesday: the murder trial of Kaitlin Armstrong, accused of fatally shooting Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, an elite 25-year-old cyclist, in May 2022. The prosecution proposes that a twisted thread of romantic jealousy underpinned the brutal killing.

Armstrong has maintained her innocence to the charge of first-degree murder committed against Wilson. “The last thing Mo did on Earth was scream in terror,” stated Prosecutor Rickey Jones chillingly. He painted a distressing picture, describing two gunshots – one each to the head and index finger of the young athlete. “You won’t hear any more screams after that,” he told the jury. These harrowing sounds, he elaborated, were captured in surveillance audio.

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Geoffrey Puryear, Armstrong’s defense attorney, countered by depicting the defendant as a “woman trapped in a nightmare of circumstantial evidence.” He pointed out that the copious security cameras in the vicinity of the crime scene did not capture Armstrong’s image.

After Wilson’s demise, Armstrong departed for Costa Rica, disappearing for over 40 days. This led to an additional charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution against Armstrong. During her time in Costa Rica, she underwent plastic surgery prior to her arrest and subsequent extradition back to the United States to stand trial in July 2022.

Armstrong’s legal woes racked up with an alleged attempt to escape custody during a medical appointment a few weeks after the opening statement of the trial leading to an additional felony charge of escape causing bodily harm.

It was mere days before the Gravel Locos bike race, an event Wilson was due to compete in, when she was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Earlier that day, Wilson had spent time with Colin Strickland, Armstrong’s boyfriend and a fellow professional cyclist.

An unsettling piece of evidence indicated that Armstrong had been tracking Wilson’s movements through an outdoor athletic app called “Strava”. Though Armstrong’s phone was off during the murder, her Jeep was seen passing the residence where Wilson was staying, and GPS data illustrated it circling the area at the approximate time of the shooting.

Armstrong’s escalating flight from the law included selling her Jeep in the days after the murder and her eventual departure to Costa Rica using her sister’s passport. Her digital breadcrumbs continued as she researched her own warrant status, spent heavily on plastic surgery, and documented her stay at a Costa Rican hostel leading to her arrest.

Further trouble ensued in October 2022 when Armstrong attempted to free herself during transit from a medical appointment, leading to a heated foot chase that caused injury to two corrections officers.

Wilson was a talented athlete hailing from Vermont, championing ski slopes before making a name for herself in the gruelling discipline of gravel racing, a hybrid of road cycling and mountain biking that has gained competitive popularity in recent years. On the day of her tragic murder, a VeloNews spread celebrated her as “the winningest woman in the American off-road scene.”

“Moriah was a talented, kind, and caring young woman. Her life was taken from her before she had the opportunity to achieve everything she dreamed of,” her family mournfully expressed in a statement. As this tragedy continues to play out in court, the loss felt in the sporting world and by Wilson’s loved ones is profound.