Yoga instructor found guilty of murder in fatal shooting of romantic rival
The family of Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson embraced each other in tears on Thursday after a jury found Texas yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of the murder of their loved one.
The jury reached a guilty verdict after deliberating for under three hours, leaving Armstrong’s family in a state of shock. The emotional outcome comes after Wilson was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at a friend’s home in Austin on the night of May 11, 2022. Wilson, a 25-year-old cycling prodigy, was once romantically linked to Armstrong’s then-boyfriend, fellow professional cyclist Colin Strickland, and was shot hours after meeting up with him, according to police.
Armstrong, 35, was arrested in June 2022 in Costa Rica following a 43-day search, and has been detained since on a $3.5 million bond. She had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Wilson’s death.
The sentencing phase of the trial is currently underway in an Austin courtroom, where the court has heard statements from witnesses, including Wilson’s mother, father, brother, and a friend who found Wilson bleeding on the floor of her home.
More than 40 witnesses were called over the two-week trial, with Travis County prosecutor Rick Jones telling the jurors during closing statements that there was “overwhelming” evidence pointing to Armstrong as the one who fatally shot Wilson. Jones presented evidence showing Armstrong’s vehicle circling the residence’s block the night of the homicide, as well as her DNA likely being found on Wilson’s bicycle.
The defense argued that Armstrong was “trapped in a nightmare of circumstantial evidence,” and refuted the state’s DNA and ballistics evidence, claiming that police had narrowed in on Armstrong to fit an easy narrative of a “spurned, jealous lover.”
Prosecutors replayed audio of the moment Wilson was fatally shot and footage showing Armstrong attempting to flee from deputies in the weeks leading up to the trial.
Armstrong declined to testify during the trial, while Strickland took to the stand and testified about his and Armstrong’s on-again, off-again “tumultuous” relationship.
The Wilson family and friends are still coming to terms with the loss of Mo, with her mother describing the moment she found out about her daughter’s death as “the worst moment of my life.”
The sentencing phase continues and is expected to conclude with the defense presenting further witnesses.
ABC News’ Olivia Osteen, Meghan Mariani, Keturah Gray and Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.