Kaitlin Marie Armstrong is seen in a driver’s license photo, left, and on video surveillance footage, right (images via U.S. Marshals Service).
The woman suspected of killing a professional cyclist over a romantic entanglement with her boyfriend is believed to have traveled from Texas to New York in the days after the alleged murder.
Federal law enforcement officials say Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, shot and killed Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, 25, in Austin on May 11. As Law&Crime previously reported, Armstrong is believed to have shot Wilson over her alleged romantic relationship with Armstrong’s boyfriend Colin Strickland.
The U.S. Marshals Service says that Armstrong apparently fled Texas in the days after the shooting, traveling through Houston and ending up in New York.
Investigators believe that Armstrong was at the Austin International Bergstrom Airport on May 14 at approximately 12:30 p.m., the Marshals Service said in a press release Wednesday. She is believed to have traveled on Southwest Airlines twice, first from Austin to Houston and then getting a connecting flight to New York LaGuardia Airport.
“Armstrong is white, stands 5 feet 8 inches and weighs approximately 125 pounds,” the press release said. “She has light brown long, curly hair and hazel eyes and was last seen on surveillance video wearing a blue denim jacket, black shirt with a pink design on the chest, white jeans, black and white tennis shoes, a black COVID mask, and a possible yoga mat carrier on her shoulders.”
Wilson was a professional cyclist originally from Vermont. She had traveled to Texas to ride in the Gravel Locos race, where she was considered a favorite. She had arrived in Texas just one day before her death.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Wilson was found dead on May 11 around 10:00 p.m. at the East Austin home of her friend Caitlin Cash, where Wilson was staying. Cash had come home to find Wilson in the bathroom, covered in blood; she called 911 and was performing CPR when first responders arrived. Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Strickland, who is also a professional cyclist, he and Armstrong were separated when he and Wilson had a brief relationship in October. However, a friend of Wilson’s who spoke to police said that their relationship was more “on again, off again,” and text messages between Wilson and Strickland included in the affidavit indicated that they did indeed have a romantic relationship while he and Armstrong were together.
Statements included in the affidavit from the friend, who was only identified in the affidavit by the pseudonym “Jane,” indicated that Armstrong had contacted Wilson several times after discovering her phone number, so much so that Wilson eventually blocked Armstrong’s number. Armstrong had started following Wilson on Instagram in recent months.
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“‘Jane’ advised the last time Armstrong called Wilson, she told Wilson she was with Strickland and Wilson needed to stay away from him,” the affidavit said.
On May 14, the affidavit says, an anonymous caller contacted Austin Police to provide more information about that call.
According to the affidavit:
The caller refused to be identified but advised she was with Armstrong in January 2022. The caller advised Armstrong had just discovered Strickland was having a romantic relationship with Wilson even though Armstrong and Wilson were still dating. The caller advised Armstrong became furious and was shaking in anger. Armstrong told the caller Armstrong was so angry Armstrong wanted to kill Wilson. Armstrong then proceeded to tell the caller Armstrong had either recently purchased a firearm or was going to.
Strickland told police during his interview that he had bought a firearm for Armstrong around this time.
On the night Wilson was killed, she and Strickland had gone swimming. Strickland dropped Wilson off at Cash’s house shortly before 8:30 p.m. He then reportedly texted Armstrong that he was on his way home, but he did not tell her he was with Wilson, saying instead that his phone had died while he was visiting a different friend.
Police spoke with Armstrong on May 12. During this conversation she denied knowing whether Strickland and Wilson had been together recently. Police said that when confronted with surveillance video showing her car at Cash’s residence, Armstrong did not have an explanation.
Read the affidavit, below.
[Images via U.S. Marshals Service.]
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