Among the ethical principles of yoga is Ahimsa, or non-violence. To achieve Ahimsa, a yogi needs to live in a way that does not cause physical, mental or emotional harm to others. On May 11, 2022, yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong failed to adhere to the Ahimsa tenet.
That evening, based on crime scene evidence and witness testimony that sealed her murder conviction a year later, Armstrong shot and killed pro cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson inside a home in Austin, Texas. Armstrong flew into a jealous rage over her then-boyfriend, another pro cyclist named Colin Strickland, having a secret amorous friendship with Wilson, homicide detectives and prosecutors alleged.
“She couldn’t get over the fact that Colin and Moriah were still in contact with each other,” Austin Police Detective Richard Spitler, who led the murder investigation, tells A&E True Crime. “It was shocking the amount of evidence we were able to get on Kaitlin.”
Jessica Freud, Armstrong’s lawyer, declined an interview for this story.
A Stormy Love Triangle
Armstrong and Strickland began dating in 2019, but the couple had a brief breakup in 2021, according to an arrest warrant. During their split, Strickland dated Wilson, whom he met on the racing circuit. A few months later, he reconciled with Armstrong, who at the time knew he had been seeing Wilson, Strickland told investigators.
The yoga instructor had called Wilson to warn her to stop seeing Strickland. She also blocked Wilson’s phone number on Strickland’s phone, which she had access to. Strickland changed Wilson’s name in his phone’s address book and deleted texts he exchanged with her so Armstrong wouldn’t find out.
Strickland continued his clandestine friendship with Wilson even as his relationship with Armstrong got more serious. The couple moved in together, bought an investment property together in an Austin suburb and formed a business restoring campers, Outside Magazine reported.
Armstrong managed Strickland’s racing finances and had access to his phone and computer passwords. He also bought Armstrong a semiautomatic pistol in 2022 so she could protect herself.
While Strickland told investigators he and Wilson had stopped being intimate, another friend said the pair continued their romantic relations. Wilson also appeared confused about what type of relationship Strickland wanted. In a text message before they saw each other the day she died, Wilson texted Strickland that she wanted to talk about where they stood because “my mind has been going in circles and I don’t know what to think.”
Friends of both Wilson and Strickland told investigators that the pair would act as a couple, holding hands and hugging each other in a more than platonic way, Spitler tells A&E True Crime.
“Even looking at Moriah’s phone, she was constantly questioning the status of their relationship,” Spitler says. “She was also unsure that he only wanted to be friends.”
Armstrong’s SUV Spotted at Murder Scene
On May 10, 2022, Wilson traveled to Austin to compete in a bicycle race in a nearby town, staying at a friend’s home. The following day, hours before she was murdered, Wilson and Strickland went swimming at a public pool and had dinner. Strickland did not tell Armstrong he was going out with Wilson and ignored his girlfriend’s attempts to reach him. Around 8:30 p.m., when he dropped Wilson off at her friend’s home, Strickland sent a text to Armstrong claiming “my phone died.”
Roughly 45 minutes later, a neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the sound of Wilson screaming followed by three gunshots. Wilson was shot twice in the head and once in the chest. Police recovered multiple bullet casings at the crime scene.
Within 24 hours, homicide investigators had the first piece of evidence linking Armstrong to Wilson’s murder. Footage from another neighbor’s security cameras captured Armstrong’s SUV coming to a stop directly next to the residence of Wilson’s friend about a minute after Strickland had left, the arrest warrant states.
Police also confiscated two guns, including the firearm Strickland gave Armstrong, during a search of their home. When investigators brought Armstrong in for an interview, she allegedly couldn’t explain why her SUV was at the crime scene, Spitler says. Since she was not a suspect at the time, Armstrong was allowed to leave.
“There was no emotion at all,” Spitler says. “We are telling her that her car is at the scene of this murder and she just nods her head. She doesn’t even try to deny it.”
Armstrong Captured in Costa Rica
On May 17, 2022, Austin Police obtained an arrest warrant for Armstrong after a ballistics test determined the bullet casings found at the crime scene likely came from the same gun Strickland had gifted her. But Armstrong had already gone on the lam.
Four days earlier, she sold her SUV for $12,200, flew to Newark, New Jersey and hopped on another flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, using her sister’s passport, according to media reports.
Almost a month later, on June 29, 2022, U.S. Marshals’ deputies apprehended Armstrong at a hostel, and she was extradited to Austin. In addition to cutting and dying her hair, Armstrong paid roughly $6,000 for a nose job. When she was caught, Armstrong was wearing a bandage on her nose that she claimed was from a surfing injury.
On October 11, 2023, about a month before her trial, Armstrong attempted to escape corrections officers when she was transported to a medical facility for a doctor’s appointment. She was quickly apprehended and hit with an additional felony charge of escape with causing bodily injury.
Armstrong’s absconding to Costa Rica and her foiled prison break likely helped bolster the prosecution against her, according to Austin-based criminal defense lawyer John Teakill, who was not involved in the case but familiar with it.
“She took off and changed her appearance,” Teakill tells A&E True Crime. “When you flee, that is considered evidence of guilt, which is why I think it was allowed in her trial.”
Armstrong’s Trial and Conviction
In addition to the surveillance footage of her SUV at the crime scene and the alleged murder weapon, prosecutors also relied on digital evidence and testimony from two of Armstrong’s friends that the yoga instructor said she wanted to kill Wilson.
For instance, prosecutors claimed Armstrong used the fitness app Strava on her cellphone to track Wilson’s whereabouts.
“She had downloaded and saved photos of Moriah on her phone,” Spitler says. “Based on the GPS data from Strava, she was able to see exactly where Moriah was staying by viewing her bike rides. She was stalking Moriah hours before the murder.”
On November 16, 2023, a jury found Armstrong guilty of murder and sentenced her to 90 years in state prison. A month later, her attorneys filed motions for a new trial and a notice of appeal.
Teakill believes Armstrong’s motions are a longshot.
“It was a pretty good circumstantial evidence case,” Teakill says. “When you put it all together, it’s pretty damning. Her defense team was in a difficult position to explain away the facts.”
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