Mo Wilson murder suspect still at large
Mo Wilson murder suspect still at large
The murder suspect in the fatal shooting of gravel racer Mo Wilson is still at large, U.S. Marshals have confirmed.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, in connection with the shooting of the 25-year-old on May 11 in a home in Austin, Texas. The charge is murder in the 1st degree.
Armstrong has not been seen since May 13, two days after the shooting, having been taken into custody since the murder on an unspecified misdemeanour warrant that was not valid. Therefore, Armstong was free to leave.
This is according to a police affidavit, which details the events of the night the murder took place.
Armstrong is the partner of fellow gravel racer Colin Strickland, who the police affidavit details as being with Wilson the evening before the night she was killed.
They visited the Deep Eddy Municipal Pool in Austin together around 5:30 pm, according to Caitlin Cash, a professional racer with whom Wilson had been staying.
That evening, after Wilson had left for the pool, Cash went out to eat with friends and returned to find the door of the house was unlocked. Cash found Wilson lying in the bathroom unconscious and covered in blood.
According to a security app on Cash’s phone, Wilson entered the electronic code to get back inside the house at 8:36 pm. Surveillance video from a neighbouring house shows a black SUV with a rear-mounted bicycle rack arriving at the Cash residence at 8:37 pm.
Strickland, in his voluntary interview with police, says he sent a text message at 8:36 pm to Armstrong making up an excuse that he had been dropping some flowers at a friend’s house to cover up the fact he had been with Wilson. Strickland confirmed he had been in a relationship with Armstrong for three years, apart from a two-week break in October 2021 when Strickland struck up a romantic relationship with Wilson before getting back together with Armstrong.
After the pool trip on the night of the murder, Strickland says he drove Wilson home on his motorcycle and after dropping her off left promptly. He says he did not see anyone else near the property.
Strickland returned to his home around 8:43 pm and began working on his bikes in preparation for an upcoming race. Around 9:30 pm Armstrong arrived home. Strickland also told police he had purchased two handguns between December 2021 and January 2022, one for himself and one for Armstrong.
Armstrong’s firearm was recovered from Strickland’s residence and forensic investigation suggests “significant potential” the same firearm was used in the murder.
Stickland has not been implicated in the crime and is not saught by law enforcement. Specialized, one of Strickland’s sponsors, confirmed to CyclingTips that it had terminated its contract with him and that he would no longer be a sponsored athlete for the brand.
On May 14, an anonymous caller contacted Austin Police Department, claiming she had been with Armstrong in January 2022 when Armstrong had just discovered Strickland was still in a romantic relationship with Wilson. According to the caller, Armstrong told her she was so angry she wanted to kill Wilson.
In Texas, a first-degree murder felony can be a capital offence, punishable by the death penalty.
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