Kaitlin Armstrong found guilty of murdering gravel racer Mo Wilson

Kaitlin Armstrong was been found guilty of murdering gravel racer Moriah “Mo” Wilson by a jury in Austin, Texas, in what the US media dubbed a ‘love triangle’ killing. Armstrong was in a relationship with top gravel racer Colin Strickland and was motivated to murder Wilson because she had dated Strickland and remained friends with him.

During the trial the jury was told Armstrong, who went on the run after the murder, had stalked Wilson online in the weeks before the killing, checking her location on Strava multiple times to see where she was traveling for training and racing.

It appears Strickland and Armstrong were on a break in their relationship in autumn 2021 when Strickland was briefly romantically involved with Wilson. Strickland said after he got back together with Armstrong he did not continue his other romance with Wilson.

On Tuesday, May 10th, 2022, Wilson flew from San Francisco to Austin ahead of a race in the region the following Saturday. Wilson met Strickland for a swim in a local pool on Wednesday, May 11th. Strickland dropped her off that evening at the apartment she was staying in and it is now alleged Armstrong called to the property later that night and shot Wilson dead.

Police put Armstrong under surveillance after the murder and arrested her on an unrelated warrant on May 13th, two days after the murder that shocked US cycling.

However, when it emerged the warrant was not valid, Armstrong was told she was free to go. A video recorded by CCTV at Austin Airport showed she flew out around midday the next day, May 14th, to New York LaGuardia airport via Houston.

Armstrong fled the country using her sister’s passport to fly Costa Rica, where she hid out for a mater of weeks, also getting cosmetic surgery in a bid to change her looks and disguise herself. However, she was arrested in Costa Rica and extradited back to the US after being on the run for 43 days.

Wilson, a 25-year-old from Vermont, was a very strong MTB and gravel racer. She had left her job working for Specialized to focus on her racing career. In 2021 she was runner-up in the Leadville 100 marathon MTB race before winning the Big Sugar Gravel.

Wilson appeared to have developed significantly last year, taking a string of victories. These included Huffmaster Hopper, Lake Sonoma MTB, Sea Otter Classic Fuego MTB 80K and the Belgian Waffle Ride California.

Strickland (36), a former Red Bull-sponsored pro gravel rider and former top criterium and cyclocross racer, told the police after going for a swim with Wilson he dropped her off at the apartment she was staying in at about 8.30pm and then drove to his home nearby, arriving at about 8.45pm.

He also told the police that his partner, Armstrong, was not at home when he arrived but she returned to the property at about 9.20pm in her black Jeep.