Murder Trial Set to Begin for Texas Yoga Instructor Accused of Killing Rival in Alleged Love Triangle

A murder trial is set to begin in Austin Monday to determine whether Kaitlin Armstrong, a yoga instructor and realtor, is guilty of fatally shooting pro cyclist Moriah "Mo" Wilson who'd just been dropped off at a friend's house by Armstrong's boyfriend after they had dinner together.

It was 8:36 p.m. on May 11, 2022, when Wilson walked inside a garage apartment on Austin’s Eastside after having a late-afternoon swim and a meal with Colin Strickland, another professional cyclist whom she briefly dated months earlier while he was on a break from his relationship with Armstrong.

Strickland would later say he and fellow cyclist Wilson were just "close friends" whose relationship was "professional and platonic," CNN reported at the time.

Despite his claims, investigators said a search of Wilson's phone uncovered text messages that appeared to indicate that Wilson thought she "was still in a romantic relationship with Strickland even though he was currently dating Armstrong," KXAN reported.

Wilson, 25 years-old and a world class cyclist, was visiting Austin before riding in a 155-mile gravel race in Hico, Texas.

On the night she was killed, Wilson and Strickland met up to swim and eat at a burger spot without telling Armstrong.

One minute after Wilson walked inside, a black Jeep Cherokee equipped with a bike rack rolled up to the address, according to surveillance footage obtained by police and described in court documents obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.

At 9:56 p.m., Austin Police responded to a 911 call at the residence and discovered Wilson’s lifeless body face up on the bathroom floor. She was shot twice in the head and once in the chest. After performing CPR, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The following day, police went to Strickland’s address and saw a similar vehicle in the driveway. Their attention turned to Armstrong. They questioned her but then released her due to a clerical error.

By the time police obtained an arrest warrant and looked for Armstrong, she had disappeared.

Armstrong evaded arrest for 43 days. Officials eventually learned that she left the U.S. via New York — allegedly with a fake passport — on a flight to Costa Rica.

U.S. Marshals sent to track her down went door-to-door and found Armstrong in a town called Santa Theresa Beach, where they said she tried to hide her identity and blend in with the local yoga community.

By the time she was detained, Armstrong had been living in a hostel. She had also changed her appearance, cutting her long hair to shoulder-length and dying it brown.

Her face — specifically her nose — also appeared different, and she had bruising under her eyes, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla.

Armstrong told the Marshals, he added, that she'd been in a surfing accident.

But investigators found medical cards and paperwork, including a receipt for $6,360 for plastic surgery for “Alisson Paige” on June 23 at a medical center in Costa Rica, according to court documents obtained by KXAN.

Armstrong was arrested by U.S. Marshals on June 29, 2022. She was charged with a single count of murder in connection with Wilson's death.

By early July, she was back in Austin and booked into Travis County Jail on a $3.5 million bond.

Armstrong entered a plea of not guilty, and her attorneys are expected to defend her innocence when the trial gets underway on Monday.

Earlier this month, Travis County Sheriff's deputies alleged Armstrong — who'd been behind bars at the Travis County Jail since 2022 — fled from custody while she was escorted to a doctor's appointment for an injury she claimed to have.

She'd planned her escape for months, according to an arrest affidavit, which noted how she had been "exercising vigorously" prior to requesting the off-site appointment and an exemption for the use of leg restraints.

Armstrong was quickly apprehended about a block away and later charged with one count of escape and causing bodily injury.

She will attend a separate hearing for the charge next month.