A woman has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for the May 2022 shooting death of rising professional cyclist Anna "Mo" Wilson. This case led investigators on a 43-day international search for the killer.
The jury deliberated for just over three hours before reaching a verdict for the defendant, Kaitlin Armstrong. According to investigators, Armstrong tracked Wilson to the apartment where she was staying and shot her three times. The jury took only two hours to convict her on Thursday.
Prosecutors argued that Armstrong, 35, gunned down the 25-year-old Wilson in a jealous rage. Wilson had briefly dated Armstrong's boyfriend several months earlier and had spent the day of her death swimming and having a meal with him.
Armstrong's defense attorneys had requested the jury to consider a sentence that would offer the possibility of parole, rather than life imprisonment.
Anna "Mo" Wilson, a Vermont native and former alpine skier at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, was a rising star in pro gravel and mountain bike racing. She was visiting Austin, Texas ahead of a race and was considered one of the favorites to win.
A fitness app was used by Armstrong to track Wilson to the apartment where she was staying. Armstrong then proceeded to shoot Wilson three times, twice in the head and once through the heart, according to investigators.
During the punishment phase of the trial, Wilson's mother, Karen Wilson, expressed her grief and stated, "I would have done anything to stand in the way of that bullet. She did not deserve a death like that."
Wilson's mother also shared that since the day Anna Wilson was born, she had a strong presence. Wilson lived her life to the fullest and never wasted any time, as if she knew her life would be short.
During the trial, Armstrong chose not to testify on her own behalf.
A friend of Wilson, Caitlin Cash, testified that she had texted Wilson's mother on the day of the incident, assuring her that Wilson was safe. Cash expressed her guilt for not being able to protect Wilson and stated, "I fought for her with everything I had."
Armstrong's younger sister, Christine, also spoke to the jurors and emphasized that her older sister is not a bad person.
"She's such a remarkable individual," Christine Armstrong expressed, while gazing at Kaitlin Armstrong. "I've always admired you... She's consistently shown compassion for others."
Armstrong's Jeep was spotted near the apartment at the time of Wilson's shooting, and bullet shells discovered near Wilson's body matched a firearm owned by Armstrong. Following a brief encounter with the police, Armstrong sold her vehicle and utilized her sister's passport to embark on a journey to Costa Rica.
While in Costa Rica, she spent over $6,000 on a rhinoplasty and altered the color and style of her hair in an attempt to elude authorities. However, investigators managed to apprehend her at a beachfront hostel.
Armstrong made another attempt to flee from law enforcement during a medical appointment outside of prison on October 11th. Consequently, she now faces an additional felony charge for escape.
