A 35-year-old woman has been found guilty of murdering her love rival in a jealous rage.
Kaitlin Armstrong was convicted of shooting dead Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, 25, after the professional cyclist went swimming and had a meal and rum drinks with her boyfriend earlier that evening.
Armstrong used fitness app Strava to track Wilson down to an apartment in Austin, Texas – where she shot her twice in the head and once in the heart before fleeing the scene.
At the time of the murder in May 2022, the killer was in a relationship with another professional cyclist, Colin Strickland.
The pair had been together for about three years before a period of separation – during which Strickland had a brief relationship with Wilson.
Armstrong and Strickland then got back together, but she remained jealous of her rival and had called Wilson warning her to “stay away”.
Two of Armstrong’s friends said she told them she wanted to, or could, kill Wilson, jurors were told.
Victim Anna ‘Mo’ Wilson was a rising cycling star. Pic: AP
Wilson had been visiting Texas for a cycling race and was among the favourites to win. She had been staying with a friend when she was killed.
Following the murder, police managed to briefly interview Armstrong. But she then sold her Jeep and fled to Costa Rica using her sister’s passport.
Once abroad, she spent more than $6,000 (£4,850) having surgery to change the appearance of her nose, as well as changing the colour and style of her hair.
But she was eventually arrested at a beachside hostel after 43 days on the run.
Armstrong made a second attempt to evade justice when she tried to escape authorities during a medical appointment outside jail last month. She faces a separate felony escape charge.
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Jurors deliberated for about two hours after two weeks of testimony before delivering their verdict on Thursday.
Earlier, Wilson’s friend Caitlin Cash had told the court she discovered her body and tried to perform CPR.
She told jurors she had texted Wilson’s mother earlier that day with a message: “Your girl is in safe hands here in Austin.”
“I felt a lot of guilt not being able to protect her,” Ms Cash said. “I fought for her with everything I had.”
A mugshot of Armstrong that was previously released by police. Pic: AP
Wilson’s mother, Karen Wilson, also told the court: “From the day she was born, she had a force in her.
“She lived as if every day was her last day. And she lived it so fully. She never wasted any time… It’s as if she knew her life would be short.”
Armstrong, a yoga teacher, did not testify on her own behalf during the trial, which heard her Jeep was seen near the apartment at the time of Wilson’s murder.
Bullet casings found near Wilson’s body also matched a gun Armstrong owned.
She denied murder and her lawyers claimed she was the victim of a “nightmare” of circumstantial evidence.
Armstrong faces up to 99 years in prison.
The jury in the case has begun deliberating on what her sentence will be and are set to return to court later on Friday.