Viswa Vanapalli
In May 2022, Anna Moriah Wilson’s promising future as a gravel cyclist came to a harrowing end when she was murdered in Austin, Texas. The authorities then uncovered what seemed like a love triangle and believed jealousy led to her being killed. NBC News’ ‘Dateline: The Last Ride’ chronicles what led to Anna’s death and how the police arrested the woman accused of being responsible. So, let’s find out more then, shall we?
How Did Anna Moriah Wilson Die?
Anna Moriah Wilson was born in May 1996 in Littleton, New Hampshire. She was quite close to her parents, Eric and Karen Wilson, and brother, Matthew. She went to Dartmouth College in the same state and graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. The 25-year-old was a nationally ranked junior alpine skier and grew up cycling in Vermont. After college, Anna moved to California. She quit her full-time job to pursue cycling and did well in gravel races. The high-level cyclist had already won about ten races in 2022, including a 137-mile race in the month prior to the incident.
In May 2022, Anna traveled to Texas to participate in a 157-mile gravel race on the 14th of that month. The 25-year-old had been living in Austin with a friend at the time. But sometime around 10 pm on May 11, the friend came home to make a horrific discovery. Anna was found lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood. She had been shot at least three times with a 9mm firearm. While two hit Anna in the head, the third one to the chest was caused after she was already on the floor.
Who Killed Anna Moriah Wilson?
In order to understand why Anna was shot and by whom, the police looked into what happened leading up to the incident and what she had been doing. On the afternoon of May 11, 2022, Anna went swimming with a man named Colin Strickland, a fellow cyclist. The two then had dinner before he dropped her home at around 8:36 pm. The police then learned that Anna and Colin had a brief relationship in late 2021. However, Colin told the police that the relationship had since turned purely platonic because he had gotten back together with his long-term girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong.
The authorities later learned through anonymous tipsters that Kaitlin was not happy about Colin’s relationship with Anna. According to the tipsters, Kaitlin had asked Anna to stay away from her boyfriend and, at one point, even said she wanted to kill Anna. Surveillance video from the area on May 11, 2022, showed a car matching Kaitlin’s vehicle description pulling up to the house where Anna was living. This was just a minute after Colin dropped Anna back home.
About a day after the body was discovered, Anna was arrested on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant but was let go because her date of birth information didn’t match. During the interview with the police, Kaitlin couldn’t explain why her car could have been around Anna’s house around the time of the murder. According to the authorities, Kaitlin also appeared angry at the mention of Anna’s name. She then asked to end the interview and was allowed to leave. A search of the house Kaitlin shared with Colin revealed two handguns, and one of them was considered to be the murder weapon.
However, by the time the authorities had a murder warrant for Kaitlin’s arrest, she was in the wind. The investigation revealed that Kaitlin sold her car and flew from Austin to Houston, Texas. From there, she flew to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Then, the authorities learned that she had been seen at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on May 18, 2022. Finally, using a fake passport, Kaitlin flew out of Newark and ended up in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The US Marshals’ search for Kaitlin went on for almost six weeks before they tracked her down to a hostel in San Jose. She was arrested and deported back to the country and had been awaiting trial to face the murder charge against her. It was also reported that Kaitlin tried to hide her true identity and changed her appearance. The case continues to garner interest as Kaitlin’s upcoming trial will likely be delayed.
Read More: Where is Kaitlin Armstrong Now?
