Shivangi Sinha
The murder of Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson became a high-profile case that garnered national attention due to Wilson’s achievements as a cyclist, earning numerous accolades. The police swiftly identified Kaitlin Armstrong as her killer, but Armstrong managed to evade capture, leading to a tense cat-and-mouse chase with law enforcement. After several days, Armstrong was eventually apprehended. The details of this nail-biting pursuit are extensively explored in ’20/20: Three Shots in the Dark,’ shedding light on the efforts to catch the elusive killer.
Who is Kaitlin Armstrong?
Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Kaitlin Armstrong completed her high school education at Stevenson High School in Livonia. An athletic individual, she excelled in volleyball and track and field during her school years. After attending community college, Armstrong graduated from Eastern Michigan University. By 2022, she had relocated to Texas, obtaining a real estate license and working as a yoga teacher. Armstrong had been in an intermittent relationship with Colin Strickland, characterized by periods of being off-again and on-again but they were living together.
In 2021, during a period of separation from Kaitlin, Colin dated a girl named Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson. On May 11, 2022, Wilson arrived in Austin, Texas, for a 157-mile Gravel Locos bicycle race. Colin and Wilson spent time together, going for a swim at the Deep Eddy swimming pool, having lunch, and sharing a few drinks. Colin dropped Wilson off at her friend’s house, where she was staying. Before their date, Kaitlin had checked Wilson’s location on the Strava fitness app at around 4:45 p.m., just a few minutes before Colin picked Wilson up.
Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., Kaitlin began circling the neighborhood where Wilson was staying in her 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Around 8:37 p.m., the electronic lock on Wilson’s house registered her entry. Once inside, Kaitlin shot Wilson three times in the bathroom before fleeing. At approximately 9:45 p.m., another friend of Wilson returned home, discovering her lifeless body, prompting a hysterical call to the police. Law enforcement swiftly arrived, reviewing CCTV footage that identified Kaitlin’s Jeep and traced it back to the address where Kaitlin and Colin were residing.
On May 12, following a search warrant, the police discovered a 9mm handgun at Kaitlin’s residence, matching the shell casings from the bullets fired at Wilson. However, lacking sufficient evidence for a murder charge, the police arrested her on a misdemeanor theft charge stemming from a 2018 incident where Kaitlin received Botox injections and left the clinic without payment. Due to a misspelling of her name in the complaint, she evaded the arrest. On May 13, Kaitlin sold her Jeep for $12,000, and by May 14, she had flown to Houston and then to New York, where her sister resided.
On May 18, Kaitlin purchased a plane ticket using her sister’s name and fled the country, making her way to Costa Rica. By May 20, the U.S. Marshals declared her “wanted,” initiating a search to apprehend her. In the interim, Kaitlin settled in Costa Rica using an alias, traveling to San Jose for a $6000 plastic surgery procedure. She resided in Don John’s in the beach town of Santa Teresa, often engaging in laptop work, socializing at the restaurant bar, and presenting herself as a yoga teacher named “Ari”. By June 2023, the U.S. Marshals had arrived in Santa Teresa, conducting interviews, and on July 2, they successfully located her at Don John’s after considerable effort. Despite her bandaged nose, dyed hair, and swollen lips from surgery, identification was made, leading to her arrest.
Kaitlin Armstrong is in Prison Today
Kaitlin Armstrong was formally charged with the murder of Anna Moriah Wilson on July 21, 2022, during her arraignment, where she entered a plea of not guilty. On October 11, 2023, while Kaitlin was in police custody, she was being transported to a hospital facility for a doctor’s appointment, and it was during this trip that she attempted to escape once more. The corrections officer engaged in a foot chase with her for about a mile, ultimately apprehending her as she tried to scale a six-foot-high fence. The trial proceedings commenced on October 30, 2023, and on November 16 of the same year, she was pronounced guilty of the first-degree murder charge.
Kaitlin Armstrong received a prison sentence of 90 years, with parole eligibility after 30 years. Presently 36 years old, she is serving her sentence at the Lucile Plane State Jail. If she maintains eligibility, Kaitlin could be considered for parole in 2052.
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