Family members of murdered professional cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson have sued the woman convicted of killing her for wrongful death.
Wilson’s parents, Karen and Eric, are seeking “monetary relief (of) over $1,000,000.00, including damages of any kind, penalties, costs, expenses, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest,” according to the lawsuit obtained by CBS News.
“The worst day in the lives of Plaintiffs Karen and Eric Wilson and their son Matt Wilson was May 12, 2022,” the lawsuit says. “That is the day they learned that Defendant Kaitlin Marie Armstrong shot and killed their only daughter, Anna Moriah Wilson, affectionally known as ‘Mo.’”
Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 35, was found guilty in November 2023 of fatally shooting Wilson. The jury took less than two hours to come to their verdict, People Magazine reported. She was sentenced to 90 years in prison.
Armstrong killed Wilson because the professional cyclist had briefly dated Armstrong’s on-again-off-again boyfriend while the two were on a break. Armstrong’s ex-boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland, testified at the trial about Armstrong’s jealousy and their “tumultuous” relationship.
Strickland said that he had once loved Armstrong but wasn’t sure about a long-term relationship with her, which caused tension. The couple lived together even though they took breaks in their relationship, ABC News reported. During these breaks, Strickland said, Armstrong would confront him if she found out he was talking to other women.
In October 2021, Strickland met Wilson at a cycling race in Bentonville, Arkansas. He testified that he and Armstrong broke up shortly after the race.
Strickland began dating Wilson when she was in Austin for a race. He then learned that Armstrong had confronted the other woman about the relationship, which Strickland said was “strange and unnerving” since he didn’t remember telling Armstrong about Wilson. When Wilson left Austin for another race, she and Strickland stopped dating but remained friends.
Strickland and Armstrong got back together by December 2021. During this time, he would text with Wilson on a “professional” basis – discussing gear, races, and sponsorship opportunities, he said. But to “avoid conflict” with Armstrong, Strickland testified that he deleted his messages with Wilson and changed her name in his phone to “Christine Wall.”
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On May 11, 2022, Strickland met with Wilson, who was in Austin again for a race. The two went swimming, ate burgers, and drank beer before he dropped her off at a friend’s house. He didn’t tell Armstrong about his day with Wilson but knew Armstrong had access to his Apple account and was able to view his messages with her.
The next day, police arrived at Strickland’s home to tell him Wilson had been murdered. He was brought in for questioning, but police soon turned their attention to Armstrong.
Police quickly honed in on Armstrong and brought her in for questioning. Days later, on May 14, Armstrong flew from Austin, where Wilson was killed, to Houston, and then from Houston to LaGuardia Airport in New York. From there, she traveled to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and then flew to San Jose, Costa Rica. A homicide warrant for Armstrong’s arrest was issued on May 18, the day she flew to Costa Rica. On May 25, a federal warrant charged her with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Armstrong was found at a hostel in Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas, the Boston Globe reported.
