When Anna Moriah Wilson’s pal arrived dwelling to her Austin residence late on Might 11 to search out Wilson mendacity on the bottom unconscious and coated in blood, it left the biking world in shock.
The 25-year-old Vermont native, recognized to her buddies as Mo, had solely arrived in Texas the day earlier than to compete within the Gravel Locos that weekend, a 150-mile gravel bike race she was favored to win.
She had stop her job simply weeks earlier to compete full-time, in accordance with VeloNews, who described her in a profile as “the winningest lady within the American off-road scene.”
Wilson had been shot a number of instances contained in the residence in what Austin police later described as a focused murder.
In a surprising replace on Friday, police charged yoga trainer and fellow bike owner Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, with first-degree homicide, KVUE reported. Armstrong was in a relationship with a person who had additionally been concerned with Wilson, investigators stated in an arrest affidavit obtained by The Boston Globe.
In keeping with the affidavit, the pal who hosted Wilson at her East Austin residence instructed police she left dwelling at round 5:30 p.m. on Might 11 and later received a textual content from Wilson who stated she was assembly a male pal for a swim.
Investigators say Armstrong had been relationship the person, however Wilson was additionally romantically concerned with him previously when he and Armstrong have been separated. The person recognized himself on Friday as Colin Strickland, one other champion gravel bike owner who rides for Purple Bull and in addition runs a enterprise with Armstrong renovating tractor trailers.
Simply earlier than 6 p.m., Wilson arrived again on the residence and used a key code to enter. The code was accessed once more at 8:36 p.m. and a neighbor’s safety digital camera captured an SUV pulling as much as the residence at the moment, the affidavit notes.
Police allege the SUV was owned by Armstrong, who lives with Strickland. It prompted police to go looking Armstrong’s South Austin dwelling this week nevertheless it’s not clear what, if any, proof was collected.
In an interview with police, Strickland claimed he dropped Wilson again on the pal’s residence at round 8:30 p.m. after going for a swim. He admitted that he and Armstrong preserve 9mm handguns of their dwelling. He has not been charged with any offenses.
In a statement to local media on Friday, Strickland stated he and Wilson have been in a one-week relationship in late 2021 when Wilson was visiting Austin. They have been each newly single, he stated, however a couple of month after Wilson left Austin he received again along with Armstrong. He stated he usually noticed Wilson at aggressive occasions, and so they generally skilled collectively.
“[W]e weren’t in a romantic relationship, solely a platonic {and professional} one,” he stated. “It was not my intention to pursue alongside an auxiliary romantic relationship that will mislead anybody.”
He stated he felt “remorse and torture” about his proximity to the “horrible crime.”
Armstrong labored within the Austin workplace of actual property company Kuper Realty, the corporate wrote in a December 2021 weblog publish and Fb publish that has since been deleted.
The publish described her as a “tenacious agent” and “avid bike owner” who additionally teaches yoga and co-founded Wheelhouse Cell, the classic trailer renovation firm. Wheelhouse’s web site says she based the corporate in 2021 along with her companion, Strickland, who’s a Purple Bull athlete.
Kuper Realty, Wheelhouse Cell and Strickland didn’t instantly reply to emails and cellphone calls requesting remark. It was not clear if Armstrong had but retained a lawyer.
In an announcement launched shortly after her dying, Wilson’s household known as her dying “unfathomable.”
“[A]t the identical time we would like everybody to hitch us in celebrating her life, accomplishments, and love for others,” they wrote. “At all times pushing tirelessly to succeed in her objectives, we knew she was pursuing that which she liked. We’ll miss her terribly and know that every one mourn her with us.”
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