The yoga teacher found guilty of murder.

Following an international manhunt lasting more than 40 days and a failed attempt to flee custody, a yoga instructor has been found guilty for the murder of a young woman she shot to death in a premeditated jealous rage.

Kaitlin Armstrong, 36, shot dead Anne Moriah Wilson, a 25-year-old professional cyclist who was visiting from San Francisco for a gravel racing competition. Wilson was shot three times in the head and chest at a friend's home in Austin, and died from her injuries. 

Why did she do it? 

Police believe Armstrong was motivated by jealousy, identifying her as a suspect within days of Wilson's murder. 

Armstrong's boyfriend, Colin Strickland - also a professional cyclist - had briefly dated the victim, and the pair had reportedly spent time together on the evening leading up to her murder. 

Strickland was considered the biggest star in American gravel racing - a hybrid of mountain biking and street racing - and met Wilson at a four-day event in 2021. 

At the time, Strickland and Armstrong's three-year relationship had ended, though they were still living together. Strickland and Wilson’s romance only lasted about a week, Strickland said in a statement, before he and Armstrong reconciled. 

Strickland's statement said he and Wilson’s relationship became professional and platonic following his reunion with Armstrong. 

"Moriah and I were both leaders in this lonely, niche sport of cycling," he wrote, "and I admired her greatly and considered her a close friend."

After spending the evening together, Strickland dropped Wilson off at a friend's place, who later returned home to find her bleeding and unconscious on the bathroom floor. Wilson was pronounced dead minutes later, devastating the cycling community. 

Mo Wilson. Image: Instagram @mo__wilson.

According to the arrest warrant, a car matching the description of Armstrong's Jeep was seen on a nearby security camera driving past the location of the murder one minute before Wilson arrived. 

A few days later, friends reported Armstrong had been stalking Wilson, calling her constantly and demanding she stay away from Strickland. Another friend claimed she'd been with Armstrong when she discovered her boyfriend's relationship with Wilson. Armstrong reportedly said she wanted to kill Wilson. 

Police documents show Strickland told police he'd bought two guns - one for himself and one for Armstrong - for their protection. Police believe this was the firearm used to shoot and kill Wilson. Strickland was ruled out as a suspect due to a solid alibi. 

An attempted escape.

According to ESPN, Armstrong sold her Jeep days after the murder and promptly flew to Houston, then New York. Cameras captured the yoga teacher at a New Jersey Airport, from where she flew to Costa Rica using her sister's passport. 

43 days later, police officers in Costa Rica arrested Armstrong, who had changed her appearance, dying her blonde hair jet black. Police believe she also surgically changed her nose, after finding receipts from a plastic surgeon’s office for more than $6,000. After being extradited back to the US, Armstrong was charged with first-degree murder and held on a $3.5 million bond. 

For the next 16 months, Armstrong planned her escape, and attempted to do just that during a visit to an off-site medical appointment, when she ran from corrections officers. 

Video footage reportedly shows her running and attempting to jump a fence, with her hands restrained. She was restrained after ten minutes, but the attempted prison break incurred her additional charges. 

The trial.

Armstrong pleaded not guilty to murder, but was found guilty by a jury after fewer than two hours of deliberation following a two-week trial.

Texas prosecutors told jurors the last thing Wilson did was scream in terror, and those screams were captured by surveillance equipment, reports ESPN. 

"Those screams are followed by 'Pop! Pop!'" the prosecutor said. 

Armstrong's defence said she had been caught in a "web of circumstantial evidence."

No video evidence or witnesses can put Armstrong at the scene of the shooting, he said.

She will be sentenced at a later date and faces life in prison.

This article was originally published on November 3, 2023 and has been updated.

Feature image: Instagram.