TX - Moriah Wilson, 25, Cyclist Fatally Shot Before Race, Austin, 2022 *arrest* #7

[Seattle1]

News Nation says the jury will hear about his behavior. Not sure if they are correct, but that's what is said early in this video.

I think this comment is being taken out of context.

Jurors are allowed to use their own judgement about the credibility of all witnesses and if a criminal complaint is filed against CS alleging he assaulted a photographer, I think it's possible the defense could attempt to introduce this as evidence to promote their alternate suspect theory and/or attack CS's character and his credibility as a prosecution witness. It doesn't mean the Court will agree here and admit this as evidence. Again, CS is not the defendant on trial!

 

[kwash]

I am not a Colin apologist. If he was my friend I would counsel him to behave more civilly, but his treatment of the photographers is hardly egregious. Obnoxious yes, violent no. I am sure he is fed up with the cameras and the attention and is acting out against it. If a family member of the victim behaved in this way no one would be freaking out about it. Nor would anyone question a family member wearing the same shirt on consecutive days.

 

[Seattle1]

I'd like to know if there's any record of KA contacting APD to report somebody pounding on her apartment door, or if KA reported any of the incidents described below to LE.

Seriously, if somebody is outside pounding on your door and you're feeling threatened, what good is it to call your boyfriend who's out of town versus calling 911?

Perhaps KA fabricated these incidents for attention and/or reason to move in with CS and not leave after her plumbing was repaired.

The Murder of Moriah Wilson

How did one of the best young bike racers in the country wind up dead in an Austin apartment? Unraveling the tangled story of a crime that shocked the world.

velo.outsideonline.com

Jan 24, 2023

Strickland’s girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong, called him one night in the summer of 2020, sobbing and panicked. A belligerent man—maybe intoxicated, maybe suffering some kind of mental breakdown, maybe both—kept banging on the door of her Austin, Texas, apartment. The guy eventually went away, but the incident terrified her. Another time, she was accosted by an angry man in a grocery store parking lot. Now and then, creeps followed her while she rode on bike paths and made her feel unsafe. Strickland could only imagine how these incidents felt to Armstrong, a lithe yoga instructor with auburn hair that fell across her shoulders. He knew that men commit nearly 80 percent of violent crime in the U.S., and he wondered: Why should a woman spend her life living in fear? Maybe a gun would make Kaitlin feel empowered, more independent, free to live the way she chose.

It’s easy to buy a weapon in Texas. So one day around the beginning of 2022, Strickland and Armstrong rode their bikes to McBride’s, a family owned gun shop near the University of Texas. Armstrong picked out a 9mm SIG Sauer P365 pistol and held it up to get a feel for its weight. Strickland picked out a handgun, too. As a kid, he’d lived in the rural Hill Country west of Austin, an area with a lot of firearms. But his family didn’t own guns, and he’d fired a shotgun maybe once in his life. The motivation to buy one now came from his fascination with machines; he was drawn to the engineering and construction.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

I agree, what he's saying regarding KA's jealousy doesn't match up with what's been uncovered in the investigation. Blocking other females on CS's phone, reading CS's messages, tracking locations / rides on Strava and comments KA made. I'm not buying it either.

I don't think he had anything directly or indirectly to do with the murder of MW, but I don't trust any answer he's ever given that it isn't just him saying what he thinks someone wants to hear at the time.

 

[Marysmith]

I beg to differ. I have zero sympathy for this guy.

I have had times where I did but no longer. He needs to have some dignity and respect for others!

 

[Howl]

I don't follow a large number threads here on Websleuths, but it seems that this thread is unusual and somewhat extreme in posters expressing strong opinions and endless speculation about CS's character and motives, much more so than the actual (alleged) murderer, KA. Curious what arouses such strong opinions about a person who is a victim, rather than a perp. I'll leave the camera shoving incidents for others and the legal system to address.

How is CS KA's victim?

Spoiler: Musings under the spoiler

CS's life has been publicly exposed in a way that hopefully none of us will ever experience. Articles have been written profiling him, his relationship with KA, his past sexual partners identified in court BY NAME, details of his relationship with MW, his texts and other private communication revealed and discussed in court. He's a pro cyclist who immediately lost all of his sponsorships, his business(es) were upended, his reputation destroyed.

Does he now have any remnant of a normal life that's not identified with KA's (alleged) crime?

I doubt he could maintain his training regimen, key to being competitive at the pro level.

He obviously cared for MW, however you want to read that, and he suffered a loss when she was brutally murdered and I suspect has been racked with guilt and grief. And however he felt about KA, whatever trust there was, was brutally betrayed.

There are lawyer fees related to the murder, in addition to other lawyer fees trying to untangle finances.

Now this is all being rehashed again, exposed in court and reported in the media in salacious, excruciating detail. I suspect at this point he has zero *advertiser censored* to give. Is he bitter and angry? Possibly. Likely. He'll certainly never be the same person he was before this happened.

Here's also what's not being talked about. Imagine if a juror buys into the reasonable doubt being proposed by the defense, there's a hung jury or even acquittal and KA is freed?

 

[ch_13]

I am not a Colin apologist. If he was my friend I would counsel him to behave more civilly, but his treatment of the photographers is hardly egregious. Obnoxious yes, violent no. I am sure he is fed up with the cameras and the attention and is acting out against it. If a family member of the victim behaved in this way no one would be freaking out about it. Nor would anyone question a family member wearing the same shirt on consecutive days.

I have to disagree here. The photographers were just doing their job and weren't impeding his way.* CS specifically changed direction to go over and physically assault them. There's absolutely no reason to push and stomp on people like a toddler having a tantrum.

And yes, IMO it would be wrong even if it was the family member of the victim. We certainly don't see MW's family acting this way, and they have the same photographers outside the courtroom taking their photos. The same goes for family members at other big-name murder trials who have to face a media gauntlet.

What's next? Would it also be okay for CS to punch the defense counsel if he's asked a question he doesn't like?


*Note - I'm not including the time a photographer fell over a traffic barrier and CS just stepped past him. IMO, his actions there were fine.

 

[kwash]

Re below: IMO no that would not be in the same category as stepping on a photographer’s foot or placing his hands on a photographer’s camera, which in my opinion are very minor transgressions not worth the amount of attention they are getting.

What's next? Would it also be okay for CS to punch the defense counsel if he's asked a question he doesn't like?

 

[jash]

I think it takes different people to live in TX. All I remember from very early articles is that he was raised in some poor part of TX and I think had to bike long distance to school. No money in the family at all, real hippies. Later he became environmental engineer, worked in a big city and entered the world of professional cycling late. Later the case became so hyped that it is impossible to find anything about the players.

It's true he grew up on an organic farm outside of Austin but I haven't read anything about his family not having money. Hippie doesn't necessarily mean poor or averse to money. In fact, CS attended private school in Austin (Austin Waldorf -- current tuition = $20,000+/yr).

A Murder Roils the Cycling World

In gravel racing—the sport’s hottest category—the killing has exposed a lot of dirt.

www.newyorker.com

Strickland...had been biking around town since he was a student at the Austin Waldorf School, a K-12 institution in the west of the city. (As Strickland has affectionately put it, his parents were “long-hairs” who had once run an organic farm outside Austin.)

The Murder of Moriah Wilson

How did one of the best young bike racers in the country wind up dead in an Austin apartment? Our writer unravels the tangled story of a crime that shocked the world.

www.outsideonline.com

He grew up on an organic farm and thought deeply about food; she didn’t really cook. He went to a hippie-style Waldorf school; she grew up in Livonia, a middle-class suburb of Detroit.

Tuitions & Fees - Austin Waldorf School

2024-2025 Tuition and Fee Schedule Please refer to the Enrollment Contract for approved payment options and deadlines Tuition – (amount includes the $1,000 registration deposit) Kindergarten/Pre-School Full Day $21,935 Kindergarten/Pre-School Half Day $17,547 Grades 1-5 $22,324 Grades 6-8...

austinwaldorf.org

 

[ch_13]

Re below: IMO no that would not be in the same category as stepping on a photographer’s foot or placing his hands on a photographer’s camera, which in my opinion are very minor transgressions not worth the amount of attention they are getting.

I understand your position. But serious question: What if on CS's way out of the courtroom, after his testimony, he gave the defense attorney a little shove or stepped on his foot. "Very minor transgressions" in your words. Would that be acceptable?

I'm asking because I'm genuinely trying to figure out where the line is that you are drawing. When is it okay to act out physically against someone who you do not like, even though they are just doing their job?

 

[Seattle1]

KA is the last person who should have ever had access to a firearm, and I hope this horrific tragedy can be a teaching moment for women in general, and men worried about the safety of women in their lives.

It seems physical fitness was important to KA since childhood when she excelled at sports. We also know that she was not adverse to training based on her recent escape attempt after visiting a doctor outside of confinement.

Developing more physical strength, lean mass, and being capable of intense physical activity means that you are making yourself into a version of you that will be most capable of defending yourself. A stronger, faster woman who is capable of being aggressive and causing damage to someone who is attacking her, has a much better chance of defeating an attacker than a woman without those skills and attributes.

After learning of KA's allegations about encounters in shopping mall parking lots and cycling trails, I don't think we'd be here if instead of buying KA a hand gun, CS would have encouraged KA to take a survival course, learn more about situational awareness, self defense, and adopt safe practices for her hobbies including biking with a buddy. IMO, all the above would have been more empowering to KA than giving this woman a gun. MOO

 

[jash]

I just came across this excerpt from CS's police interview. It's too bad what CS said about the gun (assuming he really did say it) wasn't recorded as that would have been nice for the jury to hear.

DET. DICK SPITLER: So, whenever you ended up coming down here and I told you that we knew that Kaitlin's car was outside of [Wilson’s friend’s] house, one of your first responses was I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun.
CLAIRE CARTER: Do you remember saying that? I don't -- I'm not -- do you remember saying that?
DET. DICK SPITLER: Yeah. She -- yeah, yeah, yeah.
COLIN STRICKLAND: I don't remember saying that.
DET. DICK SPITLER: Okay.
COLIN STRICKLAND: But I can -- I -- immediately -- just the fact that I have those in my sphere –
DET. DICK SPITLER: Uh-huh.
COLIN STRICKLAND: -- is why -- well, not why we're here but that's a big f---ing thing.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I just came across this excerpt from CS's police interview. It's too bad what CS said about the gun (assuming he really did say it) wasn't recorded as that would have been nice for the jury to hear.

DET. DICK SPITLER: So, whenever you ended up coming down here and I told you that we knew that Kaitlin's car was outside of [Wilson’s friend’s] house, one of your first responses was I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun.
CLAIRE CARTER: Do you remember saying that? I don't -- I'm not -- do you remember saying that?
DET. DICK SPITLER: Yeah. She -- yeah, yeah, yeah.
COLIN STRICKLAND: I don't remember saying that.
DET. DICK SPITLER: Okay.
COLIN STRICKLAND: But I can -- I -- immediately -- just the fact that I have those in my sphere –
DET. DICK SPITLER: Uh-huh.
COLIN STRICKLAND: -- is why -- well, not why we're here but that's a big f---ing thing.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

Woah. That's for sure (would have been nice for the jury to hear this). I feel he has been inconsistent with his description of whether or not she was prone to jealousy or anger. And of course I'm sure it did vary at times, depending on the situation, but IMO, I think he held back a bit when describing some of it.

 

[BUF]

These are just my impressions…

I think CS is just so filled with guilt on some levels that he has embellished his testimony at times…maybe this is the only way he can deal with this whole situation. Above all, Mo appears to have been murdered by his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years…someone who seemed to be beloved by all and was a rising star in this niche sport, one that he also loved. I get the impression that KA being her murderer immediately crossed his mind. He knew what had been going on, even changing Mo’s name in his phone, avoiding KA the day of her murder, buying the gun that killed Mo…and there is so much more.

He sat on the witness stand with his eyes shut for two days. He was in front of Mo’s family and friends and the rows of seats filled with her cycling family…who were at one time his as well when he held a status position…how do they feel about CS now? Sounds like he is no longer part of this group. He also sat in front of KA having to give testimony that may help send her to jail for the rest of her life.

Then he is asked questions by the defense that could be taken that they may be insinuating he was involved in Mo’s murder.

You can be angry about the situation you are in, but sometimes you just need to accept your culpability in it, get help and move on the best you can.

moo

 

[Chimera]

Video captures final screams of pro cyclist Mo Wilson after accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong tracked her on fitness app, prosecutor says

Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the May 2022 slaying of Mo Wilson, a competitive gravel and mountain bike racer.

www.cbsnews.com

Federal authorities tracked Armstrong to Costa Rica, where prosecutors said she spent $6,425 for surgery to change her appearance and used several aliases while attempting to establish herself as a yoga instructor. She also had cut and darkened her hair, and had a bandage on her nose and discoloration under her eyes when arrested at a beachside hostel.
Armstrong told police when she was arrested that she was injured in a surfing accident.
Emphasis mine.

Hmmm.... lying, are we ?
Omo.

"You'll hear from Colin that the relationship was on again, off again, and you will hear that when the relationship was off, they both dated other people," Jones said.
From this I gather they weren't that serious, and it's not like they were married.
KA had no reason to murder Moriah.
Imo, KA is the only one responsible.
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

These are just my impressions…

I think CS is just so filled with guilt on some levels that he has embellished his testimony at times…maybe this is the only way he can deal with this whole situation. Above all, Mo appears to have been murdered by his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years…someone who seemed to be beloved by all and was a rising star in this niche sport, one that he also loved. I get the impression that KA being her murderer immediately crossed his mind. He knew what had been going on, even changing Mo’s name in his phone, avoiding KA the day of her murder, buying the gun that killed Mo…and there is so much more.

He sat on the witness stand with his eyes shut for two days. He was in front of Mo’s family and friends and the rows of seats filled with her cycling family…who were at one time his as well when he held a status position…how do they feel about CS now? Sounds like he is no longer part of this group. He also sat in front of KA having to give testimony that may help send her to jail for the rest of her life.

Then he is asked questions by the defense that could be taken that they may be insinuating he was involved in Mo’s murder.

You can be angry about the situation you are in, but sometimes you just need to accept your culpability in it, get help and move on the best you can.

moo

Emphasis mine.

Thanks, I missed that; even though I've watched some docs and read articles.
(Not enough, I guess.)

Thanks for that part of information in this sad case.
Omo.

 

[Seattle1]

I just came across this excerpt from CS's police interview. It's too bad what CS said about the gun (assuming he really did say it) wasn't recorded as that would have been nice for the jury to hear.

DET. DICK SPITLER: So, whenever you ended up coming down here and I told you that we knew that Kaitlin's car was outside of [Wilson’s friend’s] house, one of your first responses was I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun.
CLAIRE CARTER: Do you remember saying that? I don't -- I'm not -- do you remember saying that?
DET. DICK SPITLER: Yeah. She -- yeah, yeah, yeah.
COLIN STRICKLAND: I don't remember saying that.
DET. DICK SPITLER: Okay.
COLIN STRICKLAND: But I can -- I -- immediately -- just the fact that I have those in my sphere –
DET. DICK SPITLER: Uh-huh.
COLIN STRICKLAND: -- is why -- well, not why we're here but that's a big f---ing thing.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

We know why CS legally purchased the guns and gifted one to KA. If not for KA, I'm not so sure CS would have ever owned a gun in 2022.

But I'm not understanding why it would be important or nice for the jury to hear CS blaming himself for buying KA the firearm. To promote the defense's alternate suspect theory? To promote CS as the shooter-- given the positive ballistics report? I don't get it...

Jan 24, 2023

Strickland’s girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong, called him one night in the summer of 2020, sobbing and panicked. A belligerent man—maybe intoxicated, maybe suffering some kind of mental breakdown, maybe both—kept banging on the door of her Austin, Texas, apartment. The guy eventually went away, but the incident terrified her. Another time, she was accosted by an angry man in a grocery store parking lot. Now and then, creeps followed her while she rode on bike paths and made her feel unsafe. Strickland could only imagine how these incidents felt to Armstrong, a lithe yoga instructor with auburn hair that fell across her shoulders. He knew that men commit nearly 80 percent of violent crime in the U.S., and he wondered: Why should a woman spend her life living in fear? Maybe a gun would make Kaitlin feel empowered, more independent, free to live the way she chose.

It’s easy to buy a weapon in Texas. So one day around the beginning of 2022, Strickland and Armstrong rode their bikes to McBride’s, a family owned gun shop near the University of Texas. Armstrong picked out a 9mm SIG Sauer P365 pistol and held it up to get a feel for its weight. Strickland picked out a handgun, too. As a kid, he’d lived in the rural Hill Country west of Austin, an area with a lot of firearms. But his family didn’t own guns, and he’d fired a shotgun maybe once in his life. The motivation to buy one now came from his fascination with machines; he was drawn to the engineering and construction.

^^rsbm

 

[arielilane]

It's a tight timeline and it shows who is responsible for the homicide of MW. Subsequently, once the forensics are presented in a court of law (digital and medical) her fate will be sealed. Science don’t lie. moo

• On May 9 -10, 2022 Kaitlin tracked Mo on the Strava app.
• On May 11, 2022, Colin picked Mo up and they swam at Deep Eddy pool.
• Colin texted Kaitlin claiming to be running an errand across town. In other words, he lied about swimming with Mo.
• Before swimming, Mo went on a bike ride from 1:23 pm-4:23 pm which she posted on the Strava app. The app showed a map of her route.
• At 4:49 pm, Mo texted Colin with the apartment address to pick her up to go swimming.
• At 4:54 p.m., Kaitlin looked at Mo’s Strava activity.
• At 5:43 p.m., Colin picked up Mo at Caitlin Cash’s apartment. They went to the pool and then a restaurant.
• At 8:35 pm, Colin dropped Mo off at Caitlin Cash’s apartment and drove off.
• At 8:38 p.m., Colin texted Kaitlin.
• At 8:36 p.m., Mo unlocked the door to Caitlin Cash’s apartment.
• At 8:37 p.m., Kaitlin’s Jeep was in the alley next to Caitlin Cahs’s apartment.
• Mo was on her phone until about 9:13 pm — 2 minutes before gunshots were heard on a Ring camera.
• Colin was at the home he shared with Kaitlin Armstrong when gunshots were fired at 9:15 pm.
• At 9:54 pm, Caitlin Cash called 911 and tried to administer aid to Mo until police arrived — Caitlin Cash arrived home to find Mo on the floor with gunshot wounds.
• Caitlin Cash told cops that Mo had plans with Colin earlier that evening.
• On May 12, 2022, Police located surveillance video of a black Jeep with a distinct bike rack near Caitlin Cash’s apartment at 8:37 pm the night of the murder.
• Police interviewed Colin, confirmed his story, and eliminated him as a potential suspect.
• Before cops interviewed Colin, they sent officers to Kaitlin and Colin’s home and discovered the black Jeep. They learned the Jeep was Kaitlin’s.
• Kaitlin was arrested on a Class 8 warrant, released, and told she was free to leave. She was questioned about her Jeep being at the scene of the crime the night of the murder. Kaitlin had no explanation for why her Jeep was there.

TX v. Kaitlin Armstrong: Love Triangle Murder Trial

 

[ch_13]

We know why CS legally purchased the guns and gifted one to KA. If not for KA, I'm not so sure CS would have ever owned a gun in 2022.

But I'm not understanding why it would be important or nice for the jury to hear CS blaming himself for buying KA the firearm. To promote the defense's alternate suspect theory? To promote CS as the shooter-- given the positive ballistics report? I don't get it...


^^rsbm

I'm not the OP, but IMO CS's alleged statement that "I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun" is a pretty big indictment of KA. It suggests that as soon as he heard about the murder he knew that KA did it.

To me says a lot about what he really thought about KA's level of jealousy and the lengths that she was willing to go to. (As opposed to version he would later peddle on the stand.)

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I'm not the OP, but IMO CS's alleged statement that "I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun" is a pretty big indictment of KA. It suggests that as soon as he heard about the murder he knew that KA did it.

To me says a lot about what he really thought about KA's level of jealousy and the lengths that she would go to. (As opposed to what he would later claim on the stand.)

Was this brought up in court? I've read all the tweets each day but don't recall. Sounds as if it was not mentioned, or if it was, Colin deflected saying he didn't recall saying that and they're not taking the transcript as gospel? Wouldn't it have been recorded?