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

[Seattle1]

From CS police transcript, more on the CS's money that he allegedly didn't get back from KA. The amount is significantly different than being reported:

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

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

8-19-22

COLIN STRICKLAND: I mean, we're just trying to, like, attain some sense of normalcy, I guess.
...

Strickland says they invested together. He did a cash-out refinance on his home for $350,000 and about $250,000 went into a trailer restoration business. She invested the other roughly $100,000 in the market. When she disappeared, he texted her to move the $100,000 so he could pay $40,000 in legal fees for a real estate case. She didn’t respond.

 

[ch_13]

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?

I don't believe it was in court. The cops said he said it, but he claims he doesn't remember. That's why I called it an "alleged" statement.

I wasn't trying to comment on whether it's admissible or not, I was just trying to explain why I thought the statement (if he said it) would have been helpful to the prosecution's case.

 

[Kittybunny]

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?

Well, to be fair, CS is the one currently on the stand, and as is usually the case in trial threads, is going to be the main topic du jour as that is the focus of the discussion. Also, many trial watchers here at Websleuths are likely surprised at his behavior and hostility - it is a bit unusual in witnesses in general, especially prosecution ones. I can't off the top of my head recall another case where a key witness behaved as such. Happy to be proven wrong.

But no doubt, CS is a victim, and I agree that there is a danger in over-rotating to continuing to <modsnip - bashing a vicitm/witness>

I think KA got plenty of attention at various points in time in this case - if you want a good laugh, read back to the commentary on her escape from jail after an appointment. I personally have no sympathy for her - she has shown herself to be cold, calculating, yet filled with white-hot rage and likely an injustice collector. How on earth will the defense overcome her calculated and ballsy escape to Costa RIca, complete with a nose job to disguise her appearance? Many a brutal hardened career criminal haven't had the guts to run after committing worse crimes, yet here she was, yoga mat strapped on lithe back, headed for a Costa Rican paradise calm as the proverbial cucumber.

Buuuuut all that said...there is perhaps a stronger disbelief and unconscious bias to overcome when women kill, and a desire to pin, if not the actual crime itself, a strong motive/justification on a man. I've certainly seen it other cases (not so much here, but in social media at large).

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

From CS police transcript, more on the CS's money that he allegedly didn't get back from KA. The amount is significantly different than being reported:

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

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

8-19-22

COLIN STRICKLAND: I mean, we're just trying to, like, attain some sense of normalcy, I guess.
...

Strickland says they invested together. He did a cash-out refinance on his home for $350,000 and about $250,000 went into a trailer restoration business. She invested the other roughly $100,000 in the market. When she disappeared, he texted her to move the $100,000 so he could pay $40,000 in legal fees for a real estate case. She didn’t respond.

Thanks. And still the wording is ambiguous. Did she invest the funds under his name on his behalf? Did he somehow transfer it to an account in her name only? Possible he was hands-off with it entirely and she controlled it but he had no idea of the passwords to access it himself, which would account for him texting her to move some of it. He just may have had no idea how to get into the account.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I don't believe it was in court. The cops said he said it, but he claims he doesn't remember. That's why I called it an "alleged" statement.

I wasn't trying to comment on whether it's admissible or not, I was just trying to explain why I thought the statement (if he said it) would have been helpful to the prosecution's case.

Totally agree it would have been helpful.

 

[Cryptic]

Not odd: he's a cyclist. That's a whole universe unto itself. FWIW KA desperately wanted to be in that universe, too, IMO she was expecting way too much: you don't become an expert cyclist in a year or two.

I agree. And in addition to bikes and times, I am thinking the gravel racing world is also a world of:

Largely educated participants who enjoy good conversation, trendy, organic food and the moderate intake of craft beers after races. Campfires supplemented by radios playing the latest bands also make their appearances as night comes on and the the mellow, but entertaining after race festivities get fired up.

In short, KA probably found the social scene attractive and CS was a visible part of it. T

As for times, the sport is young and races have evidently not been "corrupted"- at least not yet, by major league ubber pros from Europe. If KA had a background in another endurance sport (say, cross country running), I am thinking she could turn in respectable, but not prize winning times fairly fast.

 

[jash]

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.)

That's exactly what I meant. If one of the closest people to her immediately thought about the gun she owned upon hearing her Jeep (or one just like it) was seen in the area of the murder, well that says something. And it had nothing to do with police trying to lead him down a path/feed him a narrative -- if the officer is to be believed, that was one of the first things that came out of CS's mouth.

 

[arielilane]

Retracing the final hours of Mo Wilson's life and the ensuing getaway of #KaitlinArmstrong. Watch as I take you to each of the key locations surveillance video captured Mo Wilson, Colin Strickland and Kaitlin Armstrong on May 11, 2022.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1721974743039934764

https://twitter.com/alcaprari23

 

[Cryptic]

true, but even then every one of my Austin friends owns and shoots guns regularly it's NOT viewed as weird even in Austin.

It might be the sub population that you draw your friends from.

I grew up in Texas and live in DFW. There are plenty of people here whose experience with fire arms is either non existent, or very nominal (usually due to a simple lack of interest, rather than personal opposition to guns).

In small town east Texas of my youth, non existent knowledge of guns was less common. But... there were still large numbers of people, both male and female, whose shooting experience was limited to:

- "Guns? Sure I can use them. My father showed me once or twice- maybe ten or more years ago. Now, how does this slide thing work? -or-
- "Guns? Of course I love them- I am a Texan! I even have one in a drawer somewhere. I have not shot it in years ( Not going to admit to that though- wink, nod)

In short, the Texans that I know have largely kept their old west roots of non fiction, not of fictional legend and lore in that they don't really have a lot of experience with weapons. But, very few are personally opposed to them.

There are, of course, alot of exceptions in regards to levels of interest in and use of weapons.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

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.

APD doesn't always have anyone available to respond. The chances of them arriving in a timely manner are pretty small, if they show up at all. Honestly, I'd be inclined to call someone else too.
As an example:

APD Takes Three Hours to Respond to Head-On Crash

During the wait, APD handled vandalism, car chase

www.austinchronicle.com

 

[Megnut]

I agree. And in addition to bikes and times, I am thinking the gravel racing world is also a world of:

Largely educated participants who enjoy good conversation, trendy, organic food and the moderate intake of craft beers after races. Campfires supplemented by radios playing the latest bands also make their appearances as night comes on and the the mellow, but entertaining after race festivities get fired up.

In short, KA probably found the social scene attractive and CS was a visible part of it. T

As for times, the sport is young and races have evidently not been "corrupted"- at least not yet, by major league ubber pros from Europe. If KA had a background in another endurance sport (say, cross country running), I am thinking she could turn in respectable, but not prize winning times fairly fast.

RBBM

If she can go full sprint in stripped, prison issue pants, imagine what she could do in running shorts.

In the end, the saddest truth is that she wasn't content with whatever natural skills and good graces she may have been born with... and left Mo well enough alone, to live hers.

JMO

 

[Cryptic]

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...

I really like how you said "allegations".

I doubt KA was known to use cycling trails adjacent to homeless encampments. Nor do I think she frequented high crime strip malls on the rougher side of Austin. Likewise, nearly all indoor malls still surviving in DFW are higher end. I dont see why Austin would be different.

In short, I am thinking that many, if not all, her "allegations" are works of fiction and are novelist shorthand for: "I need my man- and he better not leave me."

 

[Cedars]

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?

IMO, it's pretty normal for a crime based on a love triangle. There is a clear victim, a clear perp, but the third arm of the triangle is disliked because people (especially female people) don't like love triangles.

For eg, not a lot of sympathy for Nicole Kessinger, Chris Watt's girlfriend.

JMO

 

[Seattle1]

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.)

Thanks for you response @ch_13 but I respectfully disagree CS immediately believed KA killed MW out of jealousy, and think the actual statement attributed to CS, only hours after learning MW was shot and killed, read in full context, proves a different emphasis by CS:

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.

If one reads Det. Spilter's statement that he attributed to CS beyond "I knew I shouldn't have bought that gun," the emphasis here is not about KA's jealousy.

CS follows with "... just the fact that I have those [guns] in my sphere –... is why -- well, not why we're here but that's a big f---ing thing."

CS is a native of TX and even though he grew up in rural TX where firearms were very prevalent, CS himself has said he thought he'd fired a shotgun only once in his life before he purchased two guns in 2022 with KA.

(The purchase was prompted by incidents KA told CS she experienced including being accosted in the parking lot of grocery store, creepy dude on a bike trail, and somebody pounding on her apartment door).

IMO, if read in full context, I think the emphasis here is on the fact that after living his entire life without ever owning a firearm, CS is in disbelief that he even acquired the weapon [I had those in my sphere]-- let alone that it's the weapon that may have been used to murder MW. It's unreal to him.

Living in Alaska, I can very much relate to this statement from CS that likely had multiple opportunities throughout his life to be gifted or acquire a weapon and never ever did so until prompted by incidents KA alleged she experienced.

IMO, CS regrets he had any guns in his house, period, and will never recover from this very thought and that it led to MW's death.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

I really like how you said "allegations".

I doubt KA was known to use cycling trails adjacent to homeless encampments. Nor do I think she frequented high crime strip malls on the rougher side of Austin. Likewise, nearly all indoor malls still surviving in DFW are higher end. I dont see why Austin would be different.

In short, I am thinking that many, if not all, her "allegations" are works of fiction and are novelist shorthand for: "I need my man- and he better not leave me."

I'm not defending KA here but I can attest that crime in Austin has risen alot in recent years. The homeless situation is out of control and the trails can be dangerous. There have been a lot of problems at Barton Creek mall. Everything KA has reported to have said justifying the need for a handgun rings true to me.

 

[flowershop]

I remember this early on. This may have been a major slipup for her, asking about the neighborhood she was found in, unless she can defend herself and say Colin told here where he was with Mo that evening. As far as I know, no one has brought this up yet - Colin wasn't asked if he told her where he was with Mo when he said he admitted to her that he had been with her.

I recall hearing about this supposed slip up made by KA but then I read....

"The state has earlier clarified that Caitlin Cash lived in the Chestnut neighborhood, not Cherrywood."

KA asked if Cherrywood neighborhood was safe.

 

[Megnut]

I recall this viewed as a slip up made by KA but then I read....

"The state has earlier clarified that Caitlin Cash lived in the Chestnut neighborhood, not Cherrywood."

KA asked if Cherrywood neighborhood was safe.

How did KA know that Mo was murdered in any neighborhood?

Foreknowledge is so, so hard to forget.

Did anyone ask where she was murdered? At what point was that information divulged by LE?

 

[flowershop]

How did KA know that Mo was murdered in any neighborhood?

Foreknowledge is so, so hard to forget.

Did anyone ask where she was murdered? At what point was that infornation divulged by LE?

IIRC the question about neighborhood followed KA's question on whether Austin was becoming unsafe. It seems plausible to me that one might ask about whether surrounding neighborhoods are safe. Why one particular one though...

My source is Post #244 which was the text of a Tweet by:
https://twitter.com/alcaprari23

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I recall hearing about this supposed slip up made by KA but then I read....

"The state has earlier clarified that Caitlin Cash lived in the Chestnut neighborhood, not Cherrywood."

KA asked if Cherrywood neighborhood was safe.

How did KA know that Mo was murdered in any neighborhood?

Foreknowledge is so, so hard to forget.

Did anyone ask where she was murdered? At what point was that infornation divulged by LE?

Yes, exactly my point as well, even if she got the name incorrect.

 

[Seattle1]

Thanks. And still the wording is ambiguous. Did she invest the funds under his name on his behalf? Did he somehow transfer it to an account in her name only? Possible he was hands-off with it entirely and she controlled it but he had no idea of the passwords to access it himself, which would account for him texting her to move some of it. He just may have had no idea how to get into the account.

I don't believe anything ever reported on where or how the funds were invested other than according to CS, KA was the only party with access to the account.