Next witness: Detective Richard Spitler. He will resume his testimony from Monday where he left off.
Spitler now talking about what happened after an arrest warrant was issued. Spitler met with US Marshals and took possession of some of Armstrong's property collected in Costa Rica.
In the arrest warrant, Spitler says it included details from their ballistic investigation of the likelihood that one of Armstrong's 9mm pistols was used. Some of that ballistic data was later discovered to be inaccurate. Spitler says when submitting the arrest warrant, he believed the information was accurate to the best of his knowledge.
Spitler explaining the difference between results from an examination from a firearms examiner versus NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistics Information Network). NIBIN is a good lead to follow, Spitler says, but a ballistic examination will be much more accurate.
Spitler discussing some of the innacuracies he found with the footage provided to APD from Andrew Vuong. It was six minutes off, Spitler says, which proved to be problematic when trying to build a timeline of the events.
Spitler discussing a follow-up investigation of Gunner Shaw, an ex-boyfriend of Mo Wilson. Spitler pursued him as a possible person of interest, seeking to find out where Shaw was when Wilson was murdered.Spitler: "Everything about this scene... seemed like it was very personal. A personal homicide. So I wanted to try to track down anybody who had something personal with her, some sort of personal relationship."There was a Reddit post with someone discussing their abusive ex-boyfriend, and the username was similar to Mo Wilson's name. Spitler believed that Wilson wrote it and thus, Shaw could have been the murderer.Spitler found Shaw and he was cooperative. He provided flight information and receipts for a rental car, which put him more than 7000 miles away at the time of the murder.
Pursuing the Reddit post further, Spitler found that the posts continued all the way through July 10. With the murder happening May 11, Spitler determined the poster could not have been Mo Wilson.Spitler began to look into a man named Allen Lim. Spitler was told Lim and Wilson were close. Spitler requested Lim's alibi for May 11. Lim was cooperative and provided cell phone records showing his geo-location, his Strava account showing his ride on the morning of May 11 and then an airport receipt showing a flight to
#ATX, landing at ~9:15, the time the murder was taking place. Lim was thus ruled out as a suspect.
On Oct. 20, Spitler was notified that Armstrong's DNA was found on Wilson's bicycle which was ditched in the bamboo forest.
Spitler says that after reviewing evidence at the crime scene, he believed there was a possibility that the shooter had injured themselves, possibly dropping the their own blood at the crime scene. His theory: The shooter was gripping the gun too tightly, and the weapon caught on the shooter's hand, leaving a trail of blood on Wilson's leg. The blood, after examination, came back as Wilson's. The theory was thus disproved.
Spitler discussing an indoor firing range: "The Range."APD collected records from The Range, which Spitler discussed with fellow detectives. The prosecution apologizes for "jumping all over the place" with his lines of questioning for Spitler.Now discussing a washer/dryer at Cash's residence. The washer/dryer had a defect which Spitler says could have been caused by a projectile. He doesn't know what caused the defect, but it was documented.
Spitler says approximately 25-30 search warrants were issued throughout the course of the investigation. Included: Cellphone data, cellphone devices, Google accounts, vehicle warrants, residence warrants, social media accounts.
On June 2, Spitler was notified that Armstrong's Jeep was located at a Carmax in North Austin. He contacted Carmax inquiring about the car mileage. He knew that it possibly included GPS data, but he was unsure how long the Jeep would store that information. It had only been driven 13 miles since Armstrong turned it in. Spitler also asked about maintenance and if the GPS data was wiped. He requested Carmax no longer touch the Jeep.
Spitler went to Carmax and removed the infotainment system. A search warrant was approved and he took it to a forensics expert to examine. The results took him to an apartment complex in South Austin, down the street from Strickland/Armstrong's home.
It had now been "a few months" since the murder. He went to the complex to try to find more video surveillance and to scan the area of the apartment. Upon arrival, he located two dumpsters at the end of where the GPS showed the Jeep stopped.
Spitler later looked through Armstrong's iCloud account. He looked through a deleted notes folder and found a note that had an address next to the murder scene. This obviously caught Spitler's attention.
Spitler being asked to confirm the contents of a hard drive, which he says contains information re: the search warrants. It has now been admitted into evidence. The defense team is huddling privately at their table. Armstrong looks and listens on to their conversation.
Inside the courtroom, we are now looking at pictures of a black Jeep Cherokee that were taken at Carmax. Spitler says Armstrong drove the Jeep to the Carmax. The photos show the exterior of the Jeep from the front, the side, the back. The bike rack has been removed.Now interiors of the driver side, passenger side, infotainment system. A picture of the infotainment system removed and the serial number.
More photos now: Washer/dryer inside the unit. Blood from the murder can be seen smeared on the hardwood floors beneath it. Spitler says the medical examiner smeared that blood accidentally when removing Wilson's body. Closeup photos of the defect Spitler previously mentioned.
Spitler says he believes these defects are ricochets from the initial bullets fired into Wilson's head.
More photos: Mo Wilson pictured smiling in a red flannel.A different photo: Two dumpsters found at the South Austin apartment complex near Armstrong/Strickland's home. One dumpster is overflowingA third photo is a Google Maps snippet of Maple Ave and Cash's apartment.
Going back to the deleted note from Armstrong's iCloud. Note was deleted on May 12, 2022.
We are now looking at Google Subscriber Information belonging to Kaitlin Armstrong, attained via search warrant. Armstrong's personal and professional email accounts are displayed. These Google forms were created on 5/14/22.
We are now looking at new yoga-related email addresses and accounts belonging to Kaitlin Armstrong that were created in the days following the murder. The Google accounts belonging to Kaitlin include welcome letters from Google addressing her as "Kai." The date is 5/13 for the creation of this new account.A different email from Carmax to this new Google account has an offer for a Jeep Grand Cherokee of $12,200.
On May 14, Armstrong's iCloud account was accessed from one of the new email addresses. The Google alert re: the iCloud access is addressed to "K A"
On May 13, an email from Uber showing a ride taken at ~9:30pm totaling $21.26. The last four digits of a Visa are displayed. The ride begins at Armstrong's address and ends at the airport.
Another email from Southwest Airlines to an email associated to Armstrong's iCloud.The name on the itinerary is Kaitlin Armstrong. From Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) to LaGuardia (LGA). There is a layover in Nashville. Cost is $327.98.
A different email from Southwest Airlines. It is a change in the itinerary. The layover is no longer in Nashville, but in Houston. Final destination still LGA.A different welcome email for a Netspend Visa Prepaid Card. Dated 5/16. It is addressed to Kaitlin. Netspend allows someone to spend money without going through a credit card company.
Another email with a United Airlines reservation to San Jose, Costa Rica. The date is 5/18/22. Flight departs Newark airport (EWR) to San Jose (SJO). Total is $146.66. "A pretty good price," the prosecutor says tongue-in-cheek. The courtroom gallery laughs.
Another United Airlines email showing the confirmation and flight itinerary. Leaves EWR at 5:09pm and arrives 8:19pm on 5/18. The traveler is listed as "Christie Armstrong.”
Another email with a subscription confirmation for Surfshark VPN to Armstrong's email. VPN is being charged for $47.99 beginning May 25. There is a one-week free trial. VPN is a private network used to hide locations while you are online, Spitler says.
Another email for a Skype account. Delivered to "K".Another email with a receipt for the Skype account. There are Visa 4 digits shown. An address of 4924 Manchester is shown for the billing of the Visa. It matches Armstrong's business address.
We are now going to be looking at a search folder showing search activity from one of Armstrong's iCloud email addresses. The searches encompass several weeks. The prosecution will point out a few items. On 5/27: search for "Kaitlin Armstrong" On 5/27: A KVUE article related to Kaitlin Armstrong fleeing to Costa Rica On 5/27: A news story search with title "Moriah Wilson murder: Colin Strickland 'in hiding' until suspect…
Prosecutor clicks the hyperlink for the news story. It is from
http://road.ccThis is the article:
https://road.cc/content/news/moriah-wilson-murder-colin-strickland-hiding-293121
This is (I believe) the KVUE article Armstrong accessed:
Defense calls for a sidebar with the judge. Both defense and state approach Judge Kennedy. Armstrong watches from her seat at the defense table. She shows no emotion. One jury member gazes at the gallery. Spitler sits quietly at the witness stand. Mo Wilson's father looks up at the screen of news articles. Mo Wilson's mother huddles and whispers to Mr. Wilson. Caitlin Cash has her arm around her friend and they speak quietly. The sidebar lasts longer than we have seen in the past. They come to an agreement and return to their seats.
We are now taking a brief recess.
