AUSTIN, Texas – An arrest warrant in the Professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson is shot dead details a love triangle that includes a male professional cyclist and the woman he lives with, according to Austin police.
Wilson, 25, was found dead May 11 at an East Austin home on Maple Avenue. He had flown in from San Francisco and was staying in town before taking part in a gravel race at Hico, northwest of Waco, the following weekend.
kaitlin marie armstrong34, of Austin, faces a murder charge in connection with the shooting. Police spoke to Armstrong on May 12, the day after Wilson’s death, and confronted her with surveillance video that investigators say shows a vehicle matching the one she’s driving pulling up to the residence where she was staying. Wilson. A minute earlier, Wilson had returned home from a swim with Armstrong’s boyfriend.
‘Our hearts are broken’:The cycling world mourns the death of Anna Moriah Wilson, celebrates her life
Death of Anna Moriah Wilson:See the facts of the case, charges against Kaitlin Armstrong
Armstrong, police said, nodded when detectives told her the video didn’t look good on her.
Armstrong has not been arrested. Police say he deleted her social media accounts and her boyfriend told them he hadn’t seen her since May 13. His account on Strava, an online cycling and fitness platform, remains public and shows that he last rode on May 11, the day Wilson died.
On Friday, the US Marshals’ Lone Star Fugitive Task Force announced it is conducting a “fugitive investigation” and asked for the public’s help in locating Armstrong.
The affidavit reveals a romantic entanglement that began in October when Armstrong split from her longtime boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland. During a brief break in that relationship, Strickland met and became involved with Wilson, only to soon be back together with Armstrong.
According to police, an informant who assisted in the homicide investigation told detectives that Armstrong learned about Strickland’s relationship with Wilson in January and “was furious and shaking with rage.” The informant told police that Armstrong said that he wanted to kill Wilson. Around that time, police say Strickland bought two firearms: a 9mm pistol for himself and one for Armstrong.
Searching the house where Armstrong lives with Strickland, investigators say they seized a 9mm pistol belonging to Armstrong. Comparing shell casings fired from that gun to those found in the home where Wilson was killed, police say the possibility that the same firearm was used is “significant.”
Colin Strickland describes relationship with Wilson
Strickland, a Red Bull-sponsored professional cyclist, released a statement to the American-Statesman on Friday saying he had a brief relationship with Wilson after meeting her in Austin in October. He said that after that affair, which lasted about a week, his relationship with Wilson became platonic and professional, and that he got back together with Armstrong. He said that he was no longer romantically involved with Wilson.
“There is no way to adequately express the regret and torture I feel for my proximity to this horrible crime,” Strickland said. “I’m sorry, and I just can’t understand this unfathomable situation.”
Strickland said he has cooperated with authorities and will continue to do so.
His statement read: “It was not my intention to pursue an ancillary romantic relationship that might mislead anyone. Moriah and I were leaders in this niche and reclusive sport of cycling, and I greatly admired her and considered her a close friend. I am deeply sorry for her loss. “.
What is everyone talking about?Subscribe to our trend newsletter to receive the latest news of the day.
Wilson was considered among the best cyclists in the country and had recently quit her job to focus on training. She was the favorite to win Gravel Locos, a race for which she came to Texas.
Around 6 pm on the day of her death, Wilson left her home to go swimming with Strickland in Deep Eddy Pool, investigators say in the affidavit. At approximately 8:30 pm, police say she returned after Strickland left her on her motorcycle. A minute later, video surveillance of a nearby house shows a dark SUV with a bike rack in the back and a roof rack on the hood appearing to stop next to the house where Wilson was staying.
Strickland told detectives that Armstrong did not know where Wilson was staying. But Wilson’s Strava account may have provided a clue: On the day she was killed, she uploaded a ride that started and ended at the house where she was staying.
Just before 10 p.m., a woman who rents the house where Wilson was staying called police after arriving to find Wilson lying in the bathroom. She told police that nothing was missing from the home except for Wilson’s bicycle, which investigators later found in thick bamboo more than 60 feet from the home.
While investigating Wilson’s relationship with Strickland, Lone Star Fugitive Task Force authorities went to the house where Strickland lives with Armstrong. In their driveway, they discovered a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee that matches the vehicle in the video, the affidavit says.
Strickland, in a voluntary interview with police, revealed that Armstrong returned home that night driving the Grand Cherokee.
All charges are mere accusations by law enforcement until and unless a suspect is convicted of a crime. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court.
Reference-www.usatoday.com