A 35-year-old woman, Kaitlin Armstrong, has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for the first-degree murder of Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, an up-and-coming cycling star. The verdict was delivered by a jury in Travis County, Texas, after a three-hour deliberation on Thursday, Nov. 16. Armstrong was found guilty of shooting Wilson, 25, twice in the head and once in the heart on May 11, 2022.

According to the Austin Police, officers responded to a residence on Maple Avenue after receiving a call about Wilson bleeding and unconscious. Wilson, who had come to Austin for a cycling race, was declared deceased at the scene, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

The investigation revealed a complex love triangle involving Armstrong, Wilson, and fellow cyclist Colin Strickland. Strickland, who had a brief relationship with Wilson during a break from his three-year relationship with Armstrong, later rekindled his romance with Armstrong.

Armstrong discovered in May 2022 that Strickland and Wilson were still together, prompting a violent response. Surveillance footage showed a dark SUV with a bike rack, registered to Armstrong, near the crime scene. Strickland confirmed Armstrong’s ownership of the vehicle but stated he never drove it.

Following the murder, Armstrong fled to Costa Rica on May 18, 2022, using a fake passport and selling her Jeep Cherokee to CarMax before departure. U.S. Marshals apprehended her in Costa Rica in June 2022, where she had undergone plastic surgery and changed her appearance.

During the trial, Wilson’s mother delivered a poignant victim impact statement, expressing the profound loss: “When you shot Moriah in the heart, you shot me in the heart.” She praised her daughter for living each day to the fullest, noting that Wilson seemed to “know her life would be short.”

The case highlights the tragic consequences of a love triangle and the lengths to which the convicted woman went to evade justice. Armstrong’s 90-year sentence serves as a stern legal repercussion for the heinous crime.