A Texas woman who stands accused in the May 11 killing of a world-class cyclist from Vermont, and who was later captured in Costa Rica after changing her appearance, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, of Austin, Texas, was arraigned on the charge Wednesday in a courtroom in Texas. She is being held in custody for lack of $3.5 million bail.
Armstrong had been on the run for more than 40 days before she was taken into custody at a hostel on the western coast of Costa Rica, wanted in the slaying of 25-year-old Anna Moriah Wilson of East Burke, a rising star in gravel and mountain cycling.
During the short hearing Wednesday, Armstrong’s attorneys called for a speedy trial for their client, which Judge Brenda Kennedy granted and scheduled it to begin Oct. 24, according to an Associated Press report.
Prosecutors questioned whether having the trial so soon was granting a “privilege” for Armstrong, contending that other defendants waited years for trials during the Covid-19 pandemic slowdown in the court system, the AP reported.
“If they chose to indict without evidence, that’s the district attorney’s problem,” Armstrong’s attorney, Rick Cofer, said in court, according to the AP.
After the Wednesday hearing, Cofer spoke briefly to reporters, saying that he planned to challenge the investigation conducted by the Austin Police Department leading to the charges against his client.
“There is a lot more to this story that has yet been heard,” the defense attorney added.
Wilson had been in Texas preparing for a cycling competition there. She was found dead on the night of May 11 from multiple gunshot wounds inside an apartment in East Austin, where she had been staying with a friend.
Wilson, known as “Mo,” was a graduate of Burke Mountain Academy, a top training school for elite ski racers, and went on to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she joined the ski team.
Wilson had also taken up mountain and gravel cycling and was a rising star in the sport.
Austin Police alleged in an affidavit in support of the murder charge that Armstrong was fueled by jealous rage.
Wilson, according to that affidavit, had a short relationship last fall with another professional cyclist, Colin Strickland. Strickland told police he and Armstrong were broken up at that time, but had since gotten back together and were living in the same residence in Texas.
While in Texas for the cycling competition, Wilson went out swimming and dining with Strickland shortly before her death, according to the affidavit.
Police said they believed Armstrong’s vehicle arrived at the scene of the murder within minutes of Strickland dropping Wilson off at the East Austin apartment where she had been staying.
Shell casings from the scene of the shooting matched those from a test firing of a handgun that police said they later seized from Armstrong’s home.
If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, Armstrong faces up to 99 years in prison.
