A Texas woman has been sentenced to 90 years in prison, one day after she was found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting last year of an elite cyclist from Vermont.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, had faced a minimum of five years and a maximum of 99 years in prison following her conviction Thursday on the murder charge. The jury reached its guilty verdict just hours after its deliberations began Thursday afternoon.
Unlike Vermont, jurors in Texas weigh in on sentencing.
During arguments to the jury Friday, prosecutors asked for a prison sentence of at least 40 years, according to an ABC News report. The defense, the report added, did not request a specific term.
After several hours of deliberation Friday, jurors decided to call for a 90-year sentence for Armstrong, who also received a $10,000 fine, the report added.
Prosecutors during the two-week trial contended that Armonstrong was in a jealous rage on May 11, 2022, when she shot and killed Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson of East Burke. Wilson, 25, was a rising star in gravel and mountain cycling.
Wilson had a brief romantic relationship with cyclist Colin Strickland months before the killing, according to prosecutors. Armstrong fatally shot Wilson in an East Austin apartment where Wilson was staying ahead of a nearby cycling race, according to court testimony. Armstrong was living with Strickland at the time of the shooting.
Wilson grew up in the Northeast Kingdom and trained at Burke Mountain Academy. She later attended Dartmouth College, where she competed on the ski team before turning her sights to competitive cycling. Her racing colleagues say she was a rising star in the field and was favored to win in the race that brought her to Austin.
