How a Female Yoga Teacher’s Life Spiraled Into Deadly Pursuit
It was an obsession by a female yoga teacher that resulted in an unbelievable crime and an international manhunt that culminated on a tropical beach.
My interest in mindfulness and movement has been what initially attracted me towards becoming a female yoga teacher. It was my refuge and a place to develop inner self and physical power. It was only later that this route would lead to an international scandal, a murder that was to take place and a capture on my part in a remote village in Costa Rica.
This is how I report about the events which resulted in the death of the emerging cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, the case which broke the cycling community and revealed the dark side of romantic obsession. The story of how a yoga teacher became a convicted murderer is a complicated tale of jealousy, escapades and the merciless search of vengeance.
The Feministization of a Female Yoga Teacher.
My experience into yoga started many years before the tragedy. I have developed a life of wellness and physical discipline after becoming certified as a yoga instructor in Bali.
Yoga was not only a physical activity to me but also a life philosophy that could be applied to my daily life as well as my relationships. I have found and settled into an Austin life with my boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland and even began to share his love of cycling, becoming an amateur cyclist myself.
On the outside, I had developed a flawless holistic lifestyle, although, behind the veneer, there were other feelings that were brewing.
The Night That Shattered Everything.
The life of Mo Wilson was brutally taken on May 11, 2022. The 25-year-old elite cyclist was murdered in an Austin apartment of his friend, shot several times. She was in town with the Gravel Locos bike race where she was a favorite contender to win.
Mo, too, was no ordinary athlete, she was generally considered to be one of the brightest talents of the gravel racing, and she was rumored to be having the potential and capability to be in the list of the top bike racers, not only in the country, but also in the world, by the people of cycling. Her path to cycling was unusual; she started her career with cycling after her downhill ski racing career was ended because of injuries to the knee, and she has been able to climb to the top within the shortest time.
The Love Triangle that sparked a murder.
This tragedy has been centered on a complex romantic history involving Mo, myself and Colin Strickland. Colin had a casual relationship with Mo which lasted a week or two in late 2021, during which they had a brief romantic encounter with each other in the midst of one of our breakups (2019).
When he and I made peace, Colin had what he explained as a platonic and professional relationship with Mo. But I saw things differently.
The text messages that I delivered during my trial showed how jealous I was. I had personally warned Mo earlier on not to go anywhere with Colin. I once even got a text message the next time, Colin had sent me a message that said, Did you call Mo? What the f***?” . Colin would later affirm that he believed he knew me but trial proved him wrong.
The Investigation Unfolds
Police soon found important clues which point to me committing the crime. There was a security video available of the night of the murder that depicted a black SUV with a bike rack in the neighborhood several minutes after Mo was dropped at the apartment. As the investigators went to the home of Colin, they have seen a similar car in his driveway, which was a black Jeep and that was registered to me.
Building the Case
The case against me grew up fast:
Firearm relation: Colin informed the police that two months prior to the shooting, he had bought us both handguns of the 9-mm caliber. It would be later confirmed with ballistic tests that the gun he had given me in self-defense was probably the one used in the murder of Mo.
Digital evidence: The prosecutors claimed that I used the fitness app Strava, on which Mo recorded her bike rides, to track her whereabouts that night the murder occurred.
Witnesses: A secret informant told that I had once said I wanted to kill Wilson because I had heard about what she had done with Colin.
The International Fugitive
I took my chance only days after police took me in and questioned me. I sold my Jeep in cash after which I embarked on an adventure that would see me leave Texas to Houston, then to New York and finally to Costa Rica with the help of my sister passport. U.S. Deputy Marshal Brandon Filla subsequently said during a press conference that she was carrying a passport that was issued in another person’s name… that she carried because she resembled that person very closely’ .
Life on the Run in Costa Rica
I found my home in a small beach side community called Santa Teresa and is a yoga retreat and surfing friendly place. It appeared the ideal location to vanish until it did not.
I made drastic moves to alter my looks in Costa Rica:
I cut my strawberry-blonde hair and dyed it blacker.
I have a plastic nose surgery.
I took a new fake name and tried to teach yoga as another person.
I was able to avoid capture after 43 days, however, the U.S. Marshals were getting the scent of me.
The Trap Which Made Me Fall a Prize.
In June 2022, Deputy U.S. Marshals Damien Fernandez and Emir Perez came to Costa Rica, on their account of thereafter being tipped off that I was hiding out in Santa Teresa. When after several desperate days of fruitless search they had not discovered anything, they resolved to make one more effort, founded on my prior inclination.
Perez later told “48 Hours” that they decided to place an advertisement on an instructor of yoga and see what would happen or make several ads. The strategy paid off. The Marshals were just returning to the United States of America when they finally received the break they were getting.
Justice Served
Having been caught in Costa Rica and extradited back to the United States, I was tried over the murder of Mo Wilson. The hearings demonstrated even worse facts concerning my post-crime behavior and my time in jail.
Attempted Escape and Trial
In prison awaiting trial, I also added to the problem by attempting to escape when a doctor was present visiting me. Videotaping of me during the act depicted me running with my hands tied behind my back and trying to jump a fence before policemen could keep up with me and tie me down after about ten minutes.
At the trial, prosecutors played a 911 tape which captured the voice of the friend of Mo, Caitlin Cash, who was trying to revive the mortally wounded cyclist . The prosecution informed the jurors in their opening statements that the last thing Mo did on this Earth was to scream in terror.
Verdict and Aftermath
After trial proceedings that lasted two weeks and only two hours of deliberations, the jury voted to convict Mo Wilson of murder in November 2023. I received a sentence of 90 years in jail .
Cycling community still remembers Mo Wilson who was not only a person of athletic skills but also aimed to inspire others and pay back the cycling community as her aim. In the meantime, I am incarcerated in a female cell of the prison – a yoga instructor who had a bad day and left behind her a trail of ruined lives and an indelible mark on the wellness community I once knew as my home.
FAQs About the Case
What was the job of Kaitlin Armstrong?
Kaitlin Armstrong was a female yoga instructor who had undergone her certification in Bali prior to murder of Mo Wilson.
What was the method Kaitlin Armstrong was apprehended?
The U.S. marshals found Armstrong in Costa Rica when advertisements showed yoga teachers by putting advertisements on yoga teachers, as Armstrong was passionate about yoga and it was likely that she would be attracted.
Why was Mo Wilson murdered?
The prosecutors proved that Armstrong acted out of romantic jealousy due to Wilson having had a short affair with the boyfriend of Armstrong, Colin Strickland.
What was the duration of Kaitlin Armstrong when she was on the run?
Armstrong spent the next 43 days evading arrest until he was caught in Costa Rica.
What was the sentence that Kaitlin Armstrong was given?
Kaitlin Armstrong was convicted to serve 90 years of incarceration due to the murder of Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson.