Kaitlin Armstrong trial begins with opening statements: Prosecutors say yoga teacher ‘stood over’ victim Mo Wilson and ‘shot her in the heart’ after learning she’d been texting her boyfriend
- Armstrong denies killing Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin in May 2022
- Her highly anticipated murder trial begins today with opening statements
- Prosecutors will call her boyfriend, Colin Strickland, to the witness stand
- Caitlin Cash, the friend who found Wilson’s body, will also testify at the trial
- Prosecutors say Armstrong’s DNA was also found on Wilson’s bicycle
Prosecutors today described how Texas yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong abandoned her love rival Moriah “Mo” Wilson and shot her “in the heart” in explosive opening statements to kick off her murder trial.
Armstrong, 36, appeared in court wearing a navy blue jacket with her auburn hair curled. She appeared to have returned to her natural hair color after darkening it and having plastic surgery while on the run.
She is accused of killing Wilson in cold blood and shooting her three times in May 2022 after learning she was texting her boyfriend Colin Strickland.
Armstrong denies the allegations. Her lawyers said today they would focus on “reason, doubt and common sense.” Their comments infuriated the prosecutors, who objected relentlessly throughout.
Armstrong’s lawyers said that after an initial police interrogation, she fled from Austin to New York and then to Costa Rica because she was “passionate about travel and yoga” and began to fear for her safety after “weird things” happened to her started happening at home.
Prosecutors told the jury they would hear Wilson’s screams on surveillance footage from the scene, which they said also proves Armstrong committed the murder.
Yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong enters the courtroom Wednesday for opening statements in her murder trial
Accused murderer Kaitlin Armstrong appears in court for opening statements in her murder trial
Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of fatally shooting Moriah “Mo” Wilson on May 11, 2022 in Austin
“On May 11, 2022, at 9:15 PM, here in Austin, Texas, screaming in fear was the last thing Mo did on this earth. You will hear those screams.
‘There is a surveillance camera through which sound passes.
‘We’ll play it for you. You’ll hear that scream. You’ll also hear “pam, pam,” the prosecutor said, clapping to imitate the sound of gunshots.
“Kaitlin Armstrong stood over Mo Wilson and fired a third shot straight into Mo Wilson’s heart,” he said.
In addition to surveillance camera footage and cell phone evidence, prosecutors say they will present testimony from Strickland about his romance with Armstrong and his friendship with Wilson.
Wilson was murdered after a secret date with Armstrong’s friend, Colin Strickland (pictured). He went into hiding after her death while Armstrong was on the run
Caitlin Cash, the friend Wilson was staying with when she was shot, will also take the stand.
She will describe how she found Wilson in her home, lying with her legs spread “as if she were running.”
Armstrong was arrested last year after being on the run in Costa Rica for 43 days.
Earlier this month, she tried to escape prison guards again during a visit to a doctor’s office.
US Marshals launched a massive manhunt for Armstrong after she fled