The boyfriend at the center of yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong’s murder trial took the stand again today to testify about their messy romance, telling the court how she routinely blocked women’s phone numbers from his phone without his knowledge.
Armstrong is accused of killing love rival Moriah “Mo” Wilson on May 11, 2022, in Austin, Texas. Wilson had been on a swimming date with Armstrong’s boyfriend, Colin Strickland, the night she was killed.
She denies the accusations, but has yet to provide an alibi. Her Jeep was filmed by neighborhood ring cameras arriving and leaving the scene at the time of the murder.
Last week, Strickland told the court he was afraid of entering into a long-term relationship with Armstrong.
Colin Strickland walks into court Monday wearing a mask, sunglasses and hat to continue his testimony against ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Armstrong
Kaitlin Armstrong is shown on the first day of her trial. Cameras are only allowed inside for opening statements. Closing arguments will be the only other part of the trial that will be televised
Moriah “Mo” Wilson was shot and killed in Austin on May 11. She had just returned from an evening swim with Strickland, whom she had once dated
Today he returned to the stand to testify about how jealous she was of his relationships and friendships with other women.
In a video obtained by NewsNation, he was seen entering the court wearing a baseball hat, mask and sunglasses.
Armstrong, he said, routinely blocked other women’s phone numbers in his phone behind his back. Wilson was one of them, he said.
On May 10, Wilson texted Strickland to say she would be in Austin.
He asked her to go cycling, to which she did not respond, after which the pair made plans to go swimming on May 11.
At 4:32 p.m., she texted him to tell him to pick her up at her friend’s house. At 5:43 p.m., he texted her to tell her he was outside.
Kaitlin Armstrong in her booking photo after returning to the US from Costa Rica
Strickland then told the court how he changed Wilson’s name on his phone to ‘Christine Wall’ to avoid Armstrong’s wrath.
“I don’t know anyone, but it’s the name I used for Mo in my phone,” he said.
Other texts revealed how Armstrong managed Strickland’s income as a professional cyclist.
But in some cases, she warned him against spending time with Wilson.
“I know you know better than to show up at (a cycling event) with that girl,” she texted him on October 28, 2021 – eight months before the murder.
He replied, “Will you please be an adult? I’m not going because I’m trying to respect you.’
At 8:05 PM that evening, he texted her again.
‘Did you call Mo? Wtf?’ he asked. She told him she couldn’t talk.
In March 2022, Armstrong was furious after seeing an Instagram photo of the pair completing a cycling race.
Strickland said he wasn’t sure if he would pursue a serious relationship with Armstrong
After Wilson and Strickland’s secret meeting, Armstrong’s 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was spotted driving outside Wilson’s friend’s home in Austin, where the cyclist was killed.
“Send my love to Mo,” she joked.
“Can you please stop,” he begged her.
On the day of the murder, while swimming with Wilson, Strickland told Armstrong he had gone to drop off flowers at a friend’s house.
‘Hi! Are you gone? I went to drop off some flowers for Alison at her son’s house up north and my phone went dead. “I’m going home unless you have another dinner suggestion,” he said.
On May 13, two days after the murder, Strickland texted Armstrong’s iCloud email asking if she had a phone.
“I activated my number,” he said. Prosecutors did not question him about what he meant.
Armstrong’s attorneys will question Strickland throughout the afternoon.
Last week, jurors were shown Ring surveillance camera footage from a neighbor in which Wilson could be heard screaming.
Three gunshots were heard.
Prosecutors say Armstrong, using a gun Strickland bought for her, shot Wilson twice in the head and once through the heart.
She is then believed to have fled the apartment on Wilson’s bicycle, which was found in the bushes behind her apartment.
Armstrong fled Texas after an initial police interrogation. She then flew to Costa Rica, where she said she only taught yoga.
She was eventually arrested in July and returned to Austin. A few weeks before her trial began, she tried to flee again during a visit to a doctor’s office.
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