Kaitlin Armstrong’s passport was laid out on table ‘meticulously’ with foreign currency when cops visited her home the DAY after she’s accused of shooting dead love rival Mo Wilson before she went on run to Costa Rica

Kaitlin Armstrong’s passport was “carefully” placed on the table of her home, next to foreign currency and US dollars, when police visited her home the day after the murder of Moriah ‘Mo’ Wilson, her murder case heard today.

Armstrong is accused of shooting Mo Wilson three times on May 11, 2022, after discovering her continued contact with Colin Strickland.

At the time, Armstrong and Strickland had reconciled, but he still secretly spoke to Wilson and took her out to dinner the night she died behind his girlfriend’s back.

When officers visited Strickland on May 12 to inform him that Wilson had died, he at first denied knowing her, but then said “oh yeah” when officers repeated her full name. The video from a police officer’s bodycam was shown today at Armstrong’s trial but will not be made public.

The jury also heard testimony from several police officers who searched Armstrong and Strickland’s home after the murder.

They found a 9mm handgun in a cupboard that matched the shell casings at the scene. Strickland would later tell police how he bought the gun for Armstrong.

The passport and cash were deposited, an early indication of Armstrong’s flight risk. After an initial interrogation on May 12, she left the city and flew first to New York and then to Costa Rica, where she stayed for 43 days before being extradited to the US.

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

Kaitlin Armstrong is shown on the first day of her murder trial. She has pleaded not guilty but has yet to make a public statement or take a stand

No cameras may be present in the court during the duration of the trial. The judge has instead agreed to allow the opening statements and closing arguments to be televised.

Two officers approached Strickland and asked if he knew Wilson. He first shook his head and then admitted that he knew her.

When officers told him she had died, he seemed shocked. He told police how they had been together the previous night.

‘She died? That’s a lot,” he said, before describing how he dropped her off at her friend Caitlin Cash’s apartment and then returned home and told her, “See you tomorrow.”

The pair were both planning to attend a cycling race on May 12.

It was 8:36 p.m. when Wilson entered her friend’s apartment. The last time she used her phone was at 9:13 p.m., leading police to believe this was around the time she was killed.

“So I’m the last person to see her, from her circle?” he asked the police.

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.

He denied that they had been intimate during their date and insisted that they had only cuddled, but admitted that he had dated Wilson while he was on a break from his relationship with Armstrong.

“I ended up back with my girlfriend,” he said, before admitting that he had hidden his plans with Wilson from Armstrong.

When asked why he kept in touch with Wilson, he said, “(I) just kept up with her because she’s great.”

The officers then asked if he had Wilson’s mother’s address.

US Marshals launched a massive manhunt for Armstrong after she fled

At 8:36 p.m., Strickland sent Armstrong a text message telling her he was on his way home.

A minute later, her Jeep was filmed approaching the apartment where Wilson was staying.

At 9:15 p.m., two gunshots were captured by a neighbor’s surveillance camera. A third was heard later.

At 9:21 p.m., Strickland sent Armstrong another text message telling her he was home. She came home shortly afterwards.

Cash, the friend Wilson was staying with, returned home at 9:54 p.m. She found her body in the bathroom and called 911. Police arrived and pronounced Wilson dead at 10:10 p.m.

Kaitlin Armstrong in her booking photo after returning to the US from Costa Rica

How Armstrong would have entered the house remains a mystery. Her Jeep was filmed circling the block from the murder scene several times between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

Cash’s landlord and neighbor told police he entered his garage sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. While inside, he heard someone running down the stairs from the apartment.

He then saw a cyclist running south into an alley behind the building, but the garage door was only partially open, so he couldn’t see who was on the bike.

Wilson’s bicycle was the only thing missing from the apartment. It was found in vegetation 20 meters from the building. Prosecutors say DNA found on the bicycle is a strong potential match to Armstrong’s.

Armstrong arrived home shortly after 9:21 p.m.

On May 12, Armstrong was questioned by police about an outstanding, unrelated arrest warrant. Due to a paperwork error, she was released without charge.

Two days later, she used her sister’s passport to board a plane to New York and then to Costa Rica, where she remained until she was arrested on suspicion of the murder in July.

She has pleaded not guilty. Strickland is listed as one of the prosecution’s witnesses for the trial. He went into hiding while Armstrong was on the run and was never arrested or charged in connection with the murder.

Prosecutors say Armstrong was a jealous and rage-ridden woman who discovered her boyfriend’s lies and decided to kill Wilson to get her out of the picture.

The trial in Austin, Texas, will last another two weeks.