The woman accused of murdering her on-again-off-again boyfriend’s brief fling, then fleeing the country, pleaded not guilty in Texas court Wednesday.
Kaitlin Marie Armstrong’s trial has been set for October for the shooting death of 25-year-old Moriah Wilson, who was found dead at her Austin apartment on May 11.
“Ms. Armstrong wants her day in court,” her lawyer, Rick Cofer told reporters after the hearing. “Simply put, there is a lot more to this story that has yet been heard.”
Wilson, a professional cyclist, reportedly dated Armstrong’s boyfriend, Colin Strickland, while the pair were on a break in November, he told police after her murder. When Armstrong, 34, found out in January, she “became visibly angry and wanted to kill Wilson,” a witness told police, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
Strickland and Wilson, who remained friends after their tryst, hung out on May 11 while she was in Austin for a race. Around 8:30 p.m., Strickland dropped her back off at her place. Barely a minute later, a car linked to Armstrong pulled up, according to the affidavit.
Wilson was found dead around 10 p.m.
Within days of Wilson’s death, Armstrong allegedly sold her car and fled to New Jersey, then used a fake passport to fly from Newark International Airport to Costa Rica on May 18, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
On June 29, she was finally tracked down at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas and taken into custody.
Photos of Armstrong after her capture show the curly redhead with shorter dark hair, seemingly an attempt to disguise her appearance.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Armstrong faces life in prison. She has also been charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for allegedly using a fake name and passport to flee the country.
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