Suspect in the fatal shooting of gravel racer Mo Wilson is still at large, US marshals have confirmed.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 34-year-old Caitlin Marie Armstrong in connection with the May 11 shooting of a 25-year-old man at a home in Austin, Texas. The charge is first-degree murder.
Armstrong has not been seen since May 13, two days after the shooting, after he was detained after the murder with an unspecified warrant for an invalid violation. Armston was therefore free to leave.
This is stated in a sworn statement of the police, which describes the events on the night when the murder took place.
Armstrong is the partner of another gravel racer, Colin Strickland, who the police oath says she was with Wilson the night before she was killed.
They visited the Deep Eddy Municipal Swimming Pool in Austin together around 5:30 p.m., according to Caitlin Cash, a professional racer with whom Wilson stayed.
That evening, after Wilson went to the pool, Cash went out to eat with friends and returned to find that the door to the house was unlocked. Cash found Wilson lying in the bathroom unconscious and covered in blood.
According to a security application on Cash’s phone, Wilson entered the electronic code to return to the house at 8:36 p.m. A video of surveillance from a neighboring house shows a black SUV with a rear-mounted bicycle stand arriving at Cash’s residence at 8:37 p.m.
Strickland, in his volunteer interview with police, said he sent a text message to Armstrong at 8:36 p.m., apologizing for dropping flowers at a friend’s house to cover up the fact that he was with Wilson. Strickland confirmed that he had been in a relationship with Armstrong for three years, except for a two-week break in October 2021, when Strickland established a romantic relationship with Wilson before reuniting with Armstrong.
After traveling to the pool the night of the murder, Strickland says he drove Wilson home on his motorcycle and left immediately after leaving her. He says he has not seen anyone else near the property.
Strickland returned home around 8:43 p.m. and began working on his bikes in preparation for the upcoming race. Around 9:30 p.m., Armstrong arrived home. Strickland also told police he bought two pistols between December 2021 and January 2022, one for himself and one for Armstrong.
Armstrong’s firearm was found at Strickland’s residence, and a forensic investigation suggests “significant potential”. The same firearm was used in the killing.
Stickland is not involved in the crime and is not wanted by law enforcement. Specialized, one of Strickland’s sponsors, confirmed to CyclingTips that it has terminated its contract with him and that he will no longer be a sponsored athlete for the brand.
On May 14, an anonymous caller contacted the Austin Police Department, claiming she was with Armstrong in January 2022, when Armstrong had just discovered that Strickland was still in a romantic relationship with Wilson. According to the caller, Armstrong told her that she was so angry that she wanted to kill Wilson.
In Texas, a first-degree murder crime can be a death penalty punishable by death.
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