Kaitlin Armstrong trial: Jurors hear opening statements in cyclist murder case

Prosecutors instructed jurors they plan to provide audio of the moments skilled cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson was once fatally shot throughout opening statements in the murder trial of Texas yoga trainer Kaitlin Armstrong.

Armstrong, 35, was once charged with first-degree murder in the deadly taking pictures of Wilson, 25, who was once discovered affected by more than one gunshot wounds at a chum’s house in Austin at the evening of May 11, 2022.

“The last thing Mo did on this earth was scream in terror,” Travis County prosecutor Rick Jones instructed jurors, announcing they plan to play the audio from a close-by surveillance digicam that captured the taking pictures throughout the trial. “You’ll hear those screams.”

“Those screams are followed by, ‘Pop! Pop!'” Jones endured, including that Wilson was once shot two times in the pinnacle, adopted by means of silence, then a 3rd time in the center.

Jones instructed jurors prosecutors plan to provide video, cellular phone, ballistic and DNA proof that proves Armstrong killed Wilson — together with testimony from a DNA knowledgeable who will testify that there is a “very strong likelihood” that Armstrong’s DNA was once retrieved from Wilson’s bicycle, which was once discovered out of doors the pal’s place of dwelling.

Defense legal professional Geoffrey Puryear mentioned in a short lived opening commentary that there is not any digicam pictures of Armstrong on the scene and known as the state’s forensic science “unreliable.”

He mentioned the state and investigators have been “so desperate to keep Kaitlin Armstrong in their crosshairs that they had tunnel vision and jumped to conclusions.”

Armstrong pleaded now not to blame to first-degree murder. The trial is predicted to final two weeks.

Wilson was once as soon as romantically connected to Armstrong’s boyfriend, Colin Strickland, a fellow skilled cyclist, and was once discovered shot hours after assembly up with him, police mentioned. Armstrong’s 2012 Jeep Cherokee was once captured on surveillance pictures from a neighboring house preventing out of doors the place of dwelling the evening of the murder, in line with the arrest warrant affidavit.

Jones mentioned prosecutors plan to provide proof that presentations Armstrong had get admission to to her boyfriend’s emails and textual content messages with Wilson, and that she was once in a position to trace Wilson’s location via a health app.

An afternoon after being interviewed by means of police about Wilson’s murder, prosecutors say Armstrong offered her Jeep and fled to Costa Rica. She was once arrested in June 2022 following a 43-day seek at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas.

Jones mentioned that days sooner than her arrest, Armstrong spent $6,425 on cosmetic surgery “to change her appearance.”

Puryear mentioned that Armstrong is “passionate about traveling” and that in the times following the taking pictures “weird things” have been going down at her house that “would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety.”

“That ultimately led to her decision to leave Austin,” he mentioned.

Armstrong could also be accused of making an attempt to flee from custody previous to the beginning of the trial. She was once charged with get away inflicting physically damage — a prison — after the Travis County Sheriff’s Office mentioned she in brief refrained from two corrections officials whilst being transported to an off-site scientific appointment on Oct. 11.

Armstong has pleaded now not to blame to the get away price, which the pass judgement on on Monday agreed to permit the state to make use of in their case on Wilson’s murder.

ABC News’ Keturah Gray, Teri Mariani, Olivia Osteen, Megan Streete and Gina Sunseri contributed to this file.