Kaitlin Armstrong, the Austin, Texas woman accused of fatally shooting professional cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson earlier this year, returned to court Wednesday as the judge denied her defense’s motions to suppress evidence and set a trial date in June.
The former yoga instructor’s defense attorney, Rick Cofer, had asked the court to throw out parts of her initial interview with police that he says were unconstitutionally collected. He had previously sought a speedy trial.
Judge Brenda Kennedy rejected the arguments on Wednesday and scheduled a jury convocation for June 22, court records show.
Armstrong, 34, is accused of ambushing Wilson, 25, who investigators say was a perceived romantic rival who had been on a date with Armstrong’s boyfriend, Colin Strickland, 35, another professional cyclist.
KAITLIN ARMSTRONG: DETECTIVE ADMITS SUSPECT IN CYCLIST SHOOTING COULD LEAVE COUNTRY AFTER INTERROGATION
Moriah “Mo” Wilson, left, and Kaitlin Armstrong.
(The Wilson Family/U.S. Marshals Service)
After an error about an unrelated arrest warrant that Austin police had used to arrest Armstrong shortly after the murder, he was not read your Miranda rights. And despite asking to leave several times after she was told she could, and asking for a lawyer, the police continued to question her.
The interview was later cited by detectives in the affidavit seeking an arrest warrant on murder charges, which the defense also disputes as misleading and insufficient.
“There are going to be a lot of challenges around this case right now,” said Robert Riggs, a Texas-based journalist behind the True Crime Reporter podcast and “Freed to Kill” on Fox Nation. “I think this ruling sets up the defense for a post-trial appeal if it doesn’t go their way.”
TEXAS CYCLIST MURDER SUSPECT KAITLIN ARMSTRONG: ‘SIXTY ADVERTISING’ MAKES A FAIR TRIAL ‘PRACTICALLY’ IMPOSSIBLE
Testifying during last month’s pre-trial hearing, former Plano Police Lieutenant Douglas Deatona defense expert witness who previously signed an affidavit condemning the order, called the affidavit “borderline character murder” and criticized detectives for what he called inexperience.
Armstrong was questioned and released. Then, 43 days later, police arrested her on a Costa Rica beach following a manhunt that sent sheriffs from Texas to New York to New Jersey before Central America. She allegedly dyed her hair and assumed a new identity.
Kaitlin Armstrong, left, pictured during an interview with Detective Katy Conner of the Austin Police Department in May.
(Austin Police)
Wilson’s friend found her collapsed in a pool of blood in the bathroom of the Austin apartment days before the gravel biking star was expected to compete in a race in Hico. He had “multiple gunshot wounds”.
Earlier that night, Wilson had gone swimming with Strickland at Deep Eddy Pool and then at Pool Burger, a bar and restaurant across the street. Strickland drove Wilson back to her friend’s house on her motorcycle and had misled Armstrong about her whereabouts all night, according to the affidavit.
Colin Strickland seen outside his home in Austin, Texas on June 17, 2022.
(MEGA)
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Court records show that Strickland, Armstrong’s boyfriend, repeatedly told detectives that he didn’t think she shot Wilson, and that he didn’t think she was the jealous or violent type.
