What Happened to Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson?

Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, born in Vermont, was a highly accomplished athlete who initially pursued a career in skiing, achieving a national ranking before multiple ACL tears led her to pivot to professional cycling. By 2022, she had become one of America's most dominant off-road cyclists, securing significant victories in gravel and mountain bike races and leaving her full-time job at Specialized Bicycles to commit to cycling professionally.

Wilson's promising career was tragically cut short on May 11, 2022. She was in Austin, Texas, preparing for the Gravel Locos race when she met up with fellow professional cyclist Colin Strickland for a swim and dinner. Wilson and Strickland had a brief romantic relationship in 2021 during a period when Strickland and his then-girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong, were on a break. Although their romantic involvement ended, they remained friends.

Later that evening, Wilson was found fatally shot with multiple gunshot wounds at a friend's residence where she was staying. Surveillance footage placed Armstrong's black Jeep Grand Cherokee near the crime scene around the time of the murder. Investigators quickly identified Armstrong as a person of interest, suspecting jealousy as the motive, as Armstrong had reportedly expressed a desire to kill Wilson and had tracked her movements using a fitness app like Strava.

Armstrong subsequently fled the United States, leading to a 43-day international manhunt. She was eventually apprehended on June 29, 2022, in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, where she had attempted to change her appearance and was using aliases. U.S. Marshals famously lured her out of hiding by posting a fake advertisement for a yoga instructor position. She was extradited back to Texas and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

The murder trial for Kaitlin Armstrong began on October 30, 2023. Prosecutors presented evidence including video surveillance, forensic analysis of the murder weapon (a SIG Sauer P365 handgun belonging to Armstrong), and Armstrong's jealous behavior. On November 16, 2023, a jury found Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of first-degree murder, and she was sentenced to 90 years in prison. Armstrong attempted to appeal her conviction, but in January 2026, the Texas Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction, finding no reversible error.

In addition to the criminal proceedings, Wilson's parents filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Armstrong in May 2024, seeking to prevent her from profiting from her crime and to cover damages. A judge ordered Armstrong to pay $15 million to the Wilson family in June 2024. The family also filed another lawsuit in July 2024 against Armstrong's family and Colin Strickland for fraudulent transfer of assets. Wilson's legacy is also being honored through the Moriah Wilson Foundation, which supports community and cycling initiatives.

As of April 3, 2026, Kaitlin Armstrong is serving her 90-year sentence at the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, a women's prison in Gatesville, Texas, with a projected release date in 2112 and parole eligibility in 2052. Wilson's story has gained renewed attention with the release of the Netflix documentary, "The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson," which premiered at SXSW in March 2026 and became available on Netflix on April 3, 2026.