TX - Moriah Wilson, 25, Cyclist Fatally Shot Before Race, Austin, 2022 *arrest* #5

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physician here!

couple clarifications, which I cannot hold in after spending tens of thousands of hours in the library :)


- No good doctor would ever order an MRI for a "waist-down" thing, unless this was an absolute medical mystery that had been serially investigated with equivocal findings, and even then... MRI is rarely used because of its massive list of cons, though it was quite promising when first introduced. Serial CT scans generally come before MRI, and CT is also not first imaging.

- XRAY and USS = much quicker, cheaper. Always first-line in the ER for any bony or soft tissue abnormalities. CT is NEVER the first imaging anyone would order, for any organ...UNLESS:

- UNLESS: your patient had head trauma (i.e. fell off a horse, motor vehicle accident, surfing accident, facial trauma/surgery...). This is to rule-out a brain bleed, studies show CT is most sensitive early on. Noncontrast CT head is a standard order for every ER patient who says "yes" when we say "did you hit your head when you fell?" (and for those with reduced consciousness/encephalopathy/obvious head bruising or laceration, obvi)

- last point: the "non-maleficence" do no harm principle. Doctor's have the responsibility to protect our patients and their health information, including prisoners. We are bound to deny even a LE request if not medically necessary, because exposure to radiation and contrast is doing harm for no medical reason. This became a huge discussion in WWII when American doctors happened across wounded Nazi soldiers, and when they wanted to treat the injuries, they were told not to treat an injured enemy. What would you do?
- So again, for that reason, no good doctor would order a CT on anyone who did not have a medical indication for one
...but again... anyone who comes in with recent head trauma would get one to rule out a slow subdural hematoma, and police mayyyy be very happy to provide this caring service for her post-surfing accident head injury, considering the CT will also show evidence of any recent bone fracture and stages of healing - time-sensitive imaging information.


sorry for the rant. fun part for me!

and yes, must point out that it has not yet been confirmed this specific imaging was done on KA. blood alcohol test was weird too...not a standard order. A urine drug screen is very standard and wasn't mentioned. hope we get to see what they produce.
Thank you for this amazing explanation!
 
physician here!

couple clarifications, which I cannot hold in after spending tens of thousands of hours in the library :)


- No good doctor would ever order an MRI for a "waist-down" thing, unless this was an absolute medical mystery that had been serially investigated with equivocal findings, and even then... MRI is rarely used because of its massive list of cons, though it was quite promising when first introduced. Serial CT scans generally come before MRI, and CT is also not first imaging.

- XRAY and USS = much quicker, cheaper. Always first-line in the ER for any bony or soft tissue abnormalities. CT is NEVER the first imaging anyone would order, for any organ...UNLESS:

- UNLESS: your patient had head trauma (i.e. fell off a horse, motor vehicle accident, surfing accident, facial trauma/surgery...). This is to rule-out a brain bleed, studies show CT is most sensitive early on. Noncontrast CT head is a standard order for every ER patient who says "yes" when we say "did you hit your head when you fell?" (and for those with reduced consciousness/encephalopathy/obvious head bruising or laceration, obvi)

- last point: the "non-maleficence" do no harm principle. Doctor's have the responsibility to protect our patients and their health information, including prisoners. We are bound to deny even a LE request if not medically necessary, because exposure to radiation and contrast is doing harm for no medical reason. This became a huge discussion in WWII when American doctors happened across wounded Nazi soldiers, and when they wanted to treat the injuries, they were told not to treat an injured enemy. What would you do?
- So again, for that reason, no good doctor would order a CT on anyone who did not have a medical indication for one
...but again... anyone who comes in with recent head trauma would get one to rule out a slow subdural hematoma, and police mayyyy be very happy to provide this caring service for her post-surfing accident head injury, considering the CT will also show evidence of any recent bone fracture and stages of healing - time-sensitive imaging information.


sorry for the rant. fun part for me!

and yes, must point out that it has not yet been confirmed this specific imaging was done on KA. blood alcohol test was weird too...not a standard order. A urine drug screen is very standard and wasn't mentioned. hope we get to see what they produce.

Thank you @hurryhome for confirming that it's not yet known what if any specific imaging was done on KA -- especially given this is generally the purpose of the subpoena for all medical records to begin with!

For example, a copy of the autopsy was probably also requested but that doesn't mean that the hospital can/will produce or that it's applicable.
 
Criminal defense attorney Scott Reich recently spoke (Crime Talk YT) about the subpoena duces tecum (ordering a person to attend a court and bring relevant documents) served on the Houston Medical center -- confirming the DA's office is gathering any discoverable, circumstantial evidence of KA's consciousness of guilt.

For anybody that followed the 2016 foreign murder of Bianca Rudolph by her dentist husband Larry Rudolph -- found guilty on 8/1/22, one clearly understands how important and/or powerful it is to provide the jury with evidence to draw inferences after the murder occurred. MOO
 
This may be a repeat point and out of left field, but… is there a possibility of a struggle during the murder that led to a face/head injury? I know that a lot of time elapsed, obviously…

Though intuition says the heinous act was quick, this niggled at me.

I wonder. MOO
 
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Another instance of a murderer using a sibling's identity to remain free. Worked better for this guy though.



The man wanted in the 1992 Alameda, California murder of Juliette Rivera was able to avoid arrest for decades by assuming the identity of his brother and living for years as a transient, moving place to place and never fully settling down.
 
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Just the thought of her doing time in a federal prison vs state prison makes me mad. She’s gonna get the easier way of doing her time. She’s seems to be entitled.
Moo
Welcome to Websleuths! I’m pretty sure this is currently a Texas state case. If she is convicted of first-degree murder, she’d maybe go to one of these.

TEXAS WOMEN'S PRISON & STATE JAIL UNITS
  • BRIDGEPORT (FEMALE) PRISON UNIT. 222 Lake Road, Bridgeport, Texas 76426.
  • HENLEY STATE JAIL UNIT. 7581 Hwy 321, Dayton, Texas 77535.
  • HILLTOP PRISON UNIT. 1500 State School Road, Gatesville, Texas 76598.
  • HOBBY PRISON UNIT. 742 FM 712, Marlin, Texas 76661.
  • LOCKHART PRISON UNIT.
 
physician here!

couple clarifications, which I cannot hold in after spending tens of thousands of hours in the library :)


- No good doctor would ever order an MRI for a "waist-down" thing, unless this was an absolute medical mystery that had been serially investigated with equivocal findings, and even then... MRI is rarely used because of its massive list of cons, though it was quite promising when first introduced. Serial CT scans generally come before MRI, and CT is also not first imaging.

- XRAY and USS = much quicker, cheaper. Always first-line in the ER for any bony or soft tissue abnormalities. CT is NEVER the first imaging anyone would order, for any organ...UNLESS:

- UNLESS: your patient had head trauma (i.e. fell off a horse, motor vehicle accident, surfing accident, facial trauma/surgery...). This is to rule-out a brain bleed, studies show CT is most sensitive early on. Noncontrast CT head is a standard order for every ER patient who says "yes" when we say "did you hit your head when you fell?" (and for those with reduced consciousness/encephalopathy/obvious head bruising or laceration, obvi)

- last point: the "non-maleficence" do no harm principle. Doctor's have the responsibility to protect our patients and their health information, including prisoners. We are bound to deny even a LE request if not medically necessary, because exposure to radiation and contrast is doing harm for no medical reason. This became a huge discussion in WWII when American doctors happened across wounded Nazi soldiers, and when they wanted to treat the injuries, they were told not to treat an injured enemy. What would you do?
- So again, for that reason, no good doctor would order a CT on anyone who did not have a medical indication for one
...but again... anyone who comes in with recent head trauma would get one to rule out a slow subdural hematoma, and police mayyyy be very happy to provide this caring service for her post-surfing accident head injury, considering the CT will also show evidence of any recent bone fracture and stages of healing - time-sensitive imaging information.


sorry for the rant. fun part for me!

and yes, must point out that it has not yet been confirmed this specific imaging was done on KA. blood alcohol test was weird too...not a standard order. A urine drug screen is very standard and wasn't mentioned. hope we get to see what they produce.

You forgot one thing, Physician! ;)

KA is pretty manipulative, she could have claimed being taken advantage of either form. Ordering lower body CT, much less X-ray, understanding that several month later, she might well turn around and sue the hospital for doing such a test on a pregnant woman? I know they ask you of “any chance of pregnancy” even when they do teeth X-ray, but first, they still cover you head to toe with a protective cover, and second, it is just teeth, far from the pelvis, low-intensity X-ray. And most important, a woman may not know about pregnancy till much later. KA is sexually active, god knows what happened to her in CR, she is brought in by marshals, she has hired the most expensive lawyer in the state…I wouldn’t risk doing below-waist CT, much less, X-ray, unless, there is a huge bone trauma. I don’t think she is pregnant and, of course there might be a negative pregnancy tests coming prior to any imaging, but it might be a few days’ pregnancy, and mainly, I’d still would be wary in her case specifically, because it is KA. (And this is exactly what I hinted at in this case, hoping people would guess!)
 
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You forgot one thing, Physician! ;)

KA is pretty manipulative, she could have claimed being taken advantage of either form. Ordering lower body CT, much less X-ray, understanding that several month later, she might well turn around and sue the hospital for doing such a test on a pregnant woman? I know they ask you of “any chance of pregnancy” even when they do teeth X-ray, but first, they still cover you head to toe with a protective cover, and second, it is just teeth, far from the pelvis, low-intensity X-ray. And most important, a woman may not know about pregnancy till much later. KA is sexually active, god knows what happened to her in CR, she is brought in by marshals, she has hired the most expensive lawyer in the state…I wouldn’t risk doing below-waist CT, much less, X-ray, unless, there is a huge bone trauma. I don’t think she is pregnant and, of course there might be a negative pregnancy tests coming prior to any imaging, but it might be a few days’ pregnancy, and mainly, I’d still would be wary in her case specifically, because it is KA. (And this is exactly what I hinted at in this case, hoping people would guess!)

thank you! I probably forgot many things, haha, especially considering all the grammatical issues in my post, which now pain me to see :)

yes - pregnancy is important to consider.
your speculation is correct, though, that any woman of childbearing age gets a urine preg test (UPT) right away in ER, becuase we cannot safely intervene on anything until we know this part of her health status, for the important concerns you mentioned.

fun fact on this, ^^a study^^ in 2006 showed that many women can accurately tell us whether or not htey are pregnant, but we UPT everyone of childbearing age anyway. I used to think this was an attack on women's rights (lol, first year med) and now I know it's no big deal, it's for everyone's safety and grounded in respect for bodily autonomy! UPTs can also be positive in some forms of cancer, ectopic pregnancies, etc... we often check that urine for a couple important things too, great noninvasive first screening test to point us in a direction, not usually one of the results we have to discuss.

great points!
 
Welcome to Websleuths! I’m pretty sure this is currently a Texas state case. If she is convicted of first-degree murder, she’d maybe go to one of these.

TEXAS WOMEN'S PRISON & STATE JAIL UNITS
  • BRIDGEPORT (FEMALE) PRISON UNIT. 222 Lake Road, Bridgeport, Texas 76426.
  • HENLEY STATE JAIL UNIT. 7581 Hwy 321, Dayton, Texas 77535.
  • HILLTOP PRISON UNIT. 1500 State School Road, Gatesville, Texas 76598.
  • HOBBY PRISON UNIT. 742 FM 712, Marlin, Texas 76661.
  • LOCKHART PRISON UNIT.

Will these be the same prison/jail units that KA would be sent to if she is convicted of a felony of the second degree? As we discussed earlier, in the punishment phase of the trial, her legal defense team may argue for a crime of sudden passion which, if successful in the penalty phase, can lessen the charge from murder to a second degree felony and also lessen the sentence.

I assume the prison placemnt would depend upon the length of the sentence that she receives given the sudden passion scenario.
 
Will these be the same prison/jail units that KA would be sent to if she is convicted of a felony of the second degree? As we discussed earlier, in the punishment phase of the trial, her legal defense team may argue for a crime of sudden passion which, if successful in the penalty phase, can lessen the charge from murder to a second degree felony and also lessen the sentence.

I assume the prison placemnt would depend upon the length of the sentence that she receives given the sudden passion scenario.
Great question. I don’t know for sure that any of the ones I noted would be the ones she would actually go to, even for first degree murder. The ones I noted are just examples of Texas prisons for women, which I believe is where she’d go, vs. a federal prison, per the OP’s question in the original post.

Depending on the outcome of a trial, she could go to a prison, a jail, a medical facility, or incredibly - she could go home.

Here is a more detailed list of Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities. https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/unit_directory/index.html

JMO
 
Welcome to Websleuths! I’m pretty sure this is currently a Texas state case. If she is convicted of first-degree murder, she’d maybe go to one of these.

TEXAS WOMEN'S PRISON & STATE JAIL UNITS
  • BRIDGEPORT (FEMALE) PRISON UNIT. 222 Lake Road, Bridgeport, Texas 76426.
  • HENLEY STATE JAIL UNIT. 7581 Hwy 321, Dayton, Texas 77535.
  • HILLTOP PRISON UNIT. 1500 State School Road, Gatesville, Texas 76598.
  • HOBBY PRISON UNIT. 742 FM 712, Marlin, Texas 76661.
  • LOCKHART PRISON UNIT.
If she ends up in Lockhart, maybe CS can stop by and have lunch with her when he is working on his trailers. JMO
 
Just the thought of her doing time in a federal prison vs state prison makes me mad. She’s gonna get the easier way of doing her time. She’s seems to be entitled.
Moo
If she did fed prison time, it would likely be short, though, if she’s convicted of the murder.
 
Just the thought of her doing time in a federal prison vs state prison makes me mad. She’s gonna get the easier way of doing her time. She’s seems to be entitled.
Moo
Welcome to WS @Noseynora.

KA murdered MW in the state of Texas where she's been indicted, charged, and arraigned for 1st-degree murder.

This was not a foreign murder and there's no basis for KA to serve her sentence in federal prison. Also, the May 10, murder in Texas occurred prior to any federal crime alleged by the defendant.

Relative to a shorter term in federal prison, that's also false. Since KA is not under the age of 18, being convicted in US District Court (FED) versus Travis County District Court, the mandatory sentence for 1st-degree murder is the same: Death, or Life without parole.

 
Welcome to WS @Noseynora.

KA murdered MW in the state of Texas where she's been indicted, charged, and arraigned for 1st-degree murder.

This was not a foreign murder and there's no basis for KA to serve her sentence in federal prison. Also, the May 10, murder in Texas occurred prior to any federal crime alleged by the defendant.

Relative to a shorter term in federal prison, that's also false. Since KA is not under the age of 18, being convicted in US District Court (FED) versus Travis County District Court, the mandatory sentence for 1st-degree murder is the same: Death, or Life without parole.

If KA goes to trial and is convicted of 1st degree murder, is she eligible for the death penalty? I was thinking her charge of 1st-degree murder (vs. capital murder) avoided the possibility of the death penalty.
 
Welcome to WS @Noseynora.

KA murdered MW in the state of Texas where she's been indicted, charged, and arraigned for 1st-degree murder.

This was not a foreign murder and there's no basis for KA to serve her sentence in federal prison. Also, the May 10, murder in Texas occurred prior to any federal crime alleged by the defendant.

Relative to a shorter term in federal prison, that's also false. Since KA is not under the age of 18, being convicted in US District Court (FED) versus Travis County District Court, the mandatory sentence for 1st-degree murder is the same: Death, or Life without parole.


There is technically no 'First-degree murder' charge in Texas. There is Capital Murder, which carries several conditions, listed below, and there is Murder, which is still a first degree offense, and is what Kaitlin is charged with. Capital Murder carries a death sentence, or LWOP as mandatory sentences, but Murder, which Kaitlin is charged with, carries a 5-99 year sentence, and, during the penalty phase, upon conviction, her attorney may plead crime of sudden passion, in which case, if successful, the penalty is reduced to 2-20 years.

Penalties for Murder

The penalties for murder and capital murder can be found in Chapter 12 of the Texas Penal Code. Under Section 12.32, the crime of murder is considered a felony in the first degree. This is punishable by the following:

  • Fine: up to $10,000
  • Prison sentence: between five and 99 years
Section 12.31 defines capital murder as a capital felony offense. If convicted of a capital felony, the options for punishment are life in prison or the death penalty. The minimum age in Texas that a person can receive the death penalty is seventeen years of age or older. When the death penalty is not sought in a capital felony crime, the options for punishment are as follows:

 
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There is technically no 'First-degree murder' charge in Texas. There is Capital Murder, which carries several conditions, listed below, and there is Murder, which is still a first degree offense, and is what Kaitlin is charged with. Capital Murder carries a death sentence, or LWOP as mandatory sentences, but Murder, which Kaitlin is charged with, carries a 5-99 year sentence, and, during the penalty phase, upon conviction, her attorney may plead crime of sudden passion, in which case, if successful, the penalty is reduced to 2-20 years.
^^rsbm

This is a fluid investigation and I'm certainly not going to dispute the dozens of local news sources that have read the indictments, etc., for a case where the defendant could still have her charges upgraded! MOO


Armstrong faces a first-degree murder charge and in her arraignment Wednesday, Armstrong pled not guilty.

In addition to that, U.S. Marshals had obtained a warrant for her arrest on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after she fled Texas in May, traveling to New York, New Jersey and then Costa Rica, where police arrested her at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provinica de Puntarenas on June 29.

A federal judge recently dismissed that charge against Armstrong but it's just a formality, and she could face the charge again in the future if prosecutors deem it neces
sary.



Armstrong was scheduled for a pretrial hearing in the 403rd District Court for her first-degree murder charge. Pretrial hearings are typically quick and procedural, but also offer attorneys the opportunity to file motions, ask for specific evidence to be included or not and set the stage for trial.


Armstrong is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson.
 
^^rsbm

This is a fluid investigation and I'm certainly not going to dispute the dozens of local news sources that have read the indictments, etc., for a case where the defendant could still have her charges upgraded! MOO


Armstrong faces a first-degree murder charge and in her arraignment Wednesday, Armstrong pled not guilty.

In addition to that, U.S. Marshals had obtained a warrant for her arrest on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after she fled Texas in May, traveling to New York, New Jersey and then Costa Rica, where police arrested her at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provinica de Puntarenas on June 29.

A federal judge recently dismissed that charge against Armstrong but it's just a formality, and she could face the charge again in the future if prosecutors deem it neces
sary.



Armstrong was scheduled for a pretrial hearing in the 403rd District Court for her first-degree murder charge. Pretrial hearings are typically quick and procedural, but also offer attorneys the opportunity to file motions, ask for specific evidence to be included or not and set the stage for trial.


Armstrong is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson.

MURDER is a first degree offense, but does not carry death or LWOP as options. She has not been charged or indicted for CAPITAL MURDER, which is the ONLY murder charge that carries that punishment, This link shows that there are four levels of homicide in Texas, and none are listed as First Degree Murder. What is being reported as her first degree murder charge, or murder in the first degree is legally defined as MURDER. Nowhere has anyone reported that she is being charged with Capital Murder, nor has anyone reported she is facing death or LWOP if convicted.

What are the 4 categories of homicide in Texas?​

According to Texas Penal Code 19.01, homicide is a felony crime that is defined as “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing the death of an individual.” Criminal homicide is a broad term used to define four different subsets: murder, capital murder, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide. The differences between each classification depend on the nature and intention of the accused crime.

  • Murder (Texas Penal Code 19.02): Contrary to common phrasing, murder and homicide are not legally defined as the same crime. Murder is committed when a person “intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another person.” You can also be charged with murder if you caused the death of another person during an attempt to inflict serious bodily injury or commit another felony.
  • Captial murder (Texas Penal Code 19.03): What is capital murder? Homicide is charged as capital murder if the victim was a law officer on duty, under the age of 10, or if the death occurred during the commission or attempted commission of kidnapping, robbery, burglary, arson, aggravated sexual assault, retaliation, obstruction or during a terrorist threat. You can also be charged with capital murder if more than one person was killed during an attempt to commit another felony.
  • Manslaughter (Texas Penal Code 19.04): The difference between murder and manslaughter is that manslaughter occurs when you cause the death of an individual as a result of your reckless disregard for human life. Manslaughter can be separated into two classifications: involuntary manslaughter (negligently causing the death of another person without intent to kill) and voluntary manslaughter (intentionally killing another person in the heat of the moment).
  • Criminally negligent homicide (Texas Penal Code 19.05): A person is charged with criminally negligent homicide if they cause the death of an individual by criminal negligence (i.e. reckless driving).

  • The Different Degrees of Murder in Texas | Thiessen Law Firm
 
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If KA goes to trial and is convicted of 1st degree murder, is she eligible for the death penalty? I was thinking her charge of 1st-degree murder (vs. capital murder) avoided the possibility of the death penalty.
We know that Texas is the state where murder trials heard in Texas District Courts proceed in two phases: guilt/innocense phase, and the punishment phase.

I think this is also why we hear that the DA can still upgrade the defendant's charges to Capital murder.

Perhaps the link in my earlier post did not clearly differentiate the death punishment as one option decided during the 2nd phase of the trial.

I also followed the twice-convicted Texas murderer David Temple's case where in Aug 2019, after an 18-day retrial, he was convicted of his wife Belinda, and unborn child's murder for a second time, but he's still waiting on the punishment phase of his trial after a mistrial on this phase in 2019.

Hard to imagine this is even possible while others are allowed to bump their case to the head of the line! MOO
 
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