TX - Moriah Wilson, 25, prized cyclist, fatally shot before race, Austin, May 2022 #2

[Charlot123]

Snipped for focus

I don’t understand where dissociation comes in. Could you clarify?

I used to say that KA was probably very much in sound mind when she killed MW. (Because her actions were purposeful). Then I remembered my experience of seeing a person who was doing a thing that required very purposeful, precise movements (try walking at a 4th story ledge in an apartment house at night; he had some plank for balance). A couple of people living in the house saw him, and they all thought he was probably planning to get into one of apartments and steal. But since me and my (now hubby) were the only two seeing his face (as he chose our apartment to try and get inside), we know it was not the face of a thief, it was the face of someone with, likely, some form of somnambulism. (Happy to pm details, it is a long story). This is why I started asking myself whether KA was a form of dissociative state during her attack (because who would not think of a door camera?). (People also asked, why not throwing the incriminating gun somewhere where it won’t be found).

However, it was typed yesterday morning, just posted in the evening. I didn’t see she was caught ( KA and murder of MW is not in major news, you have to specifically Google to find anything about her). So it was post factum, so to say, by mistake.

Now, seeing where she was apprehended, I wonder if she is merely horribly immature. Killing someone, traveling with the passport of “someone she resembles”, to a South American country, and getting into water yoga groups… of course she’d stick out, and worse, her choice of occupation shows that she had zero remorse.

 

[Charlot123]

Thanks. Very helpful to know — sadly, what you state is true, I’ve found over the years, in so many disciplines: Therapists, pastoral counselors, professors, etc.

I think it is still old bell curve, you will meet the same traits, in the same proportion, wherever you go. Some professions may attract some people, but that is all. About yoga, what people in the West practice is probably more Hatha yoga (physical part of it). Raja, or Ashtanga Yoga, has nothing externally attractive but it is the way to self-discipline. Hot sauna yoga or surfing yoga have little to do with deep Indian philosophy of yoga as I see it. I used to practice yoga when young, and this stage, pratyahara, withdrawal of senses from external objects, for some reason was easy for me. In general, I subscribe to the concept of karma. But I never tried to go deeper as it is a complex, Eastern philosophy that requires a lot of dedication. MOO.

Rāja yoga - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[SpanishInquisition]

He won't need a lawyer for murder, but he purchased the murder weapon knowing that his other girlfriend was off her head with jealousy.


"Strickland allegedly told authorities he purchased the alleged murder weapon for Armstrong." ...

"Investigators executed a search warrant at Armstrong’s home, which she shares with Strickland, and ultimately confirmed that one of the guns found in Armstrong’s home was the murder weapon: a Sig-Sauer P365 9mm, APD Homicide Det. Richard Spitler previously said."

Texas murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong through the years: Love triangle fugitive seen in decades-old photos

Kaitlin Armstrong has been on the lam for six weeks in connection with the shooting murder of top professional cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson in Austin, Texas, police have said.

www.foxnews.com

Kaitlin Armstrong manhunt: Texas love triangle murder suspect captured on Costa Rica beach, Marshals announce

Law enforcement caught Kaitlin Armstrong on a Costa Rica beach after she fled Texas following the death of romantic rival and gravel cycling pro Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson.

www.foxnews.com

I think the case could get very interesting depending on how KA feels about CS now. So far I haven't heard anything that definitively proves that KA did it. Instead it seems to rely on CS who LE themselves says isn't honest, like it's his word that he didn't go in MW's place and it's also his word about the pistol where it sounds like she didn't have exclusive control over the murder weapon. If KA is willing to have her lawyer go after CS, I think a lot of reasonable doubt could be raised and CS had better be prepared for this both criminally and as well as PR-wise, like the trial could definitively end his racing career just with how bad he could come off even if he isn't charged with any crime.

 

[spangled]

Now, seeing where she was apprehended, I wonder if she is merely horribly immature. Killing someone, traveling with the passport of “someone she resembles”, to a South American country, and getting into water yoga groups… of course she’d stick out, and worse, her choice of occupation shows that she had zero remorse.

The audacity... it actually smacks of arrogance. This is not a woman running away and hunkering down, overcome with fear and shame. This is a woman breezing in to an extremely attractive beach location, surfing, joining yoga classes.

I think she feels in some way her actions were justified, to be conducting herself as such.

Quite incredible. She's in for a shock.

 

[ElGato]

It sounds to me like his name will be mud among the cycling community for some time. I mean of course he didn't kill Mo but he may have been playing with fire and chickens came home to roost. I don't mean the cycling community would be mad at him for being a playa, but because Mo was very beloved it sounds like.
This is a completely different subject but I've read some entertaining posts about recreational coed softball leagues putting out memos at the beginning of the season asking the guys not to jump right in pumping and dumping the women early in the season, because that makes the women drop out and pretty soon they can't play if they don't have enough women. It was something to the effect of "hold off until later in the season before you guys alienate all the women on our team please"
Not that women can't be playas too, and ghost the guys...don't know how often that happens... trying to be equal-minded but I read that the whole "rec softball as a meat market" thing got so ridiculous they came out and put out memos about it.

I agree. I also have a sense that he's responsible for KA's misperception, that Moriah was 'going after' him, rather than him deliberately pursuing M, against KA's clearly stated demand he not do it.

So it feels like Moriah was an innocent bystander, 'collateral damage' in the breakdown in this couple's relationship.

It's interesting he went into hiding. Subconciously perhaps, acknowledging the bullets were meant for him. He dodged them with his secrecy and lies, and left Moriah to take them.

So I would speculate his apparent defiance is actually a response to a guilty conscience.

However, that has nothing to do with legal responsibility.

JMO

 

[SMK777]

I think the case could get very interesting depending on how KA feels about CS now. So far I haven't heard anything that definitively proves that KA did it. Instead it seems to rely on CS who LE themselves says isn't honest, like it's his word that he didn't go in MW's place and it's also his word about the pistol where it sounds like she didn't have exclusive control over the murder weapon. If KA is willing to have her lawyer go after CS, I think a lot of reasonable doubt could be raised and CS had better be prepared for this both criminally and as well as PR-wise, like the trial could definitively end his racing career just with how bad he could come off even if he isn't charged with any crime.

The question is, though, why were LE and US Marshals so sure that CS was not a suspect and not to be charged or served with a warrant, only KA? Surely they’re not silly enough to simply take his word for it? They did a thorough investigation.

 

[SMK777]

The audacity... it actually smacks of arrogance. This is not a woman running away and hunkering down, overcome with fear and shame. This is a woman breezing in to an extremely attractive beach location, surfing, joining yoga classes.

I think she feels in some way her actions were justified, to be conducting herself as such.

Quite incredible. She's in for a shock.

It’s almost as if she were saying, “No problem, I’ll just start a new life in Costa Rica.” More the attitude of a teenager— but then, if she really had it together, she wouldn’t have murdered Moriah.

 

[RickshawFan]

Yes. And another contradiction demonstrating (to me, at least) that her criminal actions are (in her mind) divorced from the purpose of meditation and yoga as a means of personal growth.

Maybe someone here who practices yoga can provide better insight. But I'm wondering what emotional/psychological defect makes a person think they can fully embrace personal improvement while on the run from a murder charge.

Is it all just a ruse?

MOO

I love @darkstar105 's response to this, shadowing David Brooks,and several others [but have no idea how to fit a string of lengthy posts into mine without exhausting WS capacity].....

But how about a compact version of all these thoughts? Like this: US Marshals actually latched onto a much bigger "yoga thematic" than that they were looking for "someone who does yoga". By "yoga thematic" I mean the whole retreat-Bali-woo-green milkshakes-spiritual-lagoon water-Instagrammy kind of thing. We're about a million miles away from Buddhism roots, too.

And perhaps this bigger "yoga thematic" is how they came to be looking at the beaches of Costa Rica (which is actually a natural for US tourists, and a very benign destination).

But the other detail that interested me in @darkstar105 's material.... is the focus on hyper physical fitness (however it's imagined, whether yoga or some other sport) as a route to being entitled and special. Throw in some wealth (essential for a western yoga themer), and the result can be insufferable.

In other words, we might just find that KA is a ball of entitlement, specialness, and exceptionalism comes to dominate this case. And, I'll bet many of us will find it insufferable.

 

[Gypsy Road]

The question is, though, why were LE and US Marshals so sure that CS was not a suspect and not to be charged or served with a warrant, only KA? Surely they’re not silly enough to simply take his word for it? They did a thorough investigation.

Right! And quite possibly KA left some of her DNA or even hair in the home and surroundings where Mo was murdered. There may even be video of her going into the home. We have not seen all the evidence the police have.

 

[gitana1]

She apparently sold her vehicle in a firesale for $12,000. That would have bought her what she needed to get to this hostel and live cheap for quite a while, along with plenty of other American surfers and yogis. Some stay forever once they pick up something like free accommodation and meals in exchange for tourist work.

But IMO, Costa Rica was a big mistake. Firstly, it's the wrong time of year to arrive, the hot and rainy slow season, she'd have stood out, unlike in midwinter. And it's not so remote, really, they'd have wifi and smartphones. Then also, Costa Rica cooperates fully with US authorities, unlike poorer countries that just don't have the police infrastructure: Nicaragua, Guatemala, etc. Also, Costa Rica will share banking info with the US. She'd be in a dilemma: carry lots of cash and she'd risk being robbed; use an ATM, and that could alert authorities to her location.

JMO

Great, informative post!!

 

[SteveP]

The audacity... it actually smacks of arrogance. This is not a woman running away and hunkering down, overcome with fear and shame. This is a woman breezing in to an extremely attractive beach location, surfing, joining yoga classes.

I think she feels in some way her actions were justified, to be conducting herself as such.

Quite incredible. She's in for a shock.

I think KA just thought she was smarter than all of the law enforcement agencies that were looking for her. I think whereas most people in her situation would probably be constantly looking over their shoulder every minute of every day, I think every day that KA was free was just further proof to her that she was smarter. "Damn, they brought in the feds and it still took them a month to find my car that was sitting on a car lot less than a mile from my house. They will never find me here, 2000 miles from home."

Then she became so comfortable, she started living like someone on vacation, instead of someone on the run. And once caught, instead of wondering what SHE did wrong, she probably wondered who ratted her out, because surely the cops weren't smart enough to find her.

And now, she will hire a lawyer, and she thinks she is smart enough to fool a jury into thinking she is not a cold-blooded killer, so this inconvenience will end in acquittal and she can get back to her happy life. JMO

 

[clearskies1]

The question is, though, why were LE and US Marshals so sure that CS was not a suspect and not to be charged or served with a warrant, only KA? Surely they’re not silly enough to simply take his word for it? They did a thorough investigation.

P. 6 of the arrest warrant affidavit says "Strickland's statements have been corroborated through video surveillance and physical evidence." DocumentCloud

 

[SMK777]

P. 6 of the arrest warrant affidavit says "Strickland's statements have been corroborated through video surveillance and physical evidence." DocumentCloud

Thanks for this. Yes, it’s KA who is the suspect, now under arrest. And she alone.

 

[RickshawFan]

But IMO, Costa Rica was a big mistake. Firstly, it's the wrong time of year to arrive, the hot and rainy slow season, she'd have stood out, unlike in midwinter. And it's not so remote, really, they'd have wifi and smartphones. Then also, Costa Rica cooperates fully with US authorities, unlike poorer countries that just don't have the police infrastructure: Nicaragua, Guatemala, etc. Also, Costa Rica will share banking info with the US. She'd be in a dilemma: carry lots of cash and she'd risk being robbed; use an ATM, and that could alert authorities to her location.

Snipped for focus

KA would have sacrificed almost nothing to be there in Costa Rica. She'd have had her favorite milieu, a paycheck, all mods and cons for the current world (aka cell, wifi, and a western toilet), very Caucasian, English-speaking (per the US Marshal, she doesn't speak Spanish) so she could easily pow wow with others, relationships with like-minded people..... I mean, what was she sacrificing? She disposed of an evidently very dysfunctional set of relationship ties, and here she is in lala land.

KA clone speaking to themselves: "There'd be almost no downside!.... Why didn't I think of this years ago?"

 

[Mariposa]

Debra Cronin, who used to be married to Wilson’s grandfather, told The Daily Beast she was “so glad that b—-h has been caught.” Cronin previously said that Wilson was a part of her life for 15 years and was horrified at the thought that Armstrong could get away with murder.

Dave Allen, who went to high school with Armstrong in her hometown of Livonia, Michigan, previously told The Daily Beast that she was “quiet” and “friendly” and “hung out mostly with the jocks.” He was surprised that she had decided to go on the run.
“I’m not sure why her dad didn’t convince her to do the right thing,” Allen said.

Suspected Cyclist Killer Used Fake Passport, Hair Dye, and Bandage Disguise to Escape Capture

Kaitlin Armstrong was arrested in a hostel in Costa Rica after 43 days on the lam.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[SMK777]

I think KA just thought she was smarter than all of the law enforcement agencies that were looking for her. I think whereas most people in her situation would probably be constantly looking over their shoulder every minute of every day, I think every day that KA was free was just further proof to her that she was smarter. "Damn, they brought in the feds and it still took them a month to find my car that was sitting on a car lot less than a mile from my house.

I’m sure cold, hard reality is setting in.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Thanks. Very helpful to know — sadly, what you state is true, I’ve found over the years, in so many disciplines: Therapists, pastoral counselors, professors, etc.

I've also found that in my art community. Those who win awards feel that they tower over those who do not (even over those who have never entered a show to possibly even have the potential to be awarded any such thing), and many feel their techniques are the "only right way" and they seem to completely be oblivious to the joy, stress relief and more that art provides other artists. Many artists have huge followings and it has also completely gone to their egotistical heads.

 

[SMK777]

Snipped for focus

KA would have sacrificed almost nothing to be there in Costa Rica. She'd have had her favorite milieu, a paycheck, all mods and cons for the current world (aka cell, wifi, and a western toilet), very Caucasian, English-speaking (per the US Marshal, she doesn't speak Spanish) so she could easily pow wow with others, relationships with like-minded people..... I mean, what was she sacrificing? She disposed of an evidently very dysfunctional set of relationship ties, and here she is in lala land.

KA clone speaking to themselves: "There'd be almost no downside!.... Why didn't I think of this years ago?"

Yes, all 100% true. She was probably going to have Christine furtively visit. Only she was apprehended…..a rude awakening.

 

[SMK777]

I've also found that in my art community. Those who win awards feel that they tower over those who do not (even over those who have never entered a show to possibly even have the potential to be awarded any such thing), and many feel their techniques are the "only right way" and they seem to completely be oblivious to the joy, stress relief and more that art provides other artists. Many artists have huge followings and it has also completely gone to their egotistical heads.

Unfortunately, human nature and egos.

 

[Mariposa]

This full story can possibly be read in reader view. Does have info and pictures of the Don Jon’s hostel and yoga retreat which the story identifies as where she stayed.

How cyclist’s alleged killer evaded bungling officials for seven weeks

Kaitlin Armstrong was freed by Austin police despite being a suspect in the murder of Moriah Wilson. Forty-three days later, US Marshals finally tracked her down more than 2,000 miles away in Costa Rica. Bevan Hurley examines why it took so long to find her

www.independent.co.uk

A staff member at Don Jon’s confirmed to The Independent Ms Armstrong had been staying there at the time of her arrest.

“She looked much different than her older photos,” a person who claimed to be with Ms Armstrong when she was arrested commented on an online forum.

“She did have a bandage on the nose she told me was a surf accident. I was about to ask how exactly it happened because if a surf board did that to her nose she should be dead in the water. I think she had surgery done.”

Sources also told Velonews Ms Armstrong had undergone plastic surgery.