Deadly Love Triangle: Moriah Wilson, Colin Strickland and Kaitlin Armstrong

0:00 Hi, I'm Tina, and I'm rich. And if there's one thing we've learned in over twenty years of marriage, it's that some days you'll feel like killing your wife, and some days you'll feel like killing your husband. Welcome to love, Mary kill Hey Rich. How are you? I'm pretty good? How are you? I'm pretty a little stressed, but I'm pretty good. I think we're both a little stressed right now. I think of you. Especially if you ask any woman this time of year how she's feeling, she's gonna be like, I'm great, great, fabulous. Yeah, there's a lot to do. Yeah, there's a lot to do. I'm getting it done. You sure are. How do you eat an elephant one bite at a time? Exactly? Well, you probably really should eat an elephants.

0:54 Why would anyone eat an elephant? Ridiculous? Well, if you're really hungry. How are your Christmas preparations going? They're going great? You were really You put some lights out on the house. I did, not on the house, not on the tree, on the rounding the house. Our house is kind of tall and peaky, and I wouldn't want you to put lights on the house. It would be really hazardous, probably, but our trees are getting bigger, and so it's taking more and more lights every year if I put them on our trees. So yeah, our house is new words. We bought it when it was what three or four years old, and now it's I don't know, six seven years old, and so yeah, the trees are growing. Well. We have all these pine trees that look just like Christmas trees. So I like to decorate them. But it's taken more and more lights. I don't think I left you any for you say they really, God, there's no lights. We need to keep a separate man. Speaking of Christmas made you, it's something I made you a cookie, you made me a cook. I decided that for the episodes for the rest of the year, we should make Christmas Christmas cookie. Okay, so this is a wait hold on. I mean, look, I've made them before, but you probably don't remember. I do you do's? I never forget a cookie. What's it called? Oh I don't know what it's called. I remember the taste of it, and the Christmas Swig cookie and Swig cookies. I think they're cute. They're just you take them. They're circular, and you take a glass and you press it down a glass that has sugar on it, and you press it down and so it kind of spreads out the cookie, and it kind of looks a little rustic. Yeah, and then you put like that, I'm touching your cookie before I give

2:25 it to you. And this one has you're supposed to put Andy's, you know, like Andy's mints, but they're like they have baking chips and I can never find them. So I got the Andy's Peppermint crunch candies and I just cut them up. Or you could also just use a crushed up candy cane. But it's like a short bread cookie that has this peppermint crunch in it, and then there's pink frosting on the top. Can you hear me salvating? I mean, I made it this morning, and I don't know. I think it's pretty good. I keep touching it, but it's a little little over because I only made it wildly. You only made one. I mean, I made a whole badge, but I only made one for you to try because I'm trying not to eat as many cookies. So all right, let's take a quick break and you can sink your teeth into this pink cookie. Alrighty, Well, as always, you are the cookie master.

3:20 Really you like them? Yeah, what's not to like? So I should explain really quick, and I'm going to get this wrong. Our Utah friends are gonna are going to correct me. But I think Swig cookies are a Utah thing. And there was a gas station or some sort of mart that was like you could get great like they had a great drink selection mm hmm. The name, so the name Swig came from that. And then they had these cookies that I don't know if the founder of the store or someone made these cookies. So that's where this Swig cookie comes from. Nice. I like the peppermint flavor. It's very uh, it's very Christmas y. Yeah, they're good. They're good. There. I like a frosting, a frosted cookie. I forgot to adorn the top with more of the power. That's okay. Well, before you get into today's case, a quick update. You posted about it on Instagram today, But quick update on the case. We covered gosh in June several months ago. Tex MacIvor he was convicted of killing his wife Diane. If you remember it was kind of remember it. Yeah, they were in the car together. Yeah. She was in the front, he was in the back, and he was like, oh, the gun just went off. It was crazy. He fell asleep in the back seat of the yr. He was holding the gun because he thought it was a bad neighborhood they were driving through. Anyway, he got convicted, and I think at the end of the case I mentioned that he had appealed it to the Supreme Court and they actually came back and said, yeah, you the jury should have been given the option of involuntary manslaughter, which they weren't given that option, and so he has a retrial.

4:49 He was still in prison because he had he was convicted of other charges like, uh, subordination of perjury, which he meant he was like talking to the witness is trying to get them to say what he wanted them to say. So he was still in jail, but the trial actually started today, but then it got postponed again. So yeah, I posted that, and you told me, oh, it's postponed again. Yeah, I just saw an article. It was like they were there was a dispute over what evidence would be allowed and postponed indefinitely. Yeah. Yeah, so who knows when it'll be you know, the wheels of justice. That's crazy. What remind me what he was convicted of and how long his sentence was. He was convicted of felony murder, which carries a life sentence, So he was yeah, I mean he's like eighty years old. Now I think, oh, is he really? Yeah? Well, I don't know if that makes sense to have him stand for another trial. If yeah, I mean, who knows what would be the sentence for involuntary manslaughter. I really don't know.

5:46 I mean, but if he has another trial, he could be found not guilty even so that's true. Yeah, I'm sure for him it's worth it. So we had talked about this a little bit, you and I personally, but we haven't talked about it the podcast. We're trying to keep our openings as short and concise as possible because the opening banter is a little polarizing between people, and so we had decided maybe five minutes of just you know, the snack time and just greeting is probably good. I know, some people don't like banter at all, and some people you know, could listen to it longer, really, I know, So we just decided that five minutes is a happy medium. Also, I think I see an Amazon truck pulling up and a there's also a Prime. Oh wait, there's a there's two Amazon trucks. Are you kidding? Okay, so this I just they're going to run into each other. Are they both at our house? Yeah, they're both ones backing up. Maybe one broke down or something. Oh has it been? I don't know. Okay, I just wanted to mention really quick. If you have an Alexa, and I think even if you don't have an Alexa, if you say Alexa, think my Amazon driver, they get a tip every time. Is that true? It is not like I thought maybe that was like an urban legend thing that people. Oh no, if you I'll show you later. Yeah, just say to Alexa, Alexa tip or think my driver. And then I think that they have like they have five million reserved or something like that. So maybe once that money is gone they won't do it anymore. But I try to do it.

7:18 Well, yes, I have to do it a few times, and then we have a little like a snack bin because we we do kind of show your appreciation for those drivers that they work really hard. Her mail lady, I hope she doesn't listen to our podcast. But we have a big mailbox and she jams that. She doesn't care how big of a package it is. She's not going to get it in that mail she dies and we're kind of laxed about checking the mailbox. And anyway, today she can't come up at the house. Oh did she really? Yeah, and she's she can get a little grumpy. And she took a snack, so I was like, Okay, well she had a snack, that's nice. I was gonna put some fresh bak he's on there. But I thought people would be like, are you crazy? But I really do appreciate the delivery drivers. Yeah, they work really hard, and I really do appreciate. I appreciate everyone.

8:09 Well, we're in eight minutes, so we better get into your case. Sorry about that. Well you can just when you add it, you can just speed us up. Sure you can make it like two minutes. So today I have a recent newscase for you, the story of Caitlin Armstrong, Colin Strickland, and Anna Mariah Wilson. Okay you ready, I'm ready. Anna Mariah Moe Wilson was shot multiple times and died in Austin, Texas on May eleventh, twenty twenty two, just a week before her twenty sixth birthday, while staying at her friend Caitlin Cash's apartment. Mo Is, she liked to be called, was a professional cyclist who competed in a Newish sport called gravel racing. Have you heard of gravel racing before? I haven't, but it sounds kind of dangerous. She came to Austin for the May fourteenth Gravel Locos Bike Race, a one hundred and fifties seven mile race across Texas called the super Bowl of Gravel. She was strongly favored to win. Her star was rapidly rising. Caitlyn returned home just before ten pm to find Moe lying unconscious in her small bathroom. It took her a moment to get her bearings. Her first thought was that Moe had fallen asleep or was stretching, but then she realized her friend was covered in blood. Caitlyn ran to get her phone and called nine one one at nine fifty six pm. She frantically performed CPR on mo while she waited for help. EMTs arrived moments later, but they weren't able to save her. She'd likely been dead for as long as an hour. Moe Wilson, full of promise and untapped dreams, was

9:39 pronounced dead at ten ten pm after resuscitation efforts failed. Responding officers instantly knew Moe's death was not a random act and quickly ruled it a homicide. Within hours, they had a person of interest in their sights. I should mention there's two Caitlins in this story. Caitlyn with the Sea Caitlyn cash is Moe's good friend who is she's staying And Caitlyn with a Ka Caitlyn Armstrong, who we will be introduced to shortly. Anna Mariah Wilson was born on May eighteenth, nineteen ninety six, and Lyttleton, New Hampshire, to Eric and Karen Wilson. Both of Moe's parents had been members of the US national ski team.

10:20 Moe's aunt, Laura Wilson, competed in two Olympic Games in nineteen ninety four and nineteen ninety eight in cross country skiing. Moe grew up in rural Vermont. She loved spending time outdoors on all seasons in any weather. When she wasn't skiing in the snow, she would bike the Kingdom Trails near her home to say Moe was the athletic would be a vast understatement. From a young age, she was a passionate and accomplished alpine skier, earning a national ranking as a junior skier. She plays third in the twenty thirteen US Junior National Championship downhill event and impressive. She's an amazing young woman. Moe attended high school at Burke Mountain, Aca, Me where she earned four varsity letters for alpine skiing. Her father was the ski coach, two in cycling and three in soccer, and she was also the soccer team captain. Mo attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and received a Bachelor of Arts and Engineering in twenty nineteen. While attending Dartmouth, Moe was on the soccer team and the alpine ski team, fulfilling her childhood dream. After graduating college, Mo moved to San Francisco and worked as a demand planner for California based bicycle manufacturer Specialized. She decided to put her skis down and began to focus on a career as an elite bike racer, racing both gravel and mountain bikes.

11:41 She quickly rose to the top of the rankings and both disciplines of the sport. Weeks before her death, she left her job to focus on her cycling career full time. Here's an excerpt for Moe's obituary. Mo loved cooking, writing, and traveling. She loved Italy Taco Tuesdays, maple creams, and playing Settlers of Katan with her friends. Most importantly, Mariah's recent dream was to channel her success and ways to give back and inspire others around the world. Moe recently chose to call Vermont her home again, with a vision to create a local community space in Eastburg, Vermont, where writers could gather throughout the day, feel welcome, share a good cup of coffee, and a bite of locally sourced food. After her death, Moe's family issued the following statement. We thank everyone for their expression of love and support for us in this difficult time. While the tragic loss of Mariah is unfathomable, at the same time, we own everyone to join us in celebrating her life accomplishment and love for others. Always pushing tirelessly to reach her goals. We knew she was pursuing that which she loved. We will miss her terribly and know that all mourn her with us. We know that Mariah would want the event to carry on. I think they meant like an upcoming by Grace for compatriots to test their limits. She would have been alongside her friends on the race course.

13:03 We hope everyone feels her passion and supports they chase their own dreams. Her spirit will be there with you while training and on every race day. Please do not reach out for interviews or comments for the rest of May. We are planning a celebration of life in June and will be forthcoming with details soon. It's like a great person. And you said she was only twenty six, right, She was twenty five for birthday. She died exactly a week before her birthday. Here's a clip of Moe talking about her childhood. Well, I grew up in Vermont. A big part of my upbringing was just like I was on sea before I could basically walk. And then when I was like seven or something, I think my dad asked me and my brother if we wanted to race, and we were like, yeah, of course, Like we love skiing, like it just seems so natural. So we started racing. When I graduated from college in twenty nineteen, I bought a gravel bike that summer move to San Francisco, and just like immediately started to fall in love with racing. The transition from skiing to racing bikes just felt really natural. I've known for my whole life I am an endurance athlete.

14:16 Growing up. I all I wanted to do was be like a professional gear but on a deeper level, I didn't even have to be skiing. I just want to be like a professional athletes. Feel like I'm being really true to myself and this little girl inside of me that just that's all that she dreamed about. She sounds pretty great, she really does. Yeah, it's funny because I've known my whole life that I am not an endurance athlete. I have had a passion for not being an elite after life, I know to give it, a passion for it, but I mean, I have so much respect for people who can get up every morning at four thirty and in the dark and do theirs, you know, training, and it's yeah, it's amazing. It's very impressive. She was kind of born into the family too that was sort of had that level of athleticism as well.

15:05 Right, Definitely, it sounds like a lovely family. According to Bellownews, a website for all things cycling, Moe was quote the winningness woman in the American off road scene. She won ten races in twenty twenty two, and remember she died on May eleventh, so the year was less than half over, including the Shasta Gravel Hugger and the Rock Cobbler in California. Moe's last race, the one hundred and thirty seven Belgian Waffle Ride, was held in San Diego a week before her death. Mo not only finished first, but she decimated her nearest competition by twenty five minutes. Holy moly, waiting at the finish line twenty five that's amazing. That is amazing. I'm more curious though about the Belgian Waffle part of the ride, though, is that like, do you stop along the way and grabby? I think they just I think these gravel racers, I'm going to read you a little bit about the gravel racing in a little bit, but I think they just it's kind of tongue in cheek. I think they liked the silly names and it sounds like a pretty fun sport. Moe was a well respected and beloved member of the close nt racing community. Her loss was deeply felt and sent chock waves through their community. The Mariah Wilson Foundation was formed in her honor by her family and friends and has raised over one hundred and forty thousand dollars. The foundation hopes to continue most legacy by helping youth find self confidence, strength and joy through biking, skiing, and other sports. Gravel bike racing is the newest

16:36 discipline in the cycling world. As the name suggests, it's done mostly on gravel roads. An article in The New Yorker called gravel racing both a solo endurance sport and a party in the mud. The same article compared the sport to a mullet business and the front party in the back. Most races are between one hundred and fifty and two hundred miles and take all day to complete. The bikes have chunky tires and bike frames that are a little heftier than a lot of the streamlined bikes that have been on the market. Gravel biking has gained popularity around the world. There are single and multi day races. Gravel racing is a combination of road, cyclo cross and mountain bike racing. Usually on open gravel roads, double dirt double tracks, and sneaking single track, often with some stretches of paved road to link off road segments. I'm just laughing because some of these words, I'm I really don't know what they mean. Some courses are smooth, while others are hilly, rough and muddy.

17:33 They're very muddy. A lot of times you'll see, like there's a lot of pictures of mo and other racers that when they finish, their faces are just muddy, and I think that's just a badge of honor. Yeah, gravel racing is known to be casual, fun and friendly. Gravel racing is not an Olympic sport. There are five cycling sports currently in the Olympics BMX Freestyle, BMX racing, mountain bike, road cycling, and track cycling. In North America, where some of the fastest races are held, the average speed can reach twenty miles per hour sustained for ten hours. So that takes a lot of endurance, yeah, and a lot of month muscle strength, and yeah, it's crazy. One great thing about gravel racing is that it's very welcoming and you don't have to be a professional athlete. To compete.

18:18 All levels are welcome at most races. Cool, you're going to take it up? Now? Did I talk you into it? Probably not? Generally, the cycler's ride on quiet, remote roads among nature. Most gravel races are longer than mountain bike races. There are specialized gravel bikes, but a mountain bike or whatever bike you feel most comfortable riding is acceptable. Cool. We do have a lot of gravel roads around here. Maybe I would feel safer. I like riding a bike, but I hate riding on the road. It really terrifies me. And I've known so many people that have gotten hit by cars and stuff. Yeah, so I really won't ride on the road, but maybe a gravel road I would be more comfortable. I don't know that. We used to live on a gravel road and it is kind of drive pretty fast down there. Yeah, okay. So Mo flew into Austin in Texas on May tenth to train and ACCLI May before the big race. On May fourteenth, Caitlyn picked her up from the airport Caitlin with the sea and drove them back to her small apartment. Mos stayed with her friend to save a little money. She awoke on May eleventh, with sore, tired muscles. As usual, she stretched on yon before changing into her training gear. She had been training nod stop since quitting her job to focus full time on her cycling career. She had made great strides in recent months, skyrocketing to the top of the field. I didn't say this earlier, but she was so good, like for you know, being pretty young, and you know, she hadn't been training her whole life like some people.

19:37 She was able to beat a lot of the men in the field. She was just it would just have been amazing to see what she could have could be doing. Mo had made plans to go swimming with her friend Colin Strickland, a fellow gravel rider, that afternoon. Kitln knew Colin and Mo had dated briefly. She wasn't a fan of his. She tried to talk Mo out of seeing Colin, but Mo assured her that she had everything out of control. Caitlyn left the apartment before Colin arrived. When she returned home later that night, just before ten pm, she noted with mild irritation that Moe's large bike bag was in her car port, blocking her spot. She'd asked her to move it earlier, but strangely, Moe's racing bike was missing, just the bag remained. Caitlyn walked up the wooden stairs to her small apartment above her landlord's garage. She stripped herself of her cell phone, restaurant leftovers, and other belongings before she walked to the bathroom. She stopped abruptly.

20:30 A scream rose in her throat when she saw her front so full of life and promise just an hour before lying in a pole of her blood. Caitlyn dropped to her knees and searched for Moe's pulse. Not finding one, she ran to grab her phone and dialed nine one one, then began chest compressions. So police arrived at Caitlyn's apartment after the AMT's. While the amts were still attempting to revive mo they began their investigation. They found several bullet casing surrounding her body, but no gun. Moe's expense of customized racing bike was found hidden in some bushes about seventy feet from the garage where she had stored it earlier. Could Moe's killer have been a rival who was jealous of her success and rocketing fame. A Tanya Harding type incident. What do you think?

21:15 I mean, it doesn't seem likely with the sport as you described it as people that are very uh, you know, friendly and camaraderie. I guess there's a lot of camaraderie, but I think the top racers like, you know, yeah, business in the front, party in the back. So the main competitors I think were pretty you know, more aggressive. I think everyone was friendly, but everyone's people want to win. Yeah. Yeah, Caitlin, we're still talking about. Caitlin with the Sea told investigators that she used an electronic lock on her door and she'd given a unique code to Moe to use during her stay. She was able to pinpoint for investigators exactly when Moe came and went. Mo had left Caitlyn's apartment at five fifty five pm when Colin picked her up on his BMW motorcycle. They went to the deep Eddy Pool in Austin and then to Pull Burger for dinner and a couple of drinks. Despite Mo telling Caitlin they robbed the others at the dinner and was just her and Colin. There was video of them leaving the restaurant at eight sixteen pm. Moe returned to the apartment at eight thirty six pm after Colin dropped her off. He did not walk her to the door or go inside because Colin was not a gentleman. I'm not a fan of Collins.

22:29 Mo did not lock the door after returning to the apartment. Caitlyn didn't have a surveillance cameras, but her neighbors did, and the camera footage confirmed Moe's eight thirty six arrival. But at eight thirty seven PM, a dark suv was seen pulling up to the residence. There was a bike rack mounted onto a trailer hitch on the rear of the suv and a luggage rack on the top. The vehicle also had distinctive chrome details. David Harris, the owner of the apartment Kaitlyn rented, told he was in his garage and heard someone running down the apartment stairs between eight thirty and nine thirty on May eleventh. That's quite a span of time, but he didn't report hearing gunshots. He thought he saw someone leave the scene on a bike quickly through the alleyway.

23:15 And remember, Moe's bike was found in some nearby bushes. I wonder if someone could have just you know how far away where the bushes is seventy feet But he said he thought he thought he saw someone on a bike. So we know that Moe was killed somewhere between eight thirty six and about nine p fifty when Caitlin returned. Okay, it's weird that he didn't hear any gunshots. It is weird. The next day, May twelfth, twenty twenty two, investigators paid a visit to Colin Strickland, who was the last person to see Moo alive. He also lived in Austin, Texas. There were three vehicles in his driveway, a two thousand and two BMW motorcycle, a nineteen ninety eight Mercedes, and a twenty twelve Jeep Grand Cherokee. Jeep was black and had a bike rack luggadrack chrome jinctive chrome trim. Colin Strickland was born on November seventeenth, nineteen eighty six, in Johnson City, Texas, about fifty miles from Austin. He grew up on his family's organic farm. He was a talented runner in high school. He attended the University of Texas and earned a degree in environmental science. He worked for a local environmental consultant until he began cycling professionally in his late twenties. His first big win was at the AlleyCat Race at the twenty ten North American Handmade Bike Show. According to heavy dot com. In twenty fourteen, Colin won the Texas Cup, Overall Road Criteria Championship and the season finale of the Red Hook Criteria in Milan,

24:48 Italy. In twenty sixteen, he made the Red Hook Series his focus and completed an unprecedented four race winning streak with victories at Brooklyn, London and Barcelona. Gained several sponsors, among them Bred Bull. To be sponsored by Red Bull as a big deal as they only sponsor elite athletes like Moe. Colin switched to gravel racing and won the Unbound Gravel Race in twenty nineteen and was the second place finisher at Gravel Worlds last year. He was one of the biggest stars of the gravel racing world. He once estimate that he wrote how many miles a year? Do you think? He wrote on his bike? Oh gosh, that means give me a stab in the thirty six thousand.

25:29 Okay, well no, I'm sure you would write them eleven thousand miles a year, which was a lot of miles. Yees, probably more miles than I'd drive my car honestly. Yeah. After the letdown of Lance Armstrong's doping scandal a decade earlier, Colin Strickland became a local celebrity in Austin. At six feet two inches tall and one hundred and sixty five pounds, Colin is lean but muscular, confident and friendly with a swagger to him. Despite being in a committed relationship, he'd loved to talk conflirt with other women in person and online. Sometimes those dms can be hard to resist. What did you say him form? Because it doesn't sound good. It sounds like something in a committed relationship shouldn't be doing. He wasn't known for his honesty or monogamy.

26:17 To put it bluntly, he'd made some enemies along the way. When people asked him about his relationship with his girlfriend Caitlin, he'd downplay it and make it sound like a business relationship. The romans had fizzled out. Like a lot of athletes, his ego might have been bigger than his talent, but being a sports star is about marketing yourself, and Colin was pretty good at that. Here's a clip of Colin talking about his favorite thing himself. My ideal scenario would always be to get myself into a move that has the potential to make it to the line with a fewer selection of writers. I'm not a post to sprinting, but it's not my specialty. My name's Colin Stripling. I'm racing for a LLA specialized for the Red Hook KRIT Series in twenty sixteen. I'm from Austin, Texas. I've been racing the Red Hook crit Series on and off for approximately five years. We had to be very conservative going into race. People would be watching us, they would be waiting for the moment, so we had to take advantage of the efforts other riders were putting in to soften the field or string out the field catch some riders out of position. Okay, that clip went on for a while, but I didn't really know what he was talking about. On May twelve, twenty twenty two, police asked Colin about the jeep in his driveway. He told them it belonged to his living girlfriend of three years, Caitlin with a k Armstrong thirty four, no relation to Lance. It was hers. He never

27:48 drove it, He said. They requested that he go to the police station for a formal interview. He complied and was told he was free to leave as he chose any time. Colin described Caitlin with a K as sweet and caring and not capable of murder. She wasn't the jealous type, he said. He told police that he and Caitlyn had briefly broken up the previous October for a few weeks, but they had fully reconciled. During the time they were broken up, Colin met and briefly dated Moe Wilson. He assured police that they had parted ways amicably and remained good friends. He called Moe the best female cyclist in the US and possibly the world. During his interview, it was obvious he respected her by the way he talked about her. Colin claimed he was helping Moe gain new sponsors. He described Caitlin unless glowing terms when he talked about her cycling career. He referred to her as a participant and not a competitor at races, and said she held him back during training, so they trained separately. So Caitlin with a K was also a cyclist, but not at the same elite level that Colin and Mo were at.

28:53 Correct, she was just an amateur, okay. And one other quick question for you too that I was thinking about is when you said that Colin and Mo dated briefly, Like was it like a week two weeks? Or like how you literally said I was a week A week to two week, one to two weeks. Colin told police he had purchased two guns in December twenty twenty one, a Springfield Arms nine millimeter pistol for himself and a sig Sour nine millimeter pistol for Caitlin after she'd been shaken up after a road rage incident. Colin admitted to police that he hadn't told Caitlin he was seeing Mo. On the evening of May eleventh, after he dropped Mo off, Colin parked in a nearby alleyway and texted Caitlin Armstrong the following Hey are you out?

29:36 I went to drop some flowers off for Allison at her son's house up north and my phone died heading home Unless you have any other food suggestion? Okay, so he meant pot. I think he sent this like right after he dropped Mo off, Okay, and the phone died. Excuse come on, I know so, I mean, obviously he was lying for why do you think he was lying to He because he's kind of a dog and he was seeing in another woman. He didn't want her to know about it, even though even if it was completely innocent, he didn't want her to know. Correct. He returned home to the house he shared with Caitlin at eight forty three pm. He went to his garage and worked on his racing bikes until nine twenty one, when he texted Caitlyn again. She returned home around nine point thirty. During Colin's interview at the station, police carried out a search warrant on his house and seized the two pistols, along with three phones, one belonging to Colin and two to Kaitlin, as well as her MacBook pro.

30:33 Colin willingly submitted to a DNA sample. He left the police station after his whereabouts were confirmed by a traffic camera during the time of Moe's murder. He was not a serious suspect. Colin Strickland's attorney released the following statement in his behalf to reporter Tony Pluwetski of Austin American Statesman on May twentieth, twenty twenty two. I am reeling from grieving Moe Wilson's death and from facts that have emerged during the investigation. I cannot begin to imagine the pain felt by Moe's family and her close friends. There is no way to adequately express the regret and torture I feel about my proximity to this horrible crime. I am sorry, and I simply can't make sense of this unfathomable tragedy. Although it will be a matter of small consolation to anyone that cared for Mo, I want you to know that I have cooperated fully with the investigators ever since I learned the terrible news, and I will continue to do so until some form of justice is served. As a point of clarification to points previously reported, Mariah Wilson and I had a brief romantic relationship from late October to early November twenty twenty twenty one that spanned a week or so while Wilson was visiting Austin, which I think is so weird that he referred to as Wilson. At the time, she and I had both ended relationships. She returned to her home in California, and about a month later Caitlin Armstrong and I reconciled and resumed our relationship. Since then, I have been seeing Moe at cycling events and old always in public settings. We both competed in Bentonville, Arkansas,

32:04 Stillwater, and Monterey, California. We also met for our four hour training ride in Santa Cruz after the Seattle Classic in Monterey. After our brief relationship in October of twenty twenty one, we were not in a romantic relationship, only a platonic and professional one. It was not my intention to pursue along an auxiliary romantic relationship that would mislead anyone. Mariah and I were both leaders in this lonely niche sport of cycling, and I admired her greatly and considered her a close friend. I am deeply grieving her loss. Soon after Moe's death, Colin lost all of his sponsors, quit his social media accounts, and withdrew from the racing circuit. His now private Instagram bioreads former cyclist, Oh that's surprising. Yeah, I think it's possible he might get back to it someday. But even towards the end of a ripe off Foremo's death, I think his star had started to dim a little bit, and he wasn't training his hard, and I think he lost a little bit of his zeal for it. Yeah, let's take a quick break. Welcome back. Do you want to tell our listeners what you just did? No, they're going to be disappointing you. He gave me a cookie, I'm going to eat it. I mean I said there was one cookie. Oh, and you ate the whole thing. And that's a big cookie. And you didn't share me even one bite. I know you're trying not to eat sugar, not

33:35 trying that hard. Okay, Back to Caitlin and Colin and Mo. Born on November twenty first, nineteen eighty seven. Kaitlin Marie Armstrong grew up in Lavonia, Michigan. Do you know where that is? Of course I do, About twenty miles from Detroit. She attended Stevenson High School, where she competed in volleyball, basketball, and track. She was quiet, but smart, pretty unpopular. Her red hair, which she wore curly or sometimes straight, won her the class award for best Hair. Mine did not. No. No, I'm glad that Kaitlyn looks like she had her hair figured out. We have like a lot of curly, unruly hair and if I figured it out like a year ago. After graduating in two thousand and five, she attended Schoolcraft Community College and then Eastern Michigan University, which is right down the road Eagles. Eastern Michigan and University of Michigan are very close to each other. Both of them are fine schools. After college, Kaitlin traveled the world to Bali and other exotic locations. Training as a yoga instructor. She became an adept traveler. She eventually settled in the Austin, Texas area and worked as a mortgage broker, a realtor, and a part time house flipper.

34:52 She met Colin and they moved in together. She was good with finances and helped him start a business retrofitting vintage trail pills called Wheelhouse Mobile. John c Riley bought a renovated nineteen fifty six Spartan from Colin as his first sale. I love John c Riley, good guy. I don't know why you bought it from Colin. I guess Colin was pretty good at this. I wasn't, you know, not a you know, I'm not a Colin fan, but he was good at what he did. He was known as a tinkerer. Colin had recently given Caitlin four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to invest for him. Caitlyn was also a bike enthusiast, but it was more of a hobby for her. She tagged along with Colin to races, and she competed, but not seriously. She was more of a party in the back person okay. During Kaitlyn and Colin's short breakup in the fall of twenty twenty one, Colin and Moe began dating. They showed up to a party alongside their racing friends. Several women at the party were good friends with Caitlyn and called her to let her know what was going on. Caitlyn made an anonymous call that night to Moe and told her to stay away from Colin. They reconciled. Caitlyn was not happy that Colin and Mo remade friends after their brief relationship. In fact, she hated it. She had gone through Colin's phone, deleted Moe's number, and permanently blocked it. Colin didn't realize that Mo would soon be in mortal danger and simply just kept changing her name and his phone to a different name and continued their friendship, frequently deleting their text messages

36:23 so Caitlyn wouldn't see them. However, Caitlyn had access to Colin's iCloud account and was able to see his location and read his text messages on his iPad or other devices. Boy, I know I've said this before, but if you have to check your partner's messages and look at his phone, you probably shouldn't be in that relationship. Yeah, but I'm also old, and you know I think that's pretty good advice, though, he thinks, so okay. Yeah. After spotting the black Cheep on their surveillance footage, then I of Moe's murder and finding the same g at Collins House. The next day, the police department dug up an outstanding class be arrest a warrant for Caitlin stemming from an old charge involving an unpaid botox bill from twenty eighteen. Her maxed out credit card was declined. She told the manager, I'll be right back and I'll just bring you another card, but she never did. You'd pay those botox bills? You never know when it's going to come back to haunt you, and how much do you pay for your boatox, I'd better not say. On May twelfth, Caitlin was arrested and brought into the homicide unit for questioning. Once she was there, police learned that the warrant was no longer valid because of a mix up with her birth date, and she was told she was free to leave this little technicality. I know, I'll get you. However, she stayed and answered questions. Officers noted that she was oddly still and quiet during the interview. When shown the video of her

37:57 vehicle at the crime scene, she said she had no idea how it had gotten there. She denied knowing that Colin had seen mo. On May eleventh, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Caitlin asked to leave the interview. A friend of Moe's, who requested to remain anonymous because she thought she could be in danger, was interviewed by police. She is referred to by the name of Jane Doe in the indictment. She claimed that Moe and Colin Strickland had been intertwined off and on for some time, not just for a week, as Colin had said. The relationship began when Moe visited Austin for the first time. In October twenty twenty one, Jane Doe said that Caitlin Armstrong found out about Moa and Colin talking to each other. She called Moe and threatened her, telling her to stay away from Colin, and then she followed her on Instagram. She called her several more times until Moe blocked her number. According to the source, on May fourteenth, twenty twenty two, an anonymous friend of Caitlyn's came forward and told police that she was with her one night in January of the same year. She recalled that Caitlin was I rate and hyper focused on what she assumed to be the continuing affair between Mo and Colin. The friend said that she wanted to kill Mo. The friend was very worried because Caitlin had recently acquired the firearm. After seeing Caitlin and Colin together at a race in January, Moe was confused and sent him the following text message, Hey, So, I would like to talk to you at some point. I had originally texted you on Friday, but it appears

39:28 my text aren't going through again. This weekend was strange for me and I just want to know what's going on. If you just want to be friends seems to be the case, then that's cool. But I'd like to talk about it because honestly, my mind has been going in circles and I don't know what to think. So Mo thought that she was like in an exclusive relationship with Colin. I think that Colin began telling people, Oh, Caitlin and I aren't really together, we're more like business partners. So when she saw them together, she must have been a little taken of. I don't know if she thought that. I don't. I don't think that she thought they were exclusive, but who knows what Colin was telling her. That sounds like he was playing her in some way. He was absolutely playing her as far, I believe that he was playing other people too, not just her.

40:13 So Colin replied the next day, didn't even reply that day. The next day, Hey, Mo, I feel very shitty for putting you in a position where you don't feel comfortable. Caitlyn came along to go to a meeting about the Sprinter Spartan hotel project. In hindsight, this was not a good idea. It's a business partner, eh, go in to a meeting. So I just want to go over the timeline again, so eight sixteen on May eleventh, the timeline of May eleventh. On eight sixteen, Mo and Colin left the Burger place, and it is believed that Caitlin was following them for a certain amount of time. We're not sure how long. But at eight twenty six the duo up here on traffic cameras heading back to Caitlyn's apartment. At eight thirty five, Colin dropped Mo off at the apartment.

41:00 Eight thirty six, Moe enters the apartment, and eight thirty seven is when Caitlyn's jeep shows up. But I don't believe there's any footage of her actually leaving her vehicles. I'm sure she did saw the car. Yeah. Eight forty eight, Colin is spotted again on traffic camera about eight miles away on his motorcycle. So he's really just isn't you know, wasn't right at the right place, you know, at the right time to be considered a suspect. At eight fifty six, Caitlin Caitlin with the sea called nine one one, and at ten to ten Mo was pronounced dead. Okay, So ballistic tests were run on the SIGs hour pistol that belonged to Caitlin. It was determined not one hundred percent, but it was determined very likely that it was a match for the bullet casings found lying next to Moe's body. Investigators learned that Caitlyn had gone to a shooting range with her sister and practice shooting the gun. Moe's cause of death was the three guns sho wounds, two to her head and one to her heart. The manner of death was homicide.

42:05 Police issued a warrant on May seventeenth for Kaitlin Armstrong after the ballistics test came back confirming it was likely her gun that continued that killed mo. The charge was first degree felony murder, and the sentence for that is somewhere between five and ninety nine years. If the murder is considered a crime of passion, the maximum sentence is about twenty years. The affidavit for her arrest points to video surveillance as evidence that Kaitlyn Armstrong was present at the crime scene during the time that Moe was murdered. Caitlyn had means and a motive. After May thirteenth, Colin didn't see Caitlyn again. She deleted all of her social media accounts and seemed to vanish into thin air. Caitlyn went on the run.

42:51 The day after Caitlin was questioned by police, she sold her black Cheep to an Austin CarMax dealership for twelve two hundred dollars. The next day, she boarded a flight to Austin International Bergstrom Airport early in the afternoon to Houston Hobby Airport. Once there, she took another flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York. By May seventeenth, when the warrant was issued for her arrest, she was long gone. Technically, she hadn't really done anything wrong, right, No, well, no one ever said don't leave town. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Authorities had no idea that she had fled the state. Eleven days after Caitlyn left Texas, surveillance footage materialized of her at Newark Liberty International Airport from May eighteen, but the marshals couldn't find her name on any flight manifests. After they'd performed a search of all outbound flights, Caitlyn had quite a head start. In the video from the airport, Caitlin donned a mask and wore her yoga mat strapped to her back. It's unclear where Caitlyn was between May fourteenth and May seventeenth, but her sister worked at a holistic camp and the cat Skills called Camp Haven, a sustainable educational campground and retreat. Caitlyn likely visited her and borrowed or stole her passport.

44:12 A tipster called authorities days later and said they'd seen Caitlyn in upstate New York at Camp Haven. For weeks, US Marshalls searched for Caitlin. Here's a brief clip of Caitlyn's dad. We love you, Katie, and we are going to figure this out. And I know how she thinks, and I know what she believes, and that I know that she just would not do something like this. I know her, But do you ever really know anyone. You'd like to think that you know your kids, but I guess that's not always the case. Investigator's only lead was that Caitlyn loved to teach yoga, and the last image they'd seen of her she had her yoga met with her. They decided to hone in on that. Another tip came in that Caitlyn had flown to San Jose Costa Rica. Caitlin used different names as she quietly traveled through Costa Rica by bus. She caught her long red hair and dyed it brown, trying to keep a low profile. Eventually, she settled down in the coastal town of Santa Teresa. I mean, if you're gonna, if you're gonna, you know, it could be worse places to go.

45:19 She began working and living at Don John's Surf and Yoga Lodge. She worked at the reception desk and taught yoga for room and board. So I will post an image of a video of this, But the Don John's Surf and Yoga Lodge, it looked looks like a pretty cool place, very casual and laid back. And there's just like this video of you know, all the people that are relaxing there from the top to the bottom in the buildings. It's a cool video. I'll post it. But it looks like him. We should probably go there for research. I well, it shouldn't be researched before a case. Well, I guess she used the name Ari Martin.

46:00 Don John's is largely a cooperative, hostile community. The motto is relaxed to the max. Many drifters come to this area to escape one thing or another, and locals have learned not to ask too many questions. Caitlyn perhaps got a little too comfortable and let her guard down in the Bucolic seaside village where the lazy sun drenched rays melt one day into the next seamlessly, she slept in a bunk room with seven other people. She formed friendships with some locals and began going to the bar even to drink, dance and have fun. Caitlin even went on some dates. Forty three days later, on June twenty ninth, twenty twenty two US marshalls stormed the front desk where Caitlyn was working. They demanded to see her documents, and she said one word Punta Arenas, meaning that's a location where she had left her documents. They arrested her and drove her to the capital city of San Jose. Among the belongings left behind at the resort was a passport with the name Christine Armstrong, her sisters. It isn't clear if the passport was stolen, but Christine Armstrong has not been charged with any crime yet. There was a receipt from a doctor's office for plastic surgery for six three hundred and fifty dollars, Caitlyn got a new nose. Oh wow. The new nose and hair did make her look like a different person. Caitlyn denied having altered her nose, but she had disappeared from the resort for a few days in early June. When she resurfaced,

47:30 she had a bandage on her nose and bruising under her eyes. She told her employer that she'd been in a surfing accident. She was still wearing a bandage across her nose when she was arrested. I had sent you a picture earlier, and I told you not to look at it. Can you look at it now? Oh? Sure, Yeah, she looks pretty different. I think she looks really different. Yeah, the hair, the hair especially, But yeah, I guess her face, the nose in her face, and I think she was probably, you know, had a plan her appearance, and she wasn't wearing as much makeup. Yeah. Yeah, it looks like she was trying to look very plain and nondescript. Yeah. Calton was deported from Costa Rica and extradited to Texas, where she was held at the Travis County Jail. Her bond was set at three point five million dollars.

48:15 She pleaded not guilty to the murder of Moe Wilson. In October, guards escorted Caitlin to an off site doctor's appointment. Despite being shackled, she managed to escape their grasp and ran with everything she had. She'd been a competitive runner and it showed. Oh my, she ran a mile before guards apprehended her. She was charged with felony escape. Wow. Other inmates said that she'd been training for a chance at an escape. She ran a mile and shackled. I'm actually kind of surprised they caught her. Like if you get if you get a mile without them catching you, like man, unless they got in their car something and caught up with her that way. Maybe who knows what they are I have I do have a video of her fleeing, but yeah, I will post that too. Is the trial near the judge enacted a gag order to stop the leaking of information to the media and public camera and audio recording was only allowed during opening and closing statements and while the verdict was read. The trial started on November first, twenty twenty three, so just last month. Yeah, A slick attorney who was a former prosecutor, represented Caitlin. He was confident and cocky. He alleged that Caitlyn went on the run because she was afraid of Colin Strickland. He was a murderer. The attorney claimed that police didn't test all of the evidence and failed to consider any other suspect. It was sometimes there isn't another suspect that it's always reason for that. He said the case against her was based on quote

49:49 assumptions, confirmation bias, and a lack of direct evidence like if there is not a video of someone shooting someone, there like all circumstantial exactly. He also alleged that a rape kit had been done on Mo but it had never been tested. He called the Austin police sloppy. Among the evidence revealed during the trial was Caitlin's DNA had been found on the handlebars of Moe's bike, which was near the bushes. The GPS data from Caitlyn's vehicle and her electronic a footprint was damning. She deleted a search for Moe's address, purchased two airline tickets, and created two new Gmail accounts and a Skype account. She searched quote can pineapple burn fingerprints and her name and Mo Wilson's can pineapple burn fingerprints. It's a really odd thing. Yeah, I'm gonna go with that too. It's just so I didn't know that. Was it weird that she would even think to search that? And you know, usually I'm pretty I forgot to research that. Oh man, I was going to ask you.

50:52 So I'm assuming there was no evidence of Caitlin in the house, that Moe was staying at, no or anything in the house, not that I know of. The state focused on Caitlyn's consciousness of guilt, the fact that she fled the country using her sister's passport. Anne underwent plastic surgery. Colin Strickland testified during the trial. He was belligerent and dismissive during his testimony. When leaving the courtroom, he shoved a camera man out of his way. He just not a good guy. No. An emotional moment during the trial occurred when footage from a neighbor's ring doorbell was played and Moe could be heard screaming before three shotgun blasts were heard. I heard that video and I did not want to share it because it was very emotional. The trial lasted two and a half weeks, Caitlyn opted not to take the stand in her defense.

51:45 Here's a clip of Karen Moe's mom reading her victim impact statement at the trial. I hate what you did to my beautiful daughter. It was very selfish and powardly. Final went at on many eleven. It was cowardly because you never chose to face her, woman to woman in a civil conversation. She would have listened. She was an amazing listener. She would have cared about your feelings. She was a caring, empathetic person. If you allowed yourself to actually know her, you never ever would have wanted to hurt her.

52:32 This never would have happened. You and Colin could have had a beautiful life together. You destroyed that you were owing to your life, your family's loves, our lives, and crushed the heart so many more. When you shot Mariah in the heart, you shot me in my heart. That's heartbreak. That is really sad. The audio there is a little distorted because every time she was crying and she'd sniffle, and that that's what you're hearing there. Yeah. The jury returned the verdict and under two hours guilty. Caitlyn was sentenced to ninety years in prison with a chance at parole in thirty years and November thirty of her attorneys filed an appeal. Obviously, that was just a few days ago, so we just don't know yet. You don't know yet.

53:24 The felony escape charge stemming from Caitlyn's attempted to escape in October was dropped. Initially, a second trial addressing those charges had been scheduled to occur directly after after the first trial. Yeah, it was wonder why. Yeah, but sometimes they like to have a backup plan, like in case something happened on appeal, maybe you know, they got her birth date wrong or some you know, technicality. They probably I guess they could go back and charge her again if they they probably know she's going to probably try it again. I mean, she's she was determined to get deterrement. She's just I mean, she's a smart lady. Di bibolical I guess I could say. So. Here's a clip of Mo's dad Eric after the trial, after the verdict.

54:08 Other than prosecution team, there really are no winners here. This is not a time for celebration, but a time for prayer. Time to pray for our family, our friends and the family, the Armstrong family and their friends. This sad story is a perfect example of why integrity and honesty are crucial in our personal relationships and how dishonesty can often lead to unintended consequences. Selfish manipulation, jealousy, and hatred never lead to positive outcomes. Violence is never a good way to solve personal personal issues. In fact, violence doesn't solve anything, It only leads to more suffering. Our lives are changed forever.

55:08 But with this challenging ordeal now behind us, we are ready to move forward and continue our healing. And we will do this with Mariah's strong, determined, gentle and kind spirit, for we know this is what she would want us to do. Mariah inspired everybody everyone who knew her, and we are dedicated to preserving her legacy. She expressed a strong desire to serve others and to give back to her community, and we endeavor to do that with the Mariah Wilson Foundation established in her honor. Thank you very much, I say, both her parents just seem like really good, empathetic people. The fact that he suggested, you know, prayers for Caitlyn's family as well, just says a lot. Sorry, it's me choking back to yours exceptional people.

56:20 Just really and like you said that that really struck me too, is like you know these both these families are suffering, and you know Caitlyn's parents deserve a little bit of empathy too. Yeah, it's really sad. I just wanted to say mo was more than an athlete. She was a daughter, sister, and her friend to many. She was kind, smart, dedicated, and a hard worker. She had big goals and dreams and there's just no doubt that she would have achieved them. Yeah. She died way, way, way too young. Specialized the cycling equipment company where Moe had previously worked. Set in an Instagram post, like many of you, were devastated by the tragic loss of a friend who exuded so much inspiration, determination and joy. Betsy what a journalist, fellow, and who said that's one reason why I covered her so much. She just kept winning all these races, and I thought, wow, this is one to watch. It's it's a small sport in terms of number of pros who do it for a living.

57:13 She immediately stood out. I saw funny clips left because I saw a funny clipper. Betsy was talking about how you because Mo had so many first finishes the year that she died. When race she came in second and Betsy was like, Oh, I can't believe she came in second. Well, she had a flat tire, so you know that's why. That's the only reason she came in second. Mo's friend Danica Ashnaal also said in an Instagram post, quote, now, now what we must do is take her light, absorb it into ourselves, and shine it on others as brightly as she did. There was a bubble of positivity and joy around her, and we all wanted to be in her bubble. Moe was a former elite alpine ski racer turned endurance cyclist and was on a beautiful trajectory not just to win races, but to win in open hearts. Moe's family felt compelled to make a statement about her relationship status after speculation rose online about her relationship with Colin.

58:13 They said, quote, while we will not elaborate about the ongoing investigation, we do feel it's important to clarify that at the time of her death, those closest to her clearly understood directly from Mariah that she was not in a romantic relationship with anyone. So that's the story of Mo Wilson. Very well told. Thank you, very sad, Rest in peace, Mo. Our thoughts are with the Wilson family this holiday season. Do you feel as if justice was served? Yeah, it seems like it. I mean, it definitely seems like I guess my only question originally was whether Colin knew about it or had anything to do with it, But it sounds like he's pretty much other than being maybe not the best guy in the world and seeing multiple women at the same time, he didn't. It's pretty clear that he had nothing to do with her murder, didn't have any knowledge of it, nothing like that, right exactly. I think that's my belief. Yeah, Colin is a dirt bag, but he's not. I don't believe he's a murderer.

59:14 And I think that Caitlin just got caught up in the moment. And I think jealousy is a bad, bad thing. Well, I think it was compounded over months and months of you know, are they or are they? Or what's going on? And yeah, reading someone's text messages. Can I mean, just just don't do it. I ever gonna lead anywhere good, No, it's not you were a little distracted by the Amazon truck business. But it all get some weird. It was crazy, Like we're in this quiet little cul de sac and all of a sudden there's two Amazon trucks and one is backed up to the other one. They were like backed up to each other, and I really am not sure what happened. All I know is there's a really big box on our front porch, or there was.

1:00:01 I know that is a really big box. I'm a little scared to open it, honestly that we've had a couple that I'm like, holy moly, what did I do? Sometimes they packed you know, it could be a really big box, but just a tiny little thing inside you never know. Well I know what's in it, I'm pretty sure, and I did it a small house. Well it's some So our daughter, can she hear me? I don't think she listens to the podcast. She's almost a teacher, it's almost going to graduate, and she's kind of freaking out about having things for her classroom. Yeah, because as we know, teachers have to buy to buy a bunch of their own stuff. So I bought her a few like toys for the classroom. So that's I think that's what's in that big box, very large. What are the biggest set of Lincoln logs you can buy? Because I think that's a great toy, right, that's a really big set of Lincoln logs. It's a big box. But we also had a new family member this week. What did I buy it for myself?

1:01:00 It was not It was a gift for the whole family. We finally got so cute scooting around the house. It hads like a little person one for years, but I finally was like black Fried and like, I just we need to do it because I don't have time to clean anymore. So yeah, it's pretty cool. The cats really really love it. Oh my gosh, no, they they do not like there was a big fight last night and our house underneath the Christmas tree. Holy moly, I thought Cosmo was going to kill Clover. It was bad. It's a stressful time of year for everybody, and especially when you bring a roomba into the house. Well, I think they just he thinks that he has DIBs. First, he likes he likes the Christmas tree. Yeah, I see you brought your new Stanley to the I did a whim. I got rich a Stanley. Now he's a Stanley, girl, Tell him a Stanley. I think everyone knows it's yeah, everybody knows that Stanley. A lot of people are using the Stanley, but your rate reading of the Stanley, I like it. I'm not a big water bottle kind of everyone else in our house always uses water bottle. I'm trying to adapt because everyone else uses a water bottle, so I'm trying to. Okay, it's nice to always have it in your reach.

1:02:15 And all right, well, I think that's all we have for today. Please don't forget to rate, review, subscribe and like. It really does help. If you don't mind doing that for us, consider supporting the show on Patreon, Patreon dot com, slash love Mary Kill. We only have one tier. We try real hard to keep it simple. We are never going to be the podcast that has fourteen different tiers and gouges you five dollars a month. I am positive that we will never charge more than five dollars for Patreon. No, for sure, we are. We're humble. We are humble. Thank you so much for listening and support us, supporting us. We appreciate it so much. We love to hear from you. Also, so email us at love Mary Kill at gmail dot com and let us know what you think. Absolutely, we love you and we hope you have a great week. Until next time, don't kill your husband and don't kill your wife.