‘I would kill her': Witnesses say Kaitlin Armstrong talked about killing Anna Moriah Wilson

Two witnesses in the Kaitlin Armstrong murder trial testified Wednesday that she told them she was so angry about her boyfriend Colin Strickland dating Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson that she would kill Wilson.

Nicole Mertz testified that she was a close friend of Armstrong’s in 2021 and 2022. She said she was sitting with Armstrong in the Meteor restaurant in early November 2021 when Wilson walked in. Mertz said Armstrong was “visibly angry” after she saw Wilson.

“I had never seen her like that before, which is why I remember,” said Mertz. “I asked Kaitlin if Colin ever started dating anyone else seriously what would she do, and she said, ‘I would kill her.’”

More: Kaitlin Armstrong's former boyfriend Colin Strickland testifies in her murder trial

Armstrong and Strickland had recently broken up, Mertz said.

Jacqueline Chasteen testified that she knew Strickland and had met Armstrong through him. She said Armstrong had told her in January 2022 at a bike race in Arkansas that she had just found out that Strickland was cheating on her with Wilson. Armstrong said Strickland had apologized but that Wilson kept texting him, Chasteen said. Armstrong said "in so many words that she wanted to kill Wilson, or had thought about killing her," Chasteen said.

Chasteen also said that Armstrong had talked about having a gun or getting one.

Armstrong, who is accused in the fatal shooting of cyclist Wilson in East Austin on May 11, 2022, fled to Costa Rica after Wilson was killed, police have said. She searched online while in Costa Rica on whether pineapples could be used to burn off fingerprints, Austin police Detective Richard Spitler testified Wednesday.

Anna Moriah Wilson death: See the facts about the case, charges against Kaitlin Armstrong

Spitler also testified that Armstrong searched on Google for information about getting plastic surgery and pulled up news articles about authorities searching for her as a murder suspect. Police have previously testified that Armstrong paid more than $6,000 to have plastic surgery on her nose in Costa Rica. Spitler said police obtained Armstrong's Google subscriber information.

Spitler also revealed other details of the investigation. He said he learned June 2, 2022, that Armstrong had sold her Jeep to CarMax for $12,200 on May 13. He found the Jeep at CarMax and said he got a search warrant to remove the infotainment system.

The system's GPS showed that before Armstrong arrived home on the night that Wilson was killed, she stopped near two dumpsters in a South Austin apartment complex. Police have previously testified that videos show Armstrong's Jeep was in the neighborhood where Wilson was staying when she was fatally shot three times.

Spitler said he also found that on the day after Wilson was killed, Armstrong had deleted a Google map she had on her iCloud account that showed Wilson was staying in East Austin on Maple Avenue.

More: Accused murderer Kaitlin Armstrong escaped custody at doctor's office in Austin Wednesday

Armstrong changed her email address on May 12 and traveled to Costa Rica on May 18, according to screenshots shown in court. She also subscribed to a private network that allows users' locations to be hidden while they are online, another screenshot showed.

Spitler said he interviewed another of Wilson's ex-boyfriends and a close male friend of Wilson's and found out they were not in the area when Wilson was killed.

During his cross-examination of Spitler, defense attorney Rick Cofer stood up suddenly and asked Judge Brenda Kennedy to declare a mistrial, saying the defense had never been given a police report about vandalism outside the house where Armstrong lived with Strickland. The vandalism occurred after Wilson was killed, police have said. Strickland had testified earlier in the trial that his motorcycle had been pushed into Armstrong's Jeep outside his house and several stones used as pavers had been turned over. He said he also found $2 under a stone and that he had reported the incident to police.

Spitler testified that the vandalism report was not part of the murder investigation. Kennedy denied the motion for a mistrial.

Cofer also said that Spitler did not interview Wilson's ex-boyfriend or Wilson's close male friend until after the arrest warrant was issued for Armstrong.

Cofer asked Spitler why police had not tested evidence to determine whether Wilson had been sexually assaulted. Spitler said there was no evidence at the scene that Wilson had been sexually assaulted. Her dress and her bathing suit were still on when a friend found her and there were no signs of an assault, he said.

Wilson had dated Strickland for a short time in October 2021 during a brief breakup between Strickland and Armstrong. Armstrong and Strickland were back together again when Wilson, a rising star in the gravel cycling world, came to visit Austin from San Francisco in May 2022 to prepare for a race, police have said. At that time Wilson and Strickland were just friends, Strickland has testified.

Strickland has testified that he and Wilson went swimming and out for burgers on the day she was killed. He has said he dropped her off on his motorcycle at the East Austin apartment where she was staying after their visit and went back to his South Austin house.

Spitler said video evidence showed Strickland driving north at 8:35 p.m. to drop Wilson at the apartment and evidence also showed Wilson unlocked the apartment at 8:36 p.m. A video also showed Strickland driving on a frontage road near his South Austin home at 8:43 p.m., the detective said.

More: Police give details in shooting of slain cyclist in Kaitlin Armstrong murder trial

Cofer also asked Spitler why police never did a forensic examination of Strickland's laptop. Spitler said it was because Strickland was not a suspect.

"Do you believe that Wilson, Strickland and Armstrong were involved in a love triangle?" Cofer asked Spitler. "No," said Spitler. "Do you believe that Kaitlin Armstrong was a jealous person?" Cofer asked. Spitler said Armstrong could have been upset about Wilson's success as a female cyclist.

Before a one-day recess on Tuesday, Spitler testified Monday afternoon that Wilson knew that Armstrong was in Austin because she checked about six times on a race app called Strava that showed the route of Armstrong's bike rides when she was in town.

Strickland, who was a professional cyclist at the time, has testified that he didn't tell Armstrong that Wilson was in Austin because he knew Armstrong had problems with his friendship with Wilson.

Defense attorneys have suggested there were other suspects in the killing of Wilson. Strickland and Armstrong kept all their vehicle keys in a bowl in the house, Strickland has said. About 30 people had access to the home because Strickland had given them the security code to the locks, he has testified.

More: At Kaitlin Armstrong trial, defense suggests there were other suspects in cyclist's murder

Defense attorneys also have suggested that Armstrong didn't have time to kill Wilson. She arrived at the South Austin home she shared with Strickland shortly after he texted her at 9:21 p.m., Strickland has said. Police have not given an official time of the fatal shooting, but a video from a nearby neighbor recorded screams and three shots in the area at about 9:15 p.m. May 11, 2022.

Videos from neighbors' security cameras shown during the trial show a black Jeep in the area where Wilson was staying. Prosecutors have said it looks like the vehicle Armstrong drove. Strickland testified Monday that he doesn't think the other people who had access to his house knew that Wilson was in town.

Cellphone records displayed in court Monday showed a friend of Strickland's, Alan Burrows, called Strickland at 9:07 p.m. May 11 and had an eight-minute conversation with him. Burrows testified Monday that he talked to Strickland about borrowing bicycle parts from him and during the discussion Strickland was looking for the parts in his garage and found them.

Defense attorneys said the cellphone record did not show where Strickland was when he was talking to Burrows.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Kaitlin Armstrong trial: Witnesses say she talked about killing Anna