Lawyer for Kaitlin Armstrong requests new trial, says she was pregnant near time of arrest

Kaitlin Armstrong's lawyer has filed a motion for a new trial, claiming that her attorneys didn't present enough character witnesses about Armstrong's traumatic childhood and that she was pregnant about the time she was arrested for the killing of Anna Moriah Wilson.

Armstrong, 35, was sentenced in November to 90 years in prison for the murder of Wilson, a 25-year-old cycling star known as "Mo," who was shot four times in an East Austin apartment on May 11, 2022.

The motion for a new trial, filed Dec. 15, also says new evidence shows a prosecution witness was not qualified to say how Armstrong's DNA ended up on Wilson's bicycle. A new trial should also be granted, the document says, because a judge denied a motion by the defense to suppress Armstrong's statements when she was first questioned by police.

Armstrong's new attorney, Jessica Freud, says in the motion that if defense lawyers had presented more witnesses who could have testified about the trauma in Armstrong's life, her punishment might have been less severe. Armstrong had also been pregnant twice, including once about the time of her arrest, the document says. It doesn't say what happened with either of the pregnancies.

More: Jurors deliberating in Kaitlin Armstrong murder trial in shooting death of 'Mo' Wilson

Motion describes 'trauma' of Kaitlin Armstrong's childhood, disputes DNA testimony

Armstrong's parents got divorced when she was 5 years old because her father was having an affair, the motion says. Her father remarried and had another family but struggled to provide financially for both families, the document says. It also says Armstrong's mother struggled to raise three children alone, including Armstrong, and became an alcoholic.

Armstrong's best friend during childhood said that Armstrong as a child was the victim of "multiple instances of (actual or attempted) sexual violence," the document says. Armstrong's sister has also "observed the ability of Kaitlin to disassociate because of the trauma of her childhood," according to the motion.

It also says new evidence shows that a prosecution witness, Tim Kalafut, was not qualified to make the statements he did about DNA evidence during the trial. A DNA expert, Tiffany Roy, sent an email to Kalafut on Nov. 17 after the evidence portion of the trial had ended, saying that he had never made a report on the case and that his "guerilla-style analysis" was inappropriate, the motion says.

"What you did in this case was not in line with best practice and you know it," the email said.

More: Analyst: Kaitlin Armstrong's DNA found on Mo Wilson's bike, along with third person's

Roy later filed a complaint with the Texas Forensic Science Commission about Kalafut's testimony.

A defense witness had testified that Armstrong's DNA, which was found on Wilson's bicycle, could have gotten there after Wilson wore a motorcycle helmet that Armstrong had worn. Kalafut testified that it was more likely that the DNA was there because Armstrong had touched the bicycle herself.

The motion for a new trial also says the defense didn't know that Kalafut was going to testify because he was called as a last-minute rebuttal witness.

"Because this was a circumstantial case and the State clearly felt it had a gap in its proof that warranted the use of this testimony the new information would probably bring about a new result in a different trial," the motion says.

It also says that a new trial is warranted because a judge denied a request to suppress Armstrong's statements when she was first questioned. Police initially brought in Armstrong for questioning after Wilson's death because of an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for her arrest for not paying a bill for Botox.

More: Kaitlin Armstrong, convicted of killing Anna Moriah Wilson, sentenced to 90 years in prison

Circumstances of Armstrong's arrest

Armstrong's lawyers at the time said police failed to read Armstrong her Miranda rights before questioning her. Prosecutors said Armstrong was not under arrest at the time, so that is why her rights were not read to her. Police allowed Armstrong to leave after the interview on May 12, 2022, because the date of birth on the warrant did not correspond to the date of birth they had on record for her.

Armstrong flew to Costa Rica a few days later using her sister's passport. She got plastic surgery on her nose while she was in Costa Rica and used fake names, authorities have said. She was arrested in June 2022.

Wilson had briefly dated Armstrong's boyfriend, Colin Strickland, when Armstrong and Strickland had broken up briefly, Strickland said during the trial. Armstrong was jealous of Wilson and had threatened to kill her, witnesses said during the trial.

The day Wilson was killed, she had gone for a swim in Austin and for a burger with Strickland, who said during his court testimony that they had remained friends after their dating relationship ended.

Video surveillance cameras from neighbors showed a black SUV resembling Armstrong's Jeep driving around before Wilson was killed. Witnesses testified that the GPS in Armstrong's Jeep showed the vehicle was parked near the garage apartment where Wilson was staying about a half-hour before she was shot. The GPS in the Jeep also showed the vehicle left the area about two minutes after the shooting, witnesses said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Kaitlin Armstrong pregnant near time of arrest, says new trial motion