Kaitlin Armstrong found guilty in murder of pro cyclist Mo Wilson

A Texas jury convicted Kaitlin Armstrong of murdering elite professional cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson last year in a jealous rage stemming from a love triangle involving another pro cyclist.

The Travis County jury deliberated for 2½ hours on Nov. 16 before finding Armstrong, 35, guilty of murder in the first degree.

Wilson's loved ones sighed with relief and hugged after the verdict was read, while Armstrong sat in silence.

Armstrong, who did not take the stand during the trial, faces up to 99 years in prison at her sentencing. Prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty.

Wilson, 25, was a rising star in the sport of gravel racing. She was shot three times on May 11, 2022, by Armstrong after having dinner with Armstrong's boyfriend, pro cyclist Colin Strickland, a jury found.

“She lived as if every day were her last day,” Wilson's mother, Karen Wilson, told the court. "She never wasted any time. It was as if she knew her life would be short."

What did Armstrong's boyfriend say on the stand?

Strickland took the witness stand in her murder trial on Nov. 6, where he testified about the nature of his relationships with Armstrong and Wilson.

The professional cyclist testified that he had an on-again, off-again relationship with Armstrong, a yoga teacher, for about three years, and that he had been romantically involved with Wilson while he and Armstrong were on a break.

When he and Armstrong got back together, he continued to contact Wilson, a fellow professional cyclist, and saved her number under a different name to avoid conflict with his girlfriend, he said.

During opening arguments, prosecutors painted Armstrong as a woman consumed by jealousy after finding out her boyfriend was romantically involved with Wilson.

“The last thing Mo did on this Earth was scream in terror,” prosecutor Rickey Jones told jurors during the case's opening on Nov. 1. “You’ll hear those screams.”

“Those screams were followed by pop, pop! Two gunshots,” he continued. “One to the front of the head, and one to the side of the head.”

Here's what to know about Armstrong's murder trial.

What happened during opening arguments?

Prosecutors laid out a graphic timeline of the events leading up to the fatal shooting, including that Armstrong had logged into Strickland's email and Instagram account on May 2, 2022, just nine days before Wilson was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in an apartment in Austin on May 11.

Wilson was in Austin to prepare for a race in Hico, about 135 miles north of the city.

On the day of her death, Wilson texted Strickland, "Do you have plans tonight?"

He replied, "Want to go swimming?" and then "Maybe swimming and a beverage," according to text messages shown during the trial.

Hours before her death, Wilson and Strickland swam at a local pool and then went to a restaurant, prosecutors said, before Strickland dropped her off at her friend's apartment, where she was later found dead.

Strickland told police he was in a relationship with Armstrong for three years, but dated Wilson during a break in their relationship, according to an arrest affidavit.

Prosecutors said Armstrong had access to Strickland's messages on a laptop in their home, and could have tracked Wilson's location on the fitness app Strava.

On May 11, Armstrong stopped her Jeep Cherokee near the apartment where Wilson was staying, prosecutors said. Security footage also picked up screams and the sounds of gunshots near the apartment, according to prosecutors.

The casings from the gunshots matched a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun Strickland had purchased for Armstrong, according to prosecutors.

During opening arguments, defense attorneys argued there was no proof Armstrong committed the crime.

Geoffrey Puryear, Armstrong's attorney, said his client was trapped in a "nightmare" of circumstantial evidence.

“You did not hear about any direct evidence showing Kaitlin Armstrong is responsible for this crime, because there isn’t,” he said.

Defense attorneys also argued it was possible other people could have had access to the vehicle seen near the apartment Wilson was staying in on the night of the slaying.

On the stand, Strickland testified he had given the code to the home he shared with Armstrong to "about 30 people," and that the couple was in the habit of leaving their keys in a bowl inside the home.

NBC News reached out to Armstrong's attorneys and the prosecution, but the court has placed a gag order in the case. Family members of Armstrong and Wilson also did not respond to requests for comment from NBC News.

What happened after Wilson's death?

Investigators wrote in an arrest affidavit that an anonymous tipster deemed to be credible told them days after the shooting that Armstrong discovered that Strickland was having a romantic relationship with Wilson.

Armstrong “became furious and was shaking with anger” and “wanted to kill (her),” police said the tipster told them.

A week after the shooting, Armstrong allegedly fled the country to Costa Rica on May 18 using her sister's passport and underwent plastic surgery to disguise her identity.

A warrant was issued for her arrest one day earlier on May 17, leading to a 43-day manhunt.

She was apprehended in Costa Rica on June 29 and extradited back to the U.S.

"While in Costa Rica, she searched her name on her cellphone news articles," Jones, the prosector, said during opening arguments.

While in police custody, Armstrong also allegedly tried to escape from jail while at a doctor's appointment.

Video footage appeared to show Armstrong running from an officer, though she was later captured a mile away, authorities said.

An officer was injured in the process of her attempted escape and apprehension, according to an arrest affidavit, and she now also faces a second-degree felony charge of escape causing bodily injury.

A judge ruled prosecutors can include the escape attempt in the murder trial, NBC News reported.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com