The murder trial for a yoga instructor who allegedly shot her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend got underway this week in Austin. 

In opening statements, prosecutors painted Kaitlin Armstrong as a cold and calculated killer who gunned down cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in a fit of jealousy in May 2022 because she was allegedly upset about Wilson’s past relationship with her on-and-off pro cyclist boyfriend.

In court, prosecutors accused Armstrong of using the fitness app Strava to track down Wilson, whom she allegedly shot in the heart. She previously pleaded not guilty.  

Days after Wilson’s murder, Armstrong allegedly fled to Costa Rica for several weeks. She’d been identified as a person of interest in Wilson’s slaying after detectives spotted her vehicle in surveillance footage near the scene of the murder. While in Central America, prosecutors said she used a passport that belonged to her sister and got a nose job. She was later extradited to Texas after spending more than 40 days on the run.

Armstrong, they said, ultimately used Strava to track Wilson’s exact location on the day of her race. The social app, which is typically used to track workouts, had shared Wilson’s location after she’d posted on it. Armstrong later shot and killed Wilson out of jealousy, prosecutors said. 

In court this week, prosecutors said Armstrong had access to Strickland’s electronic communications, including his email and social media accounts, and had been monitoring his online activity using the couple’s iPad. They said she was aware the former couple was still in contact and that Armstrong had confronted her on-and-off again boyfriend about it. Armstrong also allegedly changed the cyclist’s name in Strickland’s mobile phone. 

In the trial’s opening days, Caitlin Cash, Wilson’s friend, whose house she was staying at at the time she was killed, testified. She told the court she found her friend covered in blood the morning she was shot.

“She was covered in blood,” Cash said Wednesday, People reported. “She was lying on her back. I bent down and tried to wake her up. Pretty quickly I called 911.”

Meanwhile, Armstrong’s defense team has blasted the state’s case — and its evidence — as weak. Her attorney said the former yoga instructor is “trapped in a nightmare of circumstantial evidence.”

Wilson was originally from Vermont. She was a competitive gravel and mountain bike racer, according to The Washington Post.  

In October, Armstrong allegedly attempted to escape custody during a medical appointment, according to court documents, CNN reported. Video of the alleged incident shows Armstrong, clad in striped pants, being chased by corrections officers. Armstrong, who appeared to try jumping a fence in the incident, was captured after roughly 10 minutes, KXAN-TV reported.  

Prosecutors aren’t pursuing the death penalty in the case. If convicted, Armstrong could spend a maximum of 99 years behind bars.