Tuesday 24 May 2022 06:16 AM Moriah 'Mo' Wilson's 'killer may have used silencer to mask deadly gunfire trends now
Neighbors who lived next to cyclist Moriah 'Mo' Wilson say they didn't hear any gunshots on the night of her murder earlier this month - and speculated that her killer may have used a silencer to carry out the attack.
Wilson, 25, was found dead in an apartment Austin on May 11 shortly after going swimming with a fellow cyclist named Colin Strickland.
Strickland's girlfriend, yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, is currently on the run after being charged with Wilson's murder - which police say may have been spurred by Armstong's jealousy over the idea that Strickland may have been cheating on her.
One neighbor, David Harris, spoke with the US Sun and said he believes that the killer also stole a bicycle from Wilson's apartment in an apparent attempt to stage a robbery.
Harris, 47, who lives next to the apartment where Wilson was staying told the publication: 'I think I would have heard gunshots next door if she was using a 9mm so the shooter must have used a suppressor.'
Around the time of the shooting, Harris said that he was in his garage, partially lifting up the door.
Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, 25, was found shot dead in an Austin apartment on May 11, 2022
Police have identified the suspected killer as yoga instructor Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34
Harris also said that he heard someone leave their apartment building around the time of the killing on a bicycle.
He said: 'I heard somebody leave but I didn’t see anyone with my own eyes.'
He continued: 'I had the sense that a bike was leaving. It was not a motorcycle. Maybe it was Armstrong leaving on the bike and she wanted to make it look like a theft.'
The only thing missing from Wilson's room after her killing was her bike, which investigators said they found in a bamboo thicket more than 60 feet from the house
Wilson was killed shortly after going swimming with a fellow cyclist named Colin Strickland -and police say she may have been targeted by his jealous girlfriend
The only thing missing from Wilson's room was her bike, which investigators said they found in a bamboo thicket more than 60 feet from the house.
Wilson was in town to prepare for a race. Harris told The Sun that he didn't know that she was staying in the apartment and that he never met her.
He did say that the woman who owns the apartment is 'pretty shook-up, of course. She's probably not going to live there anymore.'
In another part of the interview, Harris said of Armstrong: 'You have to be careful with those redheads, man.'
Popular 9mm silencers retail for anywhere between $500 and over $900. Texas is one of the 42 states where it is legal own a silencer.
Popular 9mm silencers retail for anywhere between $500 and over $900
In 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law that removed that made it easier for gun owners to buy silencers in the state.
Previously, as in most states, ATF regulations mean that it can take up to 8 months for gun owners to get their hands on silencers after they have bought them.
A 9mm pistol typically produces 160 decibels of sound. On average, with a silencer, that is reduced to around 125 decibels.
A police tipster, who did not want to be identified, earlier told investigators that Armstrong flew into a rage on discovering cyclist Strickland's romance with fellow cyclist Wilson in January 2022.
A police tipster, who did not want to be identified, earlier told investigators that Armstrong flew into a rage on discovering cyclist Strickland's romance with fellow cyclist Wilson in January 2022
Strickland told police that he purchased two 9mm handguns for him and Armstrong around that time.
Authorities believe that Strickland and Wilson continued their relationship, something that Wilson's family denies.
That tipster got in contact with cops on May 14, three days after Wilson was murdered. Armstrong was subsequently questioned by cops, and freed due to a technicality.
The informant told police: 'Armstrong became furious and was shaking with anger. Armstrong told the caller Armstrong was so angry Armstrong wanted to kill Wilson.'
On the night of her death, Wilson had a secret pool date with Strickland after he lied to his girlfriend about dropping off flowers to a friend, it is claimed.
The informant told police: 'Armstrong became furious and was shaking with anger. Armstrong told the caller Armstrong was so angry Armstrong wanted to kill Wilson'
Armstrong is said to have found out about that pool date, and is accused of shooting Wilson shortly after. The alleged killer's black Jeep was filmed in the vicinity of the house where Wilson was killed around the same time she was murdered.
Strickland dropped Wilson off at 8.30pm at a friend's home in East Austin.
Armstrong did not arrive back at the house she shared with Strickland until 9.20pm, he told police.
Meanwhile, Armstrong is said to have blocked Wilson from contacting her boyfriend on his phone. That is said to have prompted him to store her under another name so he could contact her secretly.
Wilson was seen as a rising star in the sport. She had just turned professional, leaving her job at California-based bike company Specialized, and weeks before had taken the first lead for elite women in the Life Time Grand Prix off-road series
Around the time the couple saw Wilson, 25, at
