Kaitlin Armstrong pleads not guilty in connection with death of elite cyclist Mo Wilson
By Jennifer Henderson, CNN
Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, the woman who authorities say fled to Costa Rica after allegedly killing an elite professional cyclist and was missing for more than 40 days, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in a Texas court Wednesday.
Before an appearance in Travis County District Court, Armstrong’s attorney, Rick Cofer, filed a motion for a speedy trial, according to court records.
Prosecutors argued they haven’t received all the evidence so it is too soon for them to go to trial, , according to CNN affiliate KEYE. The next court date is scheduled for October 19, according to the docket.
“Miss Armstrong wants her day in court. She wants a trial. And you heard the district attorney threatened sanctions over her desire for a trial. As matter of course, cases should not be indicted if prosecutors are not prepared to proceed, but we have some questions,” Cofer said Wednesday after court.
Cofer also said that a lot of information in the media is “simply not accurate.”
“All I can ask of the press here is that you not consider everything told to you by law enforcement as confirmed and reportable facts. Simply put, there’s a lot more to the story than has yet been heard,” Cofer added.
Cofer said he will file motions challenging the conduct and investigation of the Austin Police Department, and he looks forward to this being heard at trial in a court of law, according to KEYE.
CNN has reached out to Armstrong’s attorney but has not yet heard back.
Armstrong, 34, is being held on $3.5 million bond. She is being housed at the Travis County Jail in Austin, according to jail records.
Elite cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson was found dead May 11 with multiple gunshot wounds at the home of a friend in Austin, authorities said. She had told her friend she was going for an afternoon swim with Colin Strickland, 35, a professional cyclist and Armstrong’s boyfriend. Strickland told police he and Wilson swam and ate dinner, and he dropped her off at the friend’s home, according to an arrest affidavit in Travis County District Court.
Investigators have said romantic jealousy might have been a motivating factor in the killing.
Strickland considered Wilson, 25, to be one of the best cyclists in the world, he told police, and a VeloNews feature published on the day of her death called her “the winningest woman in the American off-road scene.” Wilson won a series of races in California this spring, the article notes, before traveling to Austin for a race.
Armstrong was captured in Costa Rica on June 29 and was deported to the United States on July 2 to face a murder charge.
A spokesperson for the US Marshals Service said earlier this month authorities believed Armstrong used the passport of a close associate to go to Costa Rica and while there used several aliases while moving several times to a new town.
Armstrong was detained for violating Costa Rican law for fraudulently using of a passport, according to Marshals spokesperson Brandon Filla.
Armstrong is also facing an added federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
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CNN’s Steve Almasy, Rebekah Reiss and Raja Razek contributed to this report.
