(NewsNation) — The defense team for Kaitlin Armstrong, accused of killing professional cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, called for a mistrial Wednesday, but this was denied by the judge.
Armstrong’s defense said a district attorney did not turn over key evidence related to a vandalism report that happened in the days following Wilson’s death. Her attorney said this information is consequential to what happened.
Armstrong, a yoga instructor, faces a first-degree murder charge in Wilson’s death. She has pleaded not guilty.
Wilson was found unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head on May 11, 2022, at a friend’s home in Austin, Texas.
She’d had a brief romantic relationship with Colin Strickland, another professional cyclist, while he was on a break with Armstrong. Strickland testified earlier in the trial that he and Armstrong had an on-again, off-again relationship.
Testifying Wednesday, Austin Police Department detective Richard Spitler said he pursued another of Wilson’s ex-boyfriends as a possible person of interest.
“Everything” about the scene where Wilson was killed made it seem like “a personal homicide,” he said.
“I wanted to try to track down anybody who had something personal with her, some sort of personal relationship,” Spitler said.
That ex-boyfriend of Wilson’s, however, was able to provide police with flight information and receipts for a rental car, which put him more than 7,000 miles away at the time of her killing.
About 25-30 search warrants were issued throughout the course of the investigation, Spitler said. This included warrants on: cellphone data, the actual devices themselves, Google accounts, vehicles, residences and social media accounts.
“Armstrong’s DNA was actually found on Ms. Wilson’s bicycle that was taken from the apartment and put into the bushes,” Spitler said on the stand, according to NewsNation local affiliate KXAN.
GPS data from Armstrong’s Jeep also matches with surveillance video of a black SUV with a bike rack driving in the area around the time Wilson was killed, he said.
Documentation from Armstrong’s iCloud account was shown to the court, including receipts for plane tickets to Costa Rica with her sister’s name. Before her arrest, Armstrong sold her car and boarded a flight to New York and was later seen on surveillance cameras at a New Jersey airport, despite there being no record of a flight booked in her name.
After a 43-day search, authorities arrested Armstrong in Costa Rica, where she had been hiding.
Other parts of Armstrong’s search history revealed to the court Wednesday included local Austin news related to the trial, as well as evidence she was looking up plastic surgery and ways to burn off one’s fingerprints.
Armstrong allegedly searched “Can pineapples burn your fingerprints?” before she fled the country.
During his testimony, Spitler pushed back on media coverage of the case as a “love triangle,” but did say that based on evidence, he believes Armstrong was a jealous person, and that this jealousy is a potential motive.
Two of Armstrong’s friends took the stand Wednesday afternoon, saying they called APD after learning Wilson died to provide information about Armstrong.
One friend said her first reaction when she saw a news story about police investigating Wilson’s death as a homicide was that Armstrong might have had something to do with it. She said Armstrong had once told her, while the two spoke about Armstrong and Strickland’s relationship, that she would kill Wilson.
Another friend said Armstrong, in early 2022 was “visibly angry” when she said “in so many words” that she would kill Armstrong and had thought about it. Like the other friend, this woman did not think anything substantial of it at the time because she thought it was just a comment made while Armstrong’s emotions were high.
The owner of the Carmax police said Armstrong sold her Jeep — a key piece of evidence — testified after Armstrong’s friends. The state displayed an appraisal document with Armstrong’s name from that Carmax.
The last person, as of 5:30 p.m., to take the stand in the case was a representative from Strava, a cycling-tracking app used by Wilson, Strickland and Armstrong.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.
NewsNation local affiliate KXAN contributed to this article.