Catherine Rusoff
The professional cyclist’s family Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson sued her convicted murderer Kaitlin Armstrong for more than $1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
In the wrongful death lawsuit, Wilson’s parents, Karen and Eric Wilson, said they were seeking “monetary relief (of) in excess of $1,000,000.00, including damages of any kind, penalties, costs, expenses, prepaid interest -trial and post-trial”. The Wilsons asked for a jury to decide what damages Armstrong might be responsible for.
Ansel Dickey
“The worst day in the lives of plaintiffs Karen and Eric Wilson and their son Matt Wilson was May 12, 2022,” the lawsuit, obtained by CBS News, said. “That was the day they learned that defendant Kaitlin Marie Armstrong shot and killed her only daughter, Anna Moriah Wilson, affectionately known as ‘Mo’.”
The lawsuit alleges that Armstrong “was handling his firearm negligently, unlawfully, wantonly and recklessly and in violation of laws, statutes and ordinances designed to protect the people” at the time of the shooting, and alleges that Armstrong assaulted Wilson by shooting her. The lawsuit also accuses Armstrong of wrongfully causing Wilson’s death.
The damages would cover funeral expenses and emotional pain, among other expenses, according to the lawsuit.
“Many of the elements of the harm, including the loss of society and companionship, which represent the positive benefits that flow from love, comfort, companionship, and society, cannot be determined with mathematical precision,” the lawsuit stated.
Wilson was found shot to death on a friend’s bathroom floor in Austin, Texas, in May 2022, CBS News previously reported. She was 25 years old and was expected to compete in and win a cycling race just days after her death. She was staying with her friend in preparation for the race.
Mikala Compton/AP
Police said Wilson previously dated Armstrong’s boyfriend, and the two remained close, spending time together on the day Wilson was killed. Armstrong allegedly tracked down Wilson using a fitness app and entered the apartment after her boyfriend left Wilson.
After the murder, Armstrong fled to Costa Rica, where he taught yoga and underwent plastic surgery and changed her hair to avoid detection, according to prosecutors. After almost six weeks in the Central American country, Armstrong was arrested by US marshals and returned to the US for trial. Back in the U.S., she attempted to escape custody by running away from officers accompanying her to a doctor’s appointment, but was taken back into custody after running less than a block, CBS News previously reported.
In January 2024, Armstrong was convicted of murder in the case. She has been sentenced to 90 years in prison and is currently incarcerated at the Gatesville Correctional Center in Texas.
