AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A Travis County jury found Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of murder in the death of professional cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson Thursday morning.
Jurors deliberated for a little over two hours after getting the case, after attorneys presented their closing arguments Thursday morning.
Wilson, 25, was found shot to death in an east Austin home on May 11, 2022. Armstrong was interviewed by Austin Police the following day; a warrant was issued for her arrest a week later. She led authorities on a 43-day manhunt to New York, New Jersey, and eventually to Costa Rica.
The case will now move on to the punishment phase; with the conviction, Armstrong faces up to 99 years in prison.
Prosecutors called 42 witnesses over eight days of testimony, focusing their evidence on a timeline of surveillance video, GPS records, and Armstrong's own DNA found on the handlebars and seat of Wilson's bicycle.
"There was silence and no more screams, then Armstrong put another bullet right in Wilson's heart," prosecutor Ricky Jones told jurors during his closing arguments Thursday. "I've never seen so much evidence in my life against one person."
Defense attorneys tried to discredit the evidence presented by the state, calling five witnesses during their presentation Wednesday afternoon. An emphasis for the defense case was the fact that Armstrong was never seen in the video surveillance - only her Jeep. The defense also alleged other suspects were not fully investigated by police.
Armstrong did not take the stand in her own defense. Instead, defense attorney Rick Cofer, in his closing arguments Thursday morning, pointed to a pattern of what he called assumptions on the part of investigators and the prosecution.
Armstrong has remained in custody pending trial; last month, while attending a doctor's appointment in south Austin, Armstrong attempted to escape from custody. She's facing a secondary charge of escape causing bodily injury, which carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison.