Mind of a Serial Killer - CYCLE OF JEALOUSY: Kaitlin Armstrong Pt. 1

Episode Date: December 1, 2025

When Austin-based yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong met elite cyclist Colin Strickland, their relationship seemed passionate and driven by shared ambition. But behind the calm surface, jealousy simmered. When Colin reconnected with rising cycling star Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, Kaitlin’s insecurity spiraled into obsession — and ultimately, murder.In Part 1, Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristin Engels unravel how Kaitlin’s deep-seated anxiety and fear of abandonment evolved into dangerous control. Through psychological insight and chilling detail, the hosts trace Kaitlin’s unraveling — from her unstable upbringing and toxic romance to the moment her jealousy exploded into violence. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios YouTube: @crimehousestudios To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson. And if you love digging into the most gripping true crime stories, then you need to listen to another Crime House original, Crimes of, with Sabrina Deanna Roga and Corinne Vienne. Crimes of is a weekly series that explores a new theme each season from crimes of paranormal, unsolved murders, mysterious disappearances, and more. Sabrina and Corinne have been covering the true stories behind Hollywood's most iconic horror. villains, and this month, they'll be diving into the paranormal. Listen to Crimes of every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. We all get a little jealous sometimes, whether it's seeing our crush, flirt with someone else. or hearing a colleague receive more praise than us at work, it's normal to want what someone else has, or worry that what we have will be taken away.

And most of us know how to keep those feelings in check. But not Caitlin Armstrong. In 2022, 34-year-old Caitlin couldn't handle it when her boyfriend, 35-year-old Colin Strickland, started spending time with another woman, 25-year-old Anna Mariah Wilson. Caitlin became fixated on their relationship, and soon her obsession became fatal. The human mind is powerful.

It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate. But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Killer Mines, a Crime House original. I'm Vanessa Richardson. And I'm Dr. Tristan Engels. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer. Crime House is made possible by you.

Follow Killer Minds and subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free early access to each two-part series. And if you can't get enough true crime, go search and follow Crimehouse Daily. Our team's twice a day show bringing you breaking cases, updates, and unbelievable stories from the world of crime that are happening right now. Before we get started, you should know this episode contains discussion of sexual violence and murder. Listener discretion is advised. Today we begin our deep dive on Caitlin Armstrong, the Austin-based yoga instructor whose on again-off-again relationship spiraled into something deadly.

In 2022, when Caitlin's jealousy became too much for her to bear, she took violent measures to hold on to the man she loved. And in the aftermath, she went to extreme lengths to avoid getting caught. And as Vanessa goes through the story, I'll be talking about things like how someone's lack of self-confidence can manifest in toxic ways, what happens when toxicity spirals into delusion, and how a killer who's so detached from reason can also behave in. calculated and methodical ways. And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a killer? Get no frills, delivered.

Shop the same in-store prices online and enjoy unlimited delivery with PC Express Pass. Get your first year for $2.50 a month. Learn more at pceexpress.ca. Armstrong was never a stranger to turbulence, and from the time she was a little girl, Caitlin had to cope with all of life's curveballs. She was born on November 21st, 1987 in Livonia, Michigan. Caitlin's parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised by her mother, who struggled with alcohol abuse. They moved around a lot, and amid this instability,

Caitlin allegedly experienced sexual violence on multiple occasions. While those allegations haven't been confirmed, it does seem like Caitlin looked for ways to heal as she got older. After college, Caitlin moved to Austin, Texas, and became a realtor. But her true passion wasn't selling homes. It was yoga. She was drawn to its emphasis on inner peace and self-control. In January, 2018, 30-year-old Caitlin was seeking an escape from her day-to-day life. So she flew to Bali for a month-long yoga teacher training.

She looked every bit the part of a yoga instructor, tall and slender, with long, curly red hair down to her waist. But once she arrived at the retreat, it was clear that Caitlin didn't possess any of the inner composure that the other attendees had. During introductions, she allegedly burst into tears as she confessed to everyone that she was there because she was running from something back home. But she didn't elaborate on what she was running from. After that, Caitlin hardly spoke to anyone. and generally kept to herself. And her odd behavior wasn't over.

One evening after dinner, as people shared food and chatted, Caitlin suddenly went pale. She pointed to a faint rash on her chest and said she was having an allergic reaction. Her allergy symptoms seemed minor, but they sent Caitlin into a full-on panic. Her breathing grew ragged as her body trembled. A few people rushed to her aid,

while others stayed out of the way. But as they watched the commotion unfold, some of the attendees couldn't help but think Caitlin was overreacting as a way to get attention. What's happening here can have several psychological explanations, and I know this is killer minds, and we cover complex and atypical cases that do not represent the norm. But that being said, I would caution people ordinarily that experience something like this or witness something like this to not automatically assume that this behavior is manipulative or attention seeking, even if it may appear that way on the surface. Now, with regard to Caitlin,

we are just starting to do our deep dive on her and we don't know too much about her yet or the source of her distress, but we do have two data points so far. First, Caitlin herself stated that she was there because she was running from something back home. And number two, some of the attendees felt she was doing this for attention, like you said. That could be because of their own biases or assumptions or because they've seen a pattern that we haven't seen yet. And one such pattern might be that Caitlin lacks emotional regulation skills. That doesn't mean it's manipulative necessarily. It just means that she is seeking external sources to soothe her when she lacks the skills to do it herself. Also, when someone is under intense internal distress, especially if they're suppressing

that distress or living with it in secret like she might be doing here, that psychological pressure can seek a physical outlet. The body and mind are deeply connected, so it's not unusual for it to manifest as a somatic reaction. Things like shortness of breath, trembling, or even a rash can occur. She might have been having a genuine panic attack. And if she was truly running from something, then that stillness of a yoga environment could have had the opposite effect on her. It could have forced those emotions to the surface, triggering panic instead of peace. Caitlin definitely had a hard time managing her emotions, but she still seemed to learn something at the retreat. Once she returned home, she put some of her training to practice and started teaching

yoga. She continued working in real estate too, striking a balance between her career and her passion. Caitlin was starting to seem more sure of herself, but her path to self-improvement wasn't complete yet. There was still one more thing Caitlin was looking for. Love. In 2009, 19, 32-year-old Caitlin started using dating apps to try and meet someone. Soon, she stumbled upon 33-year-old Colin Strickland. Colin was tall and handsome, and like Caitlin, he cared a lot about his physical health. He was a bicyclist who competed in high-level races for both professionals and amateurs. As soon as she met Colin, Caitlin was smitten. However, he was apprehensive. Even though Colin found Caitlin attractive, she didn't share his interest.

He grew up on a farm, preferred to eat organic food, and fixed his own clothes with a vintage sewing machine. Meanwhile, Caitlin didn't know how to cook and shopped at fast fashion chains. She also didn't care about music and art as much as Colin did. But by the end of their first date, Colin decided he wanted to learn more about Caitlin, so they kept seeing each other, and soon he saw a loving and kind-hearted side to her. They eventually became exclusive, and Caitlin's nurturing side showed itself more. Once, she even spent days helping Colin's mom figure out her unemployment benefits. Caitlin also leaned on Colin to feel safe and secure.

One summer night in 2020, she called him in a panic because there was a man banging on her apartment door. Caitlin thought he might be drunk or high. Colin stayed on the phone with her to help her stay calm until the man left. afterward, Caitlin realized she could rely on Colin and wanted to find ways to be closer to him. So she immersed herself in the world of competitive cycling. She bought all the gear, and before long, Caitlin was entering amateur races on the weekends. Firstly, I just want to highlight that it is normal and healthy to take an interest in your partner's interests.

That's part of how we build connection and shared meaning in a relationship. But there's a difference between sharing an interest and absorbing, it as part of your identity. When someone's sense of self is fragile or overly dependent on external validation, they may start adopting their partner's interests, not just to connect, but to feel belonging or to feel worthy of love. And in Caitlin's case, it seems like cycling wasn't simply about trying something new because cycling represented Collins' entire lifestyle, his community, and his identity. And given that this is killer minds, and we know where this ultimately leads, her interest went beyond shared meaning and supportiveness. She was trying to secure her place

in his world. That's relational mirroring when a person subconsciously molds themselves to reflect the person they're attached to. This can often happen in people with anxious attachment or who have a low self-concept. They fear rejection, so they over-adapt to maintain closeness. It's not necessarily manipulative, it's survival to them. And the problem is that partner reliance isn't sustainable. And when the relationship is threatened in any way to them, according to them, it can feel like an existential crisis, which can lead to very drastic reactions. It's worth mentioning that Caitlin actually took up cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Does that change the way you view her actions at all?

So this is exactly why I wanted to normalize this to some degree, because not every behavior is something to be pathologized. And taking interests and other people's interests can be normal. There are often other very plausible and reasonable explanations for certain behaviors. I mean, I personally took up hobbies during the pandemic I never previously were interested in, and many people did, all in an effort to adapt to the isolation and the magnitude of what was happening. I also cycled a lot during the pandemic, although it was on like a stationary bike, but it was an order to track and it had those programs so I could choose a program that would let me cycle across the world. and that gave me a mental and physical escape. This could have absolutely contributed to her interest in cycling.

However, you have to really look at why she was interested in cycling in the first place. Was it to cope with the pandemic only, or was it to maintain closeness? I'd be curious to know if she found additional hobbies that were not interests of Collins, because that would be really telling whether or not this was related to the pandemic or not.

I did the same thing during the pandemic. Well, while Caitlin did love the thrill that came with cycling, she soon definitely felt left behind. For Colin, cycling wasn't just a hobby. He was a well-known elite athlete. Caitlin not only struggled to keep pace during their rides, but she felt like she was on the outskirts of the social life Colin had built within the cycling community. Those feelings of being excluded only grew stronger when Caitlin started taking peaks at Colin's

phone. She saw that he was texting other women, and it stung. Caitlin confronted Colin about the texts, and he claimed he was just friends with the women. She said she believed him, but that was a lie. Caitlin kept spying on Colin's messages. Then one day she started noticing texts from a new woman whose name she hadn't seen before. Colin had apparently met her at a race he recently attended. Caitlin confronted him again, and just like before, Colin said they were just friends. He promised Caitlin there was nothing to worry about. But she was worried, and one day while Colin was at a race, Caitlin managed to get access to the pictures on his phone. That's when she found a photo of the same woman wearing only blue jeans and a bra. Caitlin was livid. She saved the

photo, then sent it to Colin from her own phone. She didn't include any text in the message. She just wanted him to know that he couldn't hide anything from her. Jealousy in relationships is common, and in small doses, it can even serve a protective function because it signals that something feels uncertain or what we value feels threatened. But when jealousy shifts into behavior that crosses boundaries like invading someone's privacy, it stops being protective and it starts being controlling. Caitlin's actions here suggest a deep sense of insecurity and an inability to tolerate ambiguity in relationships. When someone lacks emotional regulation or has anxious or preoccupied attachment, uncertainty feels

intolerable. The fear of being replaced or lied to can override reason and lead to impulsive, invasive acts that temporarily relieve anxiety but ultimately damage the trust in the relationship. And in this case, Caitlin was invading his privacy in order to manage her anxiety through control. But this is a false sense of safety, because the more she tried to secure the relationship, relationship through surveillance like this, the more emotionally distant and unsafe it's likely to become for the both of them. And clinically, this kind of behavior doesn't necessarily mean a severe mental illness is occurring, but it does point to poor distress tolerance,

attachment deficits, and possible obsessive or ruminative tendencies. It reflects the relational dynamic that's built more on fear. And once that pattern takes hold, both partners start reacting to the anxiety instead of relating to each other, which can create a very toxic cycle. Caitlin probably wanted to make Colin feel guilty by sending him the picture, but her actions ended up having the opposite effect. For the next few weeks, Colin distanced himself from her. Then, just after the new year in 2021, he broke up with her. But soon, Caitlin found a way back into his life. In February, an ice storm hit Austin and the pipes in Caitlin's apartment burst. She called Colin for help, and he invited her to come over and stay with him. They agreed it

would be temporary, but soon they were back together as a couple. This time, their relationship became more serious. Caitlin's real estate career had been doing well, so the pair bought a house together and even launched a trailer restoration business called Wheelhouse Mobile. Caitlin managed the business side of things, which meant she had even more access to Colin's phone and personal accounts. For a while, this didn't seem to create any problems, but then in October 2021, Colin did something to trigger Caitlin's jealousy again. They went on a road trip to Bentonville, Arkansas, where Colin was competing in a race. Caitlin was looking forward to cheering him on, but when they got there, her cheerful mood turned sour. Caitlin noticed that Colin was being

extremely friendly with a young woman she'd never seen before. The woman was also a cyclist. Soon, Caitlin learned that the woman was 25-year-old Anna Mariah Wilson, a rising star in the world of cycling, who went by the nickname Moe. Colin and Moe had first met a month earlier at a race in Idaho. Even though he told Caitlin they were just friends, Caitlin didn't believe him, and her suspicions only intensified during the second day of the trip. That day, Colin went on a mountain bike ride with friends, but he didn't invite Caitlin. He said that the ride would be too hard for her, but she thought the real reason was because Mo would be there. Caitlin was infuriated. She couldn't believe Colin was humiliating her like this again.

No matter how hard she tried to keep her feelings under control, she was reaching a breaking point. And soon, she would explode. In the fall of 2021, 34-year-old Caitlin Armstrong was dealing with intense feelings of jealousy over her boyfriend, Colin's friendship with Mo Wilson. After the event in Arkansas was over, Caitlin and Colin drove back home to Austin, Texas. During the car ride, Caitlin told Colin how she was feeling.

She was hoping he'd apologize and promise not to talk to Mo anymore. Instead, Colin said something that shattered Caitlin's world. He told her he couldn't be the partner she wanted him to be, and that it would be best if she moved out. By the time they reached Austin, Caitlin was struggling to process the sudden end of their relationship. As the days passed, Caitlin's disbelief seemed to morph into denial. She didn't make any plans to move out.

She told Colin that she wanted to move into one of the homes they'd been renovating, and it wasn't ready yet. And Colin seemed to go along with it. He told Caitlin she could stay in their house a while longer, but he reminded her that the romantic side of their relationship was over and that he still expected her to move out when the new place was ready. From a practical standpoint, it might not seem wise for Caitlin to stay with Colin and for Colin to allow that,

especially given the tension in their relationship. But decisions like this often are made from financial, or practical needs or, likely in this case, an attachment need. When someone is in a fragile, emotional state, proximity to the person they're attached to can feel like the only thing keeping them stable, even if that closeness is not good for them or is painful. It's what we call proximity-seeking behavior. But there's also repetition of a familiar dynamic emerging between them, which is the

rescuer and the rescued. If you recall, earlier in their relationship, when they had first become exclusive, Caitlin called him when someone was banging on her door, and he stayed on the phone with her, making her feel safe and calm. Then, when they had split up and were still living separately at the time, and her pipes froze in an ice storm, Colin had come to her aid. This brought them back together, so these experiences strengthened her emotional attachment to him. I believe Caitlin felt that he was her rescuer,

and that can create a powerful bond, especially for someone who equates safety with love. So now, when she says she wants to wait to move out until the home is renovated, and he allows her to stay temporarily, she may be unconsciously recreating that same scenario. She may have interpreted his willingness to help as proof that he still cares or that their relationship still has a future. That's black and white thinking and a misattribution of safety. In this case, confusing an active compassion or obligation with renewed intimacy rather than basic human decency. So for someone with anxious attachment or low self-worth, those small acts can carry enormous meaning, reinforcing hope and making it even harder to realize that the relationship has changed. So while Colin may have intended to help out of kindness or practicality, for Caitlin, that act likely reignited the illusion of being chosen,

and rescued again. Caitlin may have wanted to keep tabs on Colin's life, but soon she got more than she bargained for. Less than a week after the breakup, Caitlin found out that Mo was in Austin. She was there for a race, and she was hanging out with Colin. When Caitlin saw what they were up to on social media,

she felt crushed. Colin was introducing Mo to all his friends. Their relationship was barely over, and he was apparently already moving on to another. Things only got worse when Caitlin learned that Colin and Mo were going on a road trip together, just the two of them. Caitlin couldn't take it. She somehow got her hands on Mo's phone number and started calling her constantly, warning her to stay away from Colin. Eventually, Mo blocked Caitlin's number. Now there was nothing Caitlin could do except fester in her jealousy and anger.

About a week later, Colin returned home, and Moe was back in her home city of San Francisco. Now that she was gone, Caitlin made her move. Over the next few months, she and Colin rekindled their relationship. However, Colin eventually confessed something to Caitlin. During Moe's visit and their road trip, they'd been intimate. Caitlin was extremely hurt. Not only that, all of her fears about Mo were validated. But rather than ask herself whether she could truly trust Colin,

Caitlin started leaning on him more than ever. She started telling Colin that whenever she went on bike rides alone, creepy men followed her. Everyone close with Colin knew that he believed all women should own guns. He thought it was unfair that women often felt unsafe in situations where men could feel completely comfortable. So in late December 2021, he took Caitlin to arm herself. All right, stemming from my previous discussion, we're not really seeing that Caitlin is seeking safety because she's genuinely afraid, though, of course, women should always practice situational awareness for safety, but rather, she's seeking rescue. It's another reenactment of dependency. Every time she recreates that victim rescuer dynamic, it reinforces the belief that closeness can be achieved through crisis, and that's conditioning. So instead of addressing her true fears, like insecurity, jealousy,

shame, she's outsourcing safety to Colin with the underlying belief that as long as he keeps saving her, the relationship will stay intact and she will return to a state of calm because she'll remain relevant for him. What she really would benefit from is learning internal regulation, and if we look back at her behavior in Bali, the pattern was already there. Even then, she showed signs of poor emotional regulation. Her panic episode during the retreat, which some interpreted as attention-seeking could be viewed as another way of outsourcing safety, relying on the people around her to soothe her distress rather than learning how to do it herself. And of course, it's completely normal and even healthy to lean on others for support

during times of emotional overwhelm. We all need that. But there's a time and a place for it, and what we're seeing here is something different. Why do you think people look for quick fixes to their mental health needs? That's a great question, because what we often call a quick fix is really just a human response to distress. When people are in emotional pain, the instinct is to make that pain stop now. It's not necessarily about laziness or denial. It's about intolerance of discomfort. So the quick fix offers immediate relief, even if it is at times at the expense of others. And the brain simply is trying to restore equilibrium and end the internal tension as fast as possible. And in doing so, it prioritizes short-term relief over long-term resolution.

Well, Caitlin happily went along with Colin's idea. They rode their bikes to McBride's, a small family-owned gun shop. Caitlin picked up a 9-millimeter Sig-Sour P-365, which is a compact pistol built for concealed carry and personal defense. Colin thought that having a gun would help her feel safer. Instead, it added a dangerous new layer to an already fragile relationship. Things were good between Caitlin and Colin for the next few weeks. However, things went sour again when Caitlin saw a video that Colin posted on Instagram while he was at a race in another city. After this, Caitlin's jealousy ran wild. She monitored Colin's phone, asked him pointed questions about Moe, and obsessively checked social media for any sign they

were spending time together. Whether it was her race results or photos with people who were Colin and Caitlin's mutual friends, Caitlin felt like Mo was showing off all the ways she was better than her and encroaching on her life. Caitlin tried to keep herself busy by spending time with friends in Austin, but the conversation always turned to Colin and whether he was cheating on her with Mo. On at least two separate occasions, Caitlin told friends that she was so jealous she would kill Moe. So at this point, it appears Caitlin is interpreting neutral

information as personal attacks or taunts. When jealousy escalates like this, it's often a reflection of an underlying identity threat. It seems like Moe represents everything Caitlin fears she isn't, and because of that, everything Moe does subsequently becomes evidence

that Mo is somehow winning a competition that only exists in Caitlin's mind, which is borderline delusional, not psychosis in the clinical sense, but it is a distortion of reality that reinforces her narrative of betrayal. And it's also a projection of fear of abandonment and rejection. Now, saying she'd kill Mo reflects the intensity of that envy and pain, and it fits with her known pattern of coping, because again, every time she feels anxious, rejected, or unsafe, her instinct hasn't been to self-reflect. It's been defined and label an external source for it.

This spares Caitlin from the discomfort of confronting her own insecurities if she can convince herself that someone else is responsible for them. But the problem is every time she externalizes her distress, she reinforces a worldview where other people are the source of her suffering, and that's the kind of thinking that can escalate into aggression. As far as we know, Caitlin's not a violent person. I don't think she's ever committed a violent offense before. So why would something like this push her to feel so much rage and aggression to the point of just even entertaining the idea of murdering someone? Violence doesn't always emerge from a pattern of aggression. Sometimes it develops from a pattern of emotional instability or poor frustration tolerance that reaches its breaking point. When someone experiences repeated feelings of rejection, humiliation, frustration, or betrayal, especially without any healthy coping skills or outlets, it can, compound and have nowhere to go.

Eventually, the individual's coping system, or lack there of, collapses. And what we see as rage is often the explosion that happens when shame, fear, and helplessness compound together. Anger, in that moment, becomes a defense that feels powerful to them. So she was attempting to reclaim control when she'd felt she'd lost everything. Unfortunately, Caitlin wasn't coping. She was diving headfirst into her obsession. Things only got worse in May 2022

when Caitlin learned that Moe was back in Austin for another race. By now, Colin had changed Moe's name in his phone as a way to hide their interactions from Caitlin. But Caitlin found other ways to keep tabs on what they were up to. On Wednesday, May 11th, Caitlin opened the workout tracking app Strava. She saw that Mo had recently gone on a bike ride in Austin. After that, Caitlin checked.

Colin's messages and saw that after her ride, Mo sent him her location. It was an address in East Austin in a neighborhood called Cherrywood. She also saw that Colin and Mo were making plans to hang out later that day. This sent Caitlin through the roof, because Colin had told her that he was taking his motorcycle out for a long ride in the country. Caitlin called Colin to see if she could catch him in his lie, but her call went straight to voicemail. So did her next call, and the one after that. Caitlin couldn't take it anymore. She was tired of sitting back

and watching her relationship be destroyed. So she decided to strike first. If you're a fan of true crime, horror, or creepy encounters, you've got to listen to disturbed true horror stories. Each episode shares the terrifying experiences of real people, retold by professional actors. I bet down on his hand and he pulled back, but he puts the knife a little harder against my sweatshirt.

I began to hear the breathing and growling of what could only come from a monster. Find disturbed true horror stories wherever you enjoy your podcasts. On May 11, 2022, 34-year-old Caitlin Armstrong discovered that her boyfriend, Colin Strickland, had lied to her so he could hang out with. Mo Wilson. Colin returned home around nine that night. At the time, Caitlin wasn't there. She arrived about 20 minutes later wearing workout clothes and carrying a yoga mat. The two sat down to have a drink together. The whole time, neither of them said anything about how Colin had been ignoring Caitlin's phone calls that day. Then, Caitlin did something unusual. She initiated sex with

Colin. On the surface, this wasn't out of the ordinary. They were in a relationship. after all, but Caitlin was being extremely forceful. Colin didn't think much of it at the time. It wouldn't be until later that he'd look back and realize how sinister Caitlin's behavior really was. Yeah, this behavior is an extension of what I was just talking about with regard to her need to reclaim control. When someone like Caitlin, with her level of emotional dysregulation and attachment insecurity

feels deeply betrayed, sometimes the instinct is to reclaim control. Sex in this context appears to be about dominance and possession. By initiating sex right after she's been deceived, Caitlin appears to be trying to transform rejection into control and then vulnerability into power. Do you think that her initiating sex could be a cover-up, maybe just to make Colin think nothing's wrong, or does it come as a physical reaction from what she'd just done?

Of course, it could absolutely be that. In the past, when she called Colin multiple times like this and was upset, it often led to conflict or even a breakup. So this could have been her way of trying to preempt that. By acting as though everything was fine and initiating intimacy, she may have been trying to reset the dynamic before he could pull away again. Either way, no matter of truly, this behavior, especially the forcefulness of it that you described, served both emotional and tactical purposes. At the core, it's reclaiming control and protecting her ego. Well, while Caitlin and and were getting intimate, a young woman named Caitlin Cash was returning home to her apartment.

It was just before 10 p.m. when Cash stepped inside, expecting to find her friend Moe Wilson, who was staying with her that week. But Cash didn't see Mo anywhere. She called out for her and got no response. Then Cash noticed the bathroom door was open. She walked closer, and when she looked inside the bathroom, she was met with a horrifying sight. Moe was lying on her back, unconscious in a pool of blood. Cash shook Mo trying to wake her, but she couldn't. So she grabbed her phone and dialed 911. The dispatcher guided her through CPR until first responders arrived. Once they were there, Cash was quickly led outside. Pretty soon, medics and officers from the Austin Police Department realized there was no chance of saving Mo. She was already dead. When they got a

closer look at her body, officers determined that Mo had been shot twice in the head and once in the chest. And as they examined the surrounding area, they quickly began uncovering clues. To start, the position of Moe's body suggested that she'd been shot while she was already on the floor. Officers believed this meant that Mo had been deliberately targeted. Someone had stood over her and made sure she wouldn't get back up. They also found a cut on her right index. finger and another one under her chin, which made them think there'd been a struggle before Mo fell. Finally, they found three shell casings in the bathroom. Each appeared to have been fired from a nine-millimeter handgun. The police knew that whoever did this was probably covering

their tracks at that very moment. With no time to waste, they went outside to speak with Cash in order to establish a general timeline. Distraught and in shock, Cash gathered herself so she could answer their questions and hopefully help them catch the killer. She said that Moe had left her apartment around 5.30 p.m. that day, with plans to go swimming with a friend, a man named Colin Strickland. Officers immediately wondered if Colin was Moe's killer, but they needed to learn more before zeroing in on him. From there, Cash knew that Moe had returned to the apartment at 8.36 p.m. Cash had an app on her phone connected to the electric lock on her front door. She didn't know what happened after that, but Mo had been killed sometime between that time

and when Cash got home shortly before 10 o'clock. Now that investigators had a time frame, they prepared to canvass the area in search of surveillance footage or witness testimony. Before heading out, they spotted a bicycle lying in the bushes outside the apartment building. Cash confirmed that the bike belonged to Mo. This was extremely odd. Moe was a serious cyclist. She wouldn't have tossed her own bike to the side like that. This added to detective's theory that someone had come after Mo, and once they obtained security footage from the area, they got closer to figuring out who that person could be. First, they discovered footage from a camera in the house containing chilling audio. Mo can be heard screaming

before two gunshots go off in quick succession. Seconds later, a third shot is fired. Then, just two minutes after this audio was captured, investigators found video of a black Jeep Cherokee with a bike rack on it, driving out of the neighborhood. While detectives couldn't make out the license plate number, they did a little digging and realized the direction the Jeep traveled was toward Colin Strickland's home.

The next morning, detectives Richard Spittler, and Jason Ayers went to Colin's house to bring him in for questioning. When they arrived, something in the driveway immediately stood out, a black Jeep Cherokee with a large bike rack on the back. They thought they might be about to catch their guy. Then, when Colin opened the door and the detectives told him Moe had been killed, Colin seemed genuinely stunned. However, Caitlin was standing nearby,

and her expression remained completely blank. even as Colin left with the officers. A little later, Colin's friend Lance showed up at the house. He was there to borrow a bike part from Colin. Caitlin told Lance she could help him and invited him in. Once Lance was inside, Caitlin casually brought up the news about Moe. Then she asked him if he thought Austin was becoming a violent city. Lance tried to reassure her.

He said that kind of violence wasn't normal there. But then she asked another question. Is Cherrywood a bad neighborhood? Lance kept trying to make her feel better. However, after he left the house and the shock of Mo's death began to fade, he wondered, how did Caitlin know where Mo was when she died? Caitlin's line of questioning with Lance as a form of grobing because she is testing what he knows and to subtly gauge whether suspicion might fall on her.

This kind of behavior can also serve as self-reassure. By framing the event as just another instance of random violence in a, quote, dangerous city, she's externalizing blame again, aligning the narrative with something impersonal rather than taking ownership, and that fits with her established pattern of deflecting internal distress outward. But also, she's subtly redirecting attention. She's planting the idea that the crime was related to Mo's neighborhood, that it was random or opportunistic, seemingly in attempt to steer suspicion away from her. information gathering, testing what others know and how they're interpreting events. That's a common behavior among offenders who are still trying to control the story and the narrative. And so her calmness is about managing perception in real time, both to self-soothe her own self and to influence how others will see her. So in a lot of our episodes, we see situations where killers don't think through their actions. They don't think they'll be caught. And then they say or do things that just increase the likelihood of them getting caught.

Is there a link between a person's willingness to take someone else's life and then their sense of confidence or assurance about getting away with it? Yes, there's often a link between someone's willingness to take another person's life and their confidence, or more precisely, their perceived ability to get away with it. But the psychology behind that confidence varies. So for some individuals, especially those with antisocial or narcissistic traits, the belief that they're smarter, more strategic or less detectable than others, creates a sense of entitlement and invincibility. They convince themselves the rules don't apply to them or that

they can outthink everyone else. That distorted self-assurance lowers inhibition against violence because they don't anticipate real consequences and they don't fear real consequences. For others, especially those with intense emotional states like jealousy or betrayal, the confidence often comes from rationalization. They attempt. to justify their actions as necessary or even inevitable. But either way, whichever the cause, the confidence also comes with a lack of accountability as well. Caitlin's comments were extremely suspicious,

and by now, Lance wasn't the only one wary of her. At Austin Police headquarters, Detective Spittler and Ayers were starting to learn more about the past drama between Colin Moe and Caitlin. Colin also explained everything he and Moe had done before he'd dropped her off at home the night before. He said he'd picked Mo up on his motorcycle around 6 p.m., and they went for a swim at a popular pool in Austin.

Then they grabbed dinner before he dropped her back off at Caitlin Cash's apartment around 8.30 p.m. After that, he went straight home. The detectives asked if anyone could confirm his timeline, and Colin said no. His girlfriend, Caitlin, didn't get home until about 9.20 that night. With this, Detective Spittler and Ayers asked Colin to hang tight. Then they left him alone in the interrogation room for over an hour.

They watched on camera as Colin slumped against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself. He was clearly distraught, but he didn't seem panicked. The detectives wanted to get more of Colin's reaction, so when they finally returned, they told him they had surveillance footage of a black jeep with a bike rack on it, driving near Cash's apartment right around the time Mo was killed. Then they revealed something else. They also had footage of him riding his motorcycle down the highway, away from Cash's apartment and toward his own house at 8.48 p.m.

On the one hand, Colin was relieved to hear authorities had evidence that he wasn't guilty, but on the other hand, that would mean Caitlin had been driving the Jeep near the crime scene. Colin told Spitler and Ayers that he couldn't fathom Caitlin being responsible. She wasn't a violent person. When they pressed him harder, he said that if he thought Caitlin was truly capable of murder, he wouldn't be with her. The detective seemed convinced that Colin really meant what he said. So as they continued speaking with him,

other investigators began digging into Caitlin's background. While they didn't have enough evidence to arrest her for Moe's murder, they did have something else, an outstanding misdemeanor charge from 2018. Apparently, Caitlin had not paid for a Botox treatment. She was later charged with theft of service, but she was never arrested. This would be enough to bring her into the station.

At the same time, officers obtained search warrants for Caitlin and Collins' house and their phones. They went back to the house the same day. Caitlin was still there, and she appeared emotionless when they'd discovered her gun and when she handed over her phone. Then they told Caitlin she was under arrest for her 2018 theft charge. She cooperated as they handcuffed her and brought her in.

In the interrogation room, she claimed she never knew that she'd been charged. Then she requested an attorney. At that point, a knock at the door interrupted the interview. Apparently, the date of birth on Caitlin's arrest warrant didn't match the one in their system, which meant the warrant wasn't valid, and they had nothing to hold her on. The detectives made a last-ditch effort to get Kaylin to talk about Colin and Mo. They even told her about the footage of the Jeep, but she refused to say anything. Eventually, they've had to let her go.

Caitlin Armstrong went home and waited for Colin Strickland to return. He came back that night, and Kalin immediately broke down. She told Colin how scared she was. He tried to make her feel better. By now, they had both hired lawyers, so Colin said all they could do was stay calm and cooperate. But then, Caitlin became more frantic. She even wondered out loud if their house was bugged.

At that point, Colin said they should get some sleep and talk things through in the morning. Caitlin finally agreed. The next morning, Caitlin was still afraid their conversations were being recorded, so they went to a nearby coffee shop to talk. Caitlin told Colin that during the time of Mo's murder, she had gone to yoga and then a waxing appointment. Colin listened carefully.

Whether or not he really believed her, Caitlin at least thought he did. Then, after they left the cafe, they heard from their lawyers, who advised them to separate while the investigation was underway. Caitlin and Colin both agreed. But then, Caitlin began to fret over how they'd stay in touch since the police had their phones.

Colin suggested they buy temporary ones, which Caitlin said she didn't even know how to do, so he took her with him to buy some at Walmart. Then around 10.30 a.m. on May 13, 22, two days after Mo Wilson's murder, Caitlin climbed into her Jeep, backed out of the driveway, and drove away. As the house she shared with Colin grew smaller in her rearview,

Caitlin likely knew she wouldn't see him again, for a very long time. Meanwhile, police confirmed Collins' alibi and ruled him out as a suspect, which meant investigators were solely focused on Caitlin. The evidence against her was still largely circumstantial, especially since the footage of the Jeep was grainy, and they couldn't confirm Caitlin was actually the driver.

However, word was beginning to spread around the cycling community about what had happened to Moe, including the fact that police had been. questioned Colin and Caitlin. And that's when investigators received a tip from one of Caitlin's own friends, saying that Caitlin had once said she wanted to kill Mo. As police continued speaking with people, they learned just how much jealousy and rage Caitlin had exhibited toward Mo. From there, they also learned that Caitlin had gone to the shooting range with her sister after buying her gun. But while all of this painted a damning picture, it still wasn't

concrete evidence. However, now that they'd gotten some help from the public, authorities decided they should continue to tap that well. So they made an announcement regarding Mo's murder. They said the crime did not appear to be random and that a person of interest had been identified, but they didn't say who. Finally, they asked for people to share any information that could help with the investigation. Police didn't have to say Caitlin's name publicly for her to understand that she was now their main suspect. Shortly after leaving her house on the morning of the 13th,

Caitlin drove to a car max about a mile from her and Collins' house. There, she sold her Jeep for $12,200. Her whereabouts for the rest of the day are unknown. But a day later, on May 14th, Caitlin headed to Austin Bergstrom International Airport and boarded a plane to New York where her sister lived.

For someone who is really emotionally disregulated, she certainly is showing really calculated steps to escape. And at the root of that is actually a need for control in both of those situations. So previously, when she felt powerless with Colin, she portrayed herself as helpless or victimized. And that helplessness was a way to elicit rescue, reassurance, and proximity, all of which helped regulate her emotionally. But once that situation went far beyond her control and Collins' attention shifted elsewhere, she shifted from emotional manipulation to logistics. What looks like a contradiction is really a defense mechanism in two forms. Emotional manipulation and chaos when control still feels possible through others

and calculation when control can only be restored through action. It's the same pattern, just manifesting differently. Caitlin's passion is yoga. She's a yoga instructor. She lives by the principle of. of nonviolence in this, you know, yogic way, how could she live with herself after killing someone? Well, let's start by exploring what likely drove her to yoga to begin with, given what we know about her so far. I mean, you mentioned it earlier. She was drawn to the calmness, the peacefulness,

and the self-control of it. People who struggle with emotional regulation are often attracted to structured external systems that look like peace because they offer a sense of order that they can't create internally. In Caitlin's case, given her pattern of finding external sources to regulate her emotions, yoga probably represented another form of external regulation. It gave her a manual for serenity using breathing, posture, and ritual. That also gave her the ability to mimic peace, but she can't create peace for herself unless she also does the internal work, which from what we can tell she avoids. So for someone like Caitlin, yoga likely felt like a way to maintain an image and contain her emotions rather than to understand them. So for her to reconcile her actions

with her yoga training and principles would mean she would have to integrate those principles to begin with. And I think it's clear that that didn't really happen. Well, around the same time Caitlin made her escape, investigators realized how cold and calculated she actually was. When forensic tests proved that her gun was the murder weapon. As soon as they made this discovery, the Austin Municipal Court issued a warrant for Caitlin's arrest on a charge of first-degree murder. But when they tried to take her into custody, Caitlin was nowhere to be found. Little did they know, she was about to take her escape plan to unprecedented extremes.

Thanks so much for listening. Join us next time for the conclusion of our deep dive into the murder of Mo Wilson. Killer Minds is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on all social media at Crime House. And don't forget to rate, review, and follow Killer Minds wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.

You'll get every episode of Killer Minds, ad-free, along with early access to each thrilling two-part series and exciting bonus content. Killer Minds is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and Dr. Tristan Engels, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Killer Minds team, Max Cudler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Lori Maranelli, Natalie Pertzowski, Sarah Camp, Sarah Batchelor, Heather Dundas, Sarah Tardiff, and Carrie Murphy. Thank you for listening. Looking for your next Crime House listen, don't Miss Clues with Morgan Absher and Kalyn Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kalin take you deep into the world of the most notorious crimes ever, clue by clue.

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