‘Her brain is leaking’: A horrified friend who frantically called 911 after Mo Wilson was fatally shot tells court how she found the body – as the fugitive yoga teacher’s trial begins

A terrifying 911 call revealed murdered professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson’s final moments as her panicked friend told dispatchers: “Her brains leaked.”

The grisly 911 call was played in court on Wednesday as part of the murder trial of yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong, 36, who is accused of shooting her love rival Wilson in May 2022 after learning she was texting her boyfriend Colin Strickland .

Armstrong allegedly opened fire at the home of Wilson’s girlfriend Caitlin Cash, where the cyclist was discovered in a pool of blood in her bathroom, prompting a frantic 911 call played for jurors.

“Your brain is leaking,” Cash said in the audio. “I just came in and she’s on the bathroom floor and there’s blood everywhere. ‘I can’t tell what happened.’

Cash took the stand and said she saw Wilson’s “feet sticking out of the bathroom” and that’s when she “realized something was seriously wrong.”

Yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong pictured herself entering the courtroom Wednesday to give opening statements in her murder trial

Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of shooting Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin on May 11, 2022, after she discovered Wilson was texting her boyfriend

The shooting broke out on May 11, 2022, after Wilson returned home from swimming and having dinner with Strickland.

Wilson, a professional cyclist, was not living in Austin at the time and had traveled to the city for a race. At the time, she was considered one of the most promising off-road riders in the country.

After Wilson was shot at Cash’s home, Armstrong was initially questioned by police but was released on a technicality because an officer misrepresented her date of birth on a form.

The yoga instructor, who has pleaded not guilty, spent 43 days on the run in Costa Rica following the shooting and also made a daring escape attempt from prison earlier this month before her trial began.

During her time on the run, Armstrong underwent plastic surgery and dyed her hair to change her appearance.

Cash testified that when she arrived home the night Wilson was killed, she initially did not realize the gravity of the situation and called out to greet them.

When she received no response, Cash said she approached Wilson in her bathroom and thought that the sight of her lying on the floor was because “she had become very hot and she was lying on the tiles.” .

But after seeing her friend lying in a pool of blood, Cash said she “immediately bent down and tried to wake her up.”

“I called 911 pretty quickly,” she added.

Wilson was considered one of America’s most promising off-road cyclists at the time of her murder

After her escape, US marshals launched a massive manhunt for Armstrong, who remained on the run for 43 days before being extradited to the US from Costa Rica

She said the last text message sent to her by Wilson was around 5 p.m. that day, in which she said she planned to “go swimming” with Strickland.

According to a police affidavit, Strickland lied to Armstrong about his whereabouts that evening.

However, the yoga instructor had access to his messages on a laptop at her home because, according to prosecutors, Armstrong tracked Wilson’s movements on the night of the murder using the exercise app Strava before stopping her car near Cash’s Austin apartment.

When Cash was questioned about the shocking scenes, much of the focus was on Wilson’s relationship with Strickland, who prosecutors said had an on-again, off-again relationship with Armstrong.

Friends of Wilson said the cyclist and Strickland were romantically involved around October 2021, when he was reportedly taking a break from Armstrong, but the two were not romantically involved when they met again on the night of the murder.

After the panicked 911 call was played in court, jurors also viewed grisly bodycam footage of the responding officer performing CPR on Wilson.

The day before her testimony, heartbreaking footage showed Cash breaking down in tears as she was comforted by members of Wilson’s family and friends as the court recessed for lunch.

Caitlin Cash (right) hugs Mo Wilson’s family members in the trial of the cyclist’s alleged murderer

The trial began this week with both sides making opening arguments to the jury. Prosecutors alleged Armstrong stood behind Wilson and shot her “in the heart,” marking an explosive start to the case.

Armstrong appeared in court with what appeared to be dyed hair, having previously dyed it darker and undergone cosmetic surgery while on the run last year.

Prosecutors grew angry and objected as Armstrong’s lawyers went through her comments, saying they would focus on “reason, doubt and common sense.”

The yoga teacher’s lawyers said she fled from Austin to New York and then to Costa Rica after being questioned by police because she had a “passion for travel and yoga.”

They said Armstrong began to fear for her safety after “strange things” started happening to her, but claimed she did not know police were looking for her.

Prosecutors countered that Armstrong had googled himself while on the run in Costa Rica.

In their chilling opening arguments, prosecutors said: “The last thing Mo did in this world was scream in terror. ‘You will hear those screams.’

“There is a surveillance camera with sound,” the lawyers added, referring to evidence presented in court on Wednesday.

“We’ll play it for you.” You’ll hear those screams. You’ll also hear “pam, pam,” the prosecutor said, clapping to mimic the sound of gunfire.

State of Texas Attorney Rickey Jones claps his hands to imitate the sound of a gunshot while delivering opening statements on the first day of trial in the case of State of Texas v. Kaitlin Armstrong

“Kaitlin Armstrong stood over Mo Wilson and shot Mo Wilson directly in the heart for the third time,” he said.

It also emerged that two of the three shell casings from the shooting were quickly recovered, before a third was later found in a tile floor where Wilson had been lying.

The shell casings were consistent with an Armstrong 9mm Sig Sauer handgun, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say they also plan to present Strickland’s testimony about his romance with Armstrong and his friendship with Wilson.

Strickland went into hiding after the murder while Armstrong was on the run and had allegedly kept his previous affair with Wilson a secret from her.