Kaitlin Armstrong’s trial begins with opening statements: Prosecutors say the yoga instructor “surmounted and shot her in the heart” after learning she had been texting her boyfriend

Prosecutors today described how Texas yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong sided with her romantic rival Moriah “Mo” Wilson and shot her “in the heart” in explosive opening statements to her murder trial.

Armstrong, 36, appeared in court wearing a dark blue jacket and with curly auburn hair. She appeared to have reverted to her natural hair color after dyeing it darker and undergoing plastic surgery while on the run.

She is accused of murdering Wilson in cold blood in May 2022, shooting him three times after learning she was texting her boyfriend, Colin Strickland.

Armstrong denies the allegations. Her lawyers said today they would focus on “reason, doubt and common sense.” Her comments angered prosecutors, who protested tirelessly throughout.

Armstrong’s lawyers said she fled Austin for New York and then Costa Rica after an initial police interview because she had “a passion for travel and yoga” and had begun to fear for her safety after “strange things happened” in her home “happened.

Prosecutors told jurors they would hear Wilson’s screams in surveillance footage from the crime scene, which they said also proves it was Armstrong who committed the murder.

Yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong enters the courtroom Wednesday for opening statements in her murder trial

Accused murderer Kaitlin Armstrong appears in court for making opening statements in her murder trial

Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of shooting Moriah “Mo” Wilson on May 11, 2022 in Austin

“On May 11, 2022, at 9:15 p.m., here in Austin, Texas, the last thing Mo did on this earth was scream in terror. You will hear these screams.

“There is a surveillance camera that plays a sound.

“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.

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

In addition to surveillance camera footage and cell phone evidence, prosecutors want to present statements from Strickland about his romance with Armstrong and his friendship with Wilson.

Wilson was killed after a secret date with Armstrong’s friend Colin Strickland (pictured). He went into hiding after her death while Armstrong was on the run

Caitlin Cash, the friend Wilson was staying with when she was shot, will also take the stand.

She will describe finding Wilson in her home, lying with her legs outstretched, “as if she had been on the run.”

Armstrong was taken into custody last year after spending 43 days on the run in Costa Rica.

Earlier this month, she tried to escape from prison guards again during a visit to a doctor’s office.

After their escape, the US marshals launched a large-scale manhunt for Armstrong