The defense attorney for Caitlin Armstrong, who is charged in the shooting death of cyclist Moriah Wilson, believes she will be acquitted of first-degree murder if the case goes to trial.

In an interview that aired on Dateline NBC (opens in new tab), Rick Cofer stated his belief that Armstrong will be acquitted if the pending trial is not dismissed.

Armstrong has been formally charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Travis County Jail on $3.5 million bail. She pleaded not guilty at a pretrial hearing on July 5 and is scheduled to appear again at a docket call on October 19.

"I expect the government's own evidence will exonerate Caitlin Armstrong," Cofer said. 'They just don't see it. Caitlin Armstrong is not guilty. And if this case goes to trial, if the district attorney doesn't dismiss it before trial, she will be acquitted."

Cofer is a partner at Cofer & Connely, PLLC and is representing Armstrong in this case. He was interviewed by correspondent Keith Morrison as part of the September 16 premiere of Dateline NBC's 31st season, a two-hour special titled "The Last Ride (opens in new tab)" that focused on Wilson's tragic death.

Wilson, a prominent gravel racer, was shot and killed in his East Austin home on May 11 in a case currently under investigation by the Austin Police Department (APD); the APD issued an arrest warrant for Armstrong on May 17 in connection with the murder investigation.

Authorities later discovered, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, that Armstrong had sold a black Jeep for $12,200 on May 13. Investigators believe that the black Jeep "appears to be the same vehicle that was seen on surveillance video" outside the crime scene at his East Austin home on May 11.

Cofer stated that the surveillance video presented no evidence of the license plate number of that car or the description of its occupants. Cofer implied that Armstrong was not in the vicinity at the time of the murder, and when asked if he could prove it, Cofer replied: "You don't have to prove it. That is not how the system works."

Cofer also disputed the results of police ballistics tests on a Sig Sauer gun believed to belong to Armstrong that was recovered from the residence he shared with his live-in partner, gravel racer Colin Strickland. The report stated that "the possibility that the same firearm was involved [in the Wilson shooting] is great."

However, Clofer told Dateline NBC: "Ballistics analysis is functionally junk science. It's a kind of witchcraft, if you will."

Investigators believe that after selling her black Jeep, Armstrong departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 14, connecting to New York's LaGuardia Airport via Houston Hobby Airport. According to authorities, Armstrong used someone else's passport fraudulently on May 18 to flee the United States from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to San Jose, Costa Rica.

After a 43-day fugitive manhunt, Armstrong was found and arrested on June 29 at a hostel in Santa Teresa Beach, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and deported to the United States on July 2.

According to authorities, she was formally charged with first-degree felony murder at the Travis County Detention Center in Austin, where she was transferred on July 5, and is awaiting a jury trial that will begin in October.

Armstrong, Strickland's live-in partner, spent the afternoon and evening of the day of Wilson's death with Wilson and was questioned by authorities. He is not suspected of any involvement in the incident and has not been charged or prosecuted for this crime.

He admitted to a past romantic relationship with Wilson in 2021. However, Strickland and Wilson's parents dispute the claim that the two were romantically involved at the time of her death.

The mainstream media speculated that Armstrong was jealous as a motive for the murder, which Cofer called a "sensational headline" and a "carnival-like media storm." He argued that a fair trial was impossible because of the "pervasive biased publicity."

On August 18, the Travis County District Attorney's Office (TCDAO) filed a motion for a media restraining order, asking the court to prohibit "all parties" from commenting to the media about the case. The State argued that the motion would prevent both parties from discussing the case in public.

In a defense motion filed on August 22 (opens in new tab) seeking to prohibit prejudicial comments to the media, Cofer responded to the prosecutor's attempt to limit his communication with the media.

Cofer believes that at this point, the gag order would effectively only silence Armstrong's side, as the TCDAO, APD, and the marshals have been issuing public comments for months that have led to the widespread release of details of the case and investigation.

The defense submission also criticized the investigation and the affidavit supporting Armstrong's arrest warrant, arguing that it contained "factual errors," "erroneous attribution," and "false allegations."

Cofer told Morrison on an episode of "Dateline NBC": "Within the first 24 hours of this incident, law enforcement officials determined that Caitlin Armstrong was a crazy, jealous person who killed Ms. Wilson in a fit of rage. The entire case against Caitlin Armstrong is based on a deeply misogynistic view of her."

Based on legal documents, Cycling News has compiled a timeline of how authorities believe the crime unfolded. Cycling News will provide additional information as more details from the authorities become available.