Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Three Shots in the Dark’ of ABC’s ’20/20,’ the primary focus is on the sudden and horrific murder of a professional cyclist named Moriah Wilson in Austin, Texas. In the initial phases of the investigation, the name of her former boyfriend, Colin Strickland, kept coming up as a person of interest. However, he turned out to be critical as he pointed the detectives in the direction of the actual perpetrator, his longtime on-and-off girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong.
Colin Strickland Directed the Investigators to Kaitlin Armstrong
Striving for a long and successful cycling career, Colin Arturo Strickland began dating Kaitlin Armstrong in 2019. A couple of years later, in the fall of 2021, the couple broke up, only to get back together after a while. During the time they were not together in 2021, Colin struck a romantic chord with a fellow cyclist named Moriah Wilson, but it only lasted for a few days. By 2022, Colin and Kaitlin started living together temporarily after the latter’s apartment was destroyed by a storm. As a matter of fact, they also operated a vintage trailer renovation company called Wheelhouse.
On May 11, 2022, when Moriah was shot to death in her friend’s apartment in Austin, Texas, just a few days before a cycling competition, the police suspected Colin to be involved because he was the last person to see her alive that day. The following day, he was brought in for questioning, but he claimed that he had spent his day with Moriah, dropped her off at her friend’s house, and left the area. When they questioned him about the black SUV that was spotted around the murder scene, parked on his property, he revealed that it belonged to Kaitlin. He had also bought a gun for Kaitlin for self-protection, but little did he know that she would use it to kill Moriah. At Kaitlin’s trial, he also took the stand and testified against her.
Colin Strickland Had a Bright Cycling Career Ahead of Him
Born on November 7, 1986, in Johnson City, Texas, Colin Arturo Strickland was raised on a farm, surrounded by the love and support of his family. After graduating from high school, he majored in Environmental Science while minoring in Urban Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. By then, he had started cycling as a means of transportation. In the same year as he graduated from college, he participated in his first bicycle racing at the 2010 North American Handmade Bike Show, where he won an Alleycat. In the following years, his hobby turned into his passion, and by 2016, he had made a name for himself at the Red Hook Crit and became popular after winning the Gravel Worlds in 2017 and 2018.
His cycling talent and passion drove him to victory in multiple off-road cycle racing events, including the Unbound Gravel 200, where he beat several UCI World Tour professional riders. Besides that, he also won signature races in Iceland and Kansas. Given his rise to cycling stardom, he earned himself a contract offer from EF Pro Cycling. Unfortunately, his promising cycling career came to a halt after he was linked to the murder case of a fellow cyclist named Moriah Wilson, with whom he also shared a short fling in 2021. That same year, he competed in his last Unbound Gravel race, finishing in fifth place.
Colin Strickland Restores and Renovates Collectible Vehicles and Trailers Today
In a June 2025 interview with Cycling News, Colin Strickland opened up about how his life changed for the worse after the murder. He said, “Every aspect of it was just horrific and wasteful. I immediately had no interest in cycling. Period. Everything was burning, like my whole world was on fire. There would have been no bike racing under any circumstances. This would be completely toxic to me, and I couldn’t do that.” Soon after his name was linked to Moriah’s killing, a majority of his sponsors backed out of their deals, including Specialized, Enve Composites, and apparel brand Rapha. He elaborated that he is still affected by it all and is “still recovering from the shell shock of just trying to make sense of it all.”
While his world fell apart, he was supported by a couple of friends he had made during his cycling career, including Ian Boswell, Pete Stetina, and Payson McElveen. “They’ve proven to be incredibly strong and not just turn away because things got ugly or scary. It’s more challenging to keep in touch. I’m out of their world now,” he said. Nowadays, he has diverted his focus from cycling and does automotive restoration for Spartan trailers and collectible vehicles. He works with old Mercedes SUVS and trucks with turbo diesel engines.
As of today, the central Texas resident is restoring a 1915 house and is also looking to buy a house for his mother near him so that they can stay in touch. Still, he revisits footage of his old cycling races every now and then. He revealed, “(I have) a different relationship with cycling. I don’t train anymore. I’ve probably done two ‘training’ rides in the last six months, you know, riding for the sake of riding. I ride around the tiny town I live in almost every day. It’s a bit different.” As for the details of his personal life, Colin prefers to keep them under wraps and lead a rather private life.
Read More: Where is Anna Moriah Wilson’s Family Today?
