AUSTIN, Texas — Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman convicted of killing acclaimed cyclist Moriah Wilson, was sentenced Friday.
Armstrong was sentenced to 90 years in prison after she was convicted of murder Thursday. She was also fined $10,000 by the jury. Armstrong faced a maximum of 99 years because the prosecution did not pursue the death penalty.
"When you shot Moriah in the heart, you shot me in my heart," Karen Wilson, Moriah Wilson's mother, said after the sentencing. "And Eric. And Matt, in their hearts. You shot Moriah's cousins and aunts and uncles and all the people who loved her."
On Friday, the jury spent about three and a half hours deliberating the sentence. Thursday's guilty verdict came only after about two hours of deliberations.
The jury in her trial listened to testimony for nearly three weeks. Armstrong herself decided not to testify.
State's sentencing closing arguments
State Attorney Rick Jones was the first to start the state's closing arguments for the sentencing phase of the trial. Again, he displayed a photo of Moriah Wilson on the screen. Jones said during this trial, they've talked about Kaitlin Armstrong a lot, but he wanted this day to be about "Mo" Wilson.
Jones addressed the pain both families are going through.
"I feel Mr. Armstrong's love for his daughter," Jones said. "I felt it. But the difference is his daughter is still sitting right there. She's not in a good situation, but she's still sitting right there. But Eric and Karen, their daughter is gone."
Jones also talked about how he thought Moriah Wilson was a cycling prodigy and had yet to hit the prime of her life. He said if she were still alive, she would have gotten even better.
"She accomplished a lifetime of achievements in 25 years, and then she was taken from us way too soon," Jones said. "Taken from Eric, Karen and Matt way too soon."
Defense's sentencing closing arguments
Defense attorney Rick Cofer started the defense's closing arguments by saying he has no recommendation for an appropriate sentence – that it was up to the jury. Cofer also addressed the pain of Wilson's and Armstrong's family.
"Two families are devastated and grieving in very different ways," Cofer said.
Cofer talked a lot about forgiveness and the possibility of redemption for Armstrong.
State Attorney Guillermo Gonzalez closes
Guillermo Gonzalez closed for the state. He addressed that the jury would have a difficult decision to make. Gonzalez also said that he agreed with some of what Cofer said about redemption.
"I may agree a lot with a lot of what he said, but one thing that I do want you to think about and to factor into here is that accountability," Gonzalez said. "Accountability for your actions are just as important as redemption and forgiveness."
Gonzalez then described Armstrong as a sophisticated, well-educated and financially-minded person. He said she was a person who had a long time to think about her decision to murder Wilson.
"She drove around that neighborhood for over an hour," Gonzalez said. "She parked at the entrance of the alley, turned off her jeep for at least half an hour before the murder and then back on a few minutes later. This is a person who had time to think and meditate and calculate about her actions."
He said Armstrong's actions on the night of May 11 have damaged and devastated Moriah Wilson's friends and family. It was something the jury got to hear a little bit about on the witness stand Thursday.
"We just saw what that looks like for about, you know, half an hour," Gonzalez said. "They have to live with that for the rest of their lives."
Gonzalez said Armstrong's calculations to kill Wilson came down to an age old motive: jealousy. He ended by asking the jury to start their sentencing deliberations at a minimum of 40 years in prison.
Legal experts told KVUE that they were surprised by how quickly Thursday's verdict came down, especially since it was a murder case. But they said that the evidence against Armstrong was overwhelming.