Texas woman wanted in shooting death of elite cyclist

May 23 (UPI) -- Federal agents are asking for the public's help to find a Texas woman accused of shooting an elite mountain bike racer to death in an apparent love triangle.

Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 35, is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Anna Moriah Wilson on May 11 while Wilson was in Austin for a race.

Police say they found Wilson "bleeding and unconscious from multiple gunshot wounds" inside the East Austin home where she was staying. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

U.S. Marshals are asking for help to locate Armstrong and her 2012 black Jeep Cherokee with Texas plates.

An arrest affidavit filed in Travis County District Court says the victim and the suspect had recently been involved with the same man -- professional cyclist Colin Strickland.

According to the affidavit, Wilson told her friend she was going for a swim with Strickland on the day of the killing. Strickland confirmed the two also had dinner together before he dropped Wilson off at her friend's house. Strickland said he did not go inside.

"There is no way to adequately express the regret and torture I feel about my proximity to this horrible crime," Strickland said in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman. "I am sorry, and I simply cannot make sense of this unfathomable situation."

Wilson's family released a statement saying they were not aware of any relationship.

"We do feel it's important to clarify that at the time of her death, those closest to her clearly understood, directly from Moriah, that she was not in a romantic relationship with anyone," they said.

Austin police were called to the house later that evening where Wilson's friend performed CPR on her.

Officers said the "shooting does not appear to be a random act."

Shell casings found at the scene match a firearm Strickland had purchased for Armstrong. The "potential that the same firearm was involved is significant," according to the affidavit. Surveillance video also shows an SUV, similar to Armstrong's, near the home where Wilson's body was found.

Wilson was an alpine skier at Dartmouth College, but decided to pursue her dreams of becoming a bike racer after graduating, according to her obituary. She was training to compete in the Gravel Locos bike race before she died.