Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson, began streaming on April 3, 2026, and has quickly captured widespread attention for its deeply human approach to one of the most shocking crimes in professional sports history. Directed by Emmy Award-winner Marina Zenovich and produced by Academy Award-winner Evan Hayes (Free Solo), the film revisits the highly publicized investigation and trial while placing Wilson’s life, family, and community firmly at its center.
Watch the official trailer here: The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson — Official Trailer
Who Was Moriah “Mo” Wilson?
Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson made a name for herself through cycling, but she grew up in Vermont with aspirations to become an Olympic skier. During her sophomore year at the prep school Burke Mountain Academy, she tore her ACL — and then suffered another ACL tear three years later while skiing with the alpine team at Dartmouth College. Forced to pivot, she turned her fierce competitive drive toward professional cycling.
The results were remarkable. Wilson was a professional competitor in gravel racing — a hybrid of road and mountain biking held on unpaved roads — and was racking up wins on the professional circuit in 2022 when she traveled to Texas to compete. In less than three years after switching from skiing, she had become the winningest off-road cyclist in America.
Mountain biking legend Rebecca Rusch described Wilson as someone with “a poise and inner strength that is so rare in any human, especially one as young as 25.”
The Murder: What Happened on May 11, 2022?
On May 11, 2022, 25-year-old Wilson was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at a friend’s residence in Austin, Texas, where she had been staying to compete in a race in Hico. Hours before her death, she had gone out with fellow cyclist Colin Strickland for a swim at Deep Eddy Pool and ate dinner together.
Wilson’s friend Caitlin Cash returned home and found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor. In a 911 call included in the documentary, Cash can be heard pleading for help and attempting CPR under the operator’s guidance. Police quickly determined Wilson had been shot multiple times, with no signs of forced entry or struggle, suggesting she may have known her attacker.
Surveillance footage captured a black SUV — later identified as the Jeep belonging to Kaitlin Armstrong, Strickland’s on-and-off girlfriend — near the home shortly before the shooting. Ballistics evidence would later link the murder weapon to a firearm that Strickland had purchased for Armstrong.
The International Manhunt
What followed Wilson’s murder was a dramatic international manhunt that gripped the country. Armstrong’s case drew national attention after she traveled to Costa Rica and went missing for more than 40 days following the murder.
She used her sister’s passport to travel to Costa Rica, where investigators learned a person matching her description had taken yoga classes in a small coastal town. A Costa Rican doctor and his assistant later told NBC News that they performed plastic surgery on Armstrong’s face to alter her appearance.
Armstrong, 35, a Texas yoga instructor, was ultimately arrested in Costa Rica following the 43-day manhunt and charged with first-degree murder.
Trial, Conviction, and Sentencing
In November 2023, a jury found Armstrong guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Wilson and sentenced her to 90 years in prison. The jury also ordered her to pay a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors presented video, cellphone, ballistic, and DNA evidence pointing to Armstrong as the killer, arguing she had access to her boyfriend’s communications with Wilson and was able to track Wilson’s location through a fitness app.
In June 2024, a judge ordered Armstrong to pay Wilson’s family $15 million as part of a wrongful death suit her parents had filed. Armstrong is currently incarcerated in the Dr. Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, Texas, and will be eligible for parole in 2052, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records. In January 2026, the Texas Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction, finding there was “no reversible error” at her trial.
What Makes This Documentary Different?
Unlike earlier media coverage — which largely framed the story as a sordid love triangle — Netflix’s The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson makes a deliberate and meaningful choice: it centers the victim.
Director Zenovich explained the film’s intent clearly: “We wanted to make the film about her and her journey — to focus on her family and friends, and what they were going through, their grief, and how they processed it. The crime was something we had to include, because you can’t tell the story without what happened.”
Netflix describes the film as an exploration of “the impact of this devastating crime on those who knew and loved Mo: her family, friends, and colleagues — a powerful, deeply human story about loss, love, and the ways that grief can reshape lives, while also revealing moments of resilience and transformation, even in the darkest of times.”
The documentary features emotional interviews with Wilson’s family, friends, and colleagues, set against the backdrop of the investigation and trial. Producer Evan Hayes noted that one of the biggest challenges was earning the trust of the Wilson family to participate: “There were some challenges in terms of getting people to relive this trauma and engage with the story, not because they want to forget it, but because remembering it is so emotional.”
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2026, before becoming available to stream globally on Netflix on April 3.
Moriah Wilson’s Legacy
Even in death, Wilson’s influence continues to grow. In 2023, her family established the Moriah Wilson Foundation, which supports community-building initiatives and expands access to outdoor sports. The foundation holds an annual Ride For Mo in Vermont to celebrate gravel racing and raise funds — a day to honor her spirit on the roads she grew up on and loved.
Producer Evan Hayes said the documentary ultimately seeks to restore a fuller picture of Wilson as a person, reminding viewers of “how to treat your neighbor, how to be a part of a community, that violence is never the answer.”
Where to Watch
‘The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson‘ is now streaming exclusively on Netflix