A pro cyclist rising in fame who was murdered in Austin is the subject of a documentary premiering at South by Southwest (SXSW). Moriah “Mo” Wilson was shot and killed by Kaitlin Armstrong in 2022. The Netflix documentary puts the spotlight on Wilson’s life not her death.
The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson is having its premiere in the one city and at the one festival where everyone involved in the project just thought it made sense.
“I thought there was nowhere else that this film should premiere other than South by Southwest. I mean, this is an Austin story,” said Director Marina Zenovich.
Zenovich says while the film revisits one of the most widely covered true crime stories of 2022-2023, what makes this it compelling is its perspective. It does not focus on the love triangle involving cyclist Colin Strickland and his on again, off again girlfriend, Kaitlin Armstrong. Instead, the documentary is an exploration of love, ambition, and the lasting impact of grief.
“Everyone has an opinion about this case in the sense that you have an innocent young girl, you have a guy she had a fling with, and you have a jealous girlfriend. That could play out in any which way, and it played out in a horrific way. I think that our goal was to, although we had to show that, to focus on Mo and the life she lived and not the fact that she was murdered,” said Zenovich.
The professional cyclist was in Texas to compete in a gravel race in 2022 when she was shot and killed in a friend’s Austin apartment. A year later, Armstrong was convicted of murder in a Travis County Courtroom. The familiar story will have a new voice in the documentary, The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson.
“It was so powerful reading her journals, which we include in the film, so Moriah’s voice in a way is present in the film as she went through the events preceding her death,” said Producer Evan Hayes.
The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson had its world premiere and two additional screenings at SXSW and will be released on Netflix on April 3, 2026.