♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, on trial. >> there's blood everywhere. >> byron: the shocking murder in the world of elite cycling. kaitlin armstrong on trial for allegedly tracking and killing

top rider anna moriah mo wilson, who armstrong may have considered a romantic rival. >> the last thing mo did on this earth was scream in terror. you'll hear those screams. >> byron: leaving the u.s., accused of getting plastic surgery to start a new life. armstrong's attorneys saying it's all circumstantial evidence. >> not one witness saw kaitlin armstrong allegedly commit this murder. >> byron: authorities say she made a brazen attempt to escape custody weeks before trial. what armstrong's ex-boyfriend said today on the witness stand. plus darius rucker. ♪ hold my hand i'll take you to the promised land ♪ >> byron: you first knew him as the front man of hootie & the blowfish. rucker says country is calling. >> it was great music and i wanted to sing it. ♪ rock me mama like a wagon wheel ♪ >> byron: eight albums later he's still blazing the trail he says he was once warned away

from. >> people told me straight up, "my audience will never accept a black country singer." >> byron: and the pop superstar he recently collaborated with. the ball is out and there's a pile-up. -let's go! -get in the pile! ugh, i'll deal with this tomorrow. you won't. it's ripe in here. my eyes are watering. i'm a busy man. look how crusty this is. shameful. ugh, it's just too much. not with this. tide. tide can tackle any pile. that a tackle pun? just clean the pile, ron. okay. this too. that was easy. when stains and odors pile up, it's got to be tide. to the next. did they even send my lab work...? wait, was i supposed to bring that? then there's the forms. the bills. the 'not a bills.' the.... ”press 4 to repeat these options.” [chaotic music]

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the yoga teacher accused of murdering elite cyclist anna moriah "mo" wilson. it has the makings of a movie murder mystery. jealousy, lies, videotape. this is not fiction. >> the state of texas versus kaitlin armstrong -- >> byron: this week, graphic and often emotional testimony in a texas courtroom as a long-awaited trial of kaitlin armstrong gets under way. >> there are so many aspects to kaitlin armstrong's trial that make it captivating for an audience to watch. the flight from the crime scene after she's been interviewed by police. the nose job. the hair coloring. every element of this case is just something to watch. >> byron: the former yoga instructor stands accused of methodically stalking and killing another woman, then disappearing for more than a month. now as her trial gets under way a new twist as prosecutors accuse armstrong of plotting an elaborate escape plan.

>> when a person's on trial, especially for murder, all of their actions are viewed under a microscope. oftentimes they're negative. she may be frightened, she may be scared, she may be callous, she may be cold-blooded, we don't know. >> byron: moriah wilson should have been doing what she loved. the 25-year-old better known as mo was a professional cyclist, happiest competing on an open trail. instead this week her family's showing up in an austin texas courtroom, sitting feet away from mo's accused killer. kaitlin armstrong pleaded not guilty to wilson's murder. today armstrong's on again, off again boyfriend, colin strickland, took the stand, testifying about what he described as their tumultuous relationship and his friendship with wilson. strickland was one of the last people to see her alive. both wilson and strickland were elite professional cyclists. he posted photos and videos of himself on instagram. for her part, wilson was

considered one of the best in her sport. >> the winner of round one -- >> byron: you can see her here talking about race strategy in this interview with "pure gravel." >> i come from a mountain biking background, so i feel confident that i'll be able to handle the big gravel sections on that bike. >> byron: strickland said he and wilson had a brief romantic relationship in 2021 while he and armstrong were broken up, but he says after he and armstrong reconciled, he and wilson remained friends. >> colin strickland taking the stand is much-anticipated testimony because he's going to give the jury an understanding of these two women. he literally dated them both. he is the focal point as to why one person is accused of murdering another person. >> byron: in opening statements, the prosecution says evidence from videos, cell phone records, ballistics, and dna show armstrong targeted wilson because she considered her a romantic rival. >> the last thing mo did on this

earth was scream in terror. you'll hear those screams. those screams are followed by, pop, pop! two gunshots. kaitlin armstrong stood over mo wilson, put a third shot right into mo wilson's heart. >> byron: armstrong's defense team called the state's evidence inaccurate and unreliable, arguing detectives tried to pin the crime on kaitlan from the start. >> they had tunnel vision and jumped to conclusions with kaitlin armstrong, a woman who is trapped in a nightmare of circumstantial evidence. not one witness saw kaitlin armstrong allegedly commit this murder. not one. because there isn't one. >> the prosecution has so many arguments to throw out this defendant that it's going to be very hard for kaitlin to

overcome them. >> byron: may 11th, 2022, mo wilson's friends discovered her body, shot twice in the head, once in the heart. the friends' frantic 911 call played for the jury in court. >> tell me exactly what happened. >> my friend is staying with me, and i just walked in and she's laying on the bathroom floor, and there's blood everywhere. um -- and i -- i don't know what happened. >> byron: prosecutors say the ballistics evidence matches the gun owned by armstrong. the next day, may 12th, officers brought in armstrong for questioning. they confronted her with surveillance video of a vehicle matching hers, a jeep grand cherokee captured outside the apartment where wilson was murdered. according to police, when detectives told armstrong the video "made things look not too good," she nodded her head up and down as if in agreement. that's when investigators say armstrong asked to end the interview, and she was released. those surveillance videos of the

suspicious vehicle were also played in court this week. >> there are four video surveillance cameras. showing armstrong circling the house at 1708 maple for about an hour before the murder, just circling. one camera catches three or four times. >> byron: prosecutors show photos of wilson's bike with dna, quote, highly likely to have come from armstrong. armstrong's attorneys have attacked that first arrest, questioning in court documents last year, calling it an illegal arrest warrant and illegal interrogation, claiming detectives brought her in on a 2018 charge for allegedly failing to pay for botox, but then asked her about the murder. they also say police ignored her three requests to have an attorney present. >> kaitlin armstrong's lawyers are essentially saying that everything generated from this

in-cell interview, including video of her being handcuffed, should be thrown out of court or essentially arguing that she was set up for this interview to look bad, to look like somebody who might have been a killer. >> byron: the day after her release on may 13th, armstrong sold her jeep to a local dealership for more than $12,000. then on may 14th, she hopped on a series of flights, captured on camera at the austin airport, before flying to houston, then new york's laguardia airport. may 17th, a warrant was issued in texas for armstrong's arrest, but authorities there were not even aware she had left the state. the next day, on may 18th, armstrong went to newark liberty airport in new jersey. then she seemingly vanished. in june of 2022, the u.s. marshal got a tip leading them to costa rica. investigators say she flew there undetected by using her sister's passport instead of her own.

>> it was discovered armstrong used different names, aliases. under the name of beth martin, liz, and ari martin -- >> byron: she cut and colored her hair and had allegedly $6,000 of plastic surgery to change her appearance. >> i will say she had a bandage on her nose with a little discoloration under her eyes. her statement was that it came from a surfboard incident. i think we'll leave it at that. >> did you kill miss wilson? >> byron: armstrong's been in custody ever since, charged with first-degree murder and unlawful flight. in court, armstrong's attorneys deny she tried to make an escape when she fled to costa rica following wilson's death. >> the austin police department told her she was free to go. she was free to go. kate is passionate about traveling, passionate about yoga. in the days following the shooting, weird things were happening to kate at her home. documented things.

things that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety. >> byron: just two weeks ago, the prosecution says armstrong tried to escape custody again. this time it was caught on camera. >> i think she took advantage of the element of surprise. >> byron: authorities say they were escorting armstrong out of a medical facility when she took off running, approximately a mile before she was finally caught. >> our corrections officers never lost sight of her and were able to catch up with her. >> byron: in an affidavit released in court, authorities called the escape attempt premeditated, saying armstrong prepared vigorously by running, doing squats and yoga during the last few months, eventually complaining of an injury to secure off-site medical appointments and restrictions of her leg restraints. the escape attempt now evidence in the murder trial. >> prosecutors saying, this is just another example of consciousness of guilt. if she's an innocent person, as

she claims to be, why is she fleeing from officers, why is she fleeing from justice? >> byron: armstrong is facing 99 years in prison if convicted of wilson's murder. when we come back -- ♪ heading down south to the land of the pines ♪ ♪ thumbing my way out of north carolina ♪ >> byron: darius rucker joins us for a talk about music, memories, and his mother. ♪ i made it down the coast in 17 hours ♪ ♪ picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers ♪ ♪ i can see my baby tonight ♪ pr. with apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. you must be hiv negative to receive apretude and get tested before each injection.

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>> byron: our next guest has been a game-changing force and voice in the music industry for almost three decades. this grammy winner's success as a solo artist has cemented him as a country superstar. back after six years with his new album, darius rucker, welcome to "nightline." >> thanks for having me. >> byron: great to have you. you've been in this game a long time. you've won all the awards. do you get nervous at all at this stage? >> every night. i stop getting nervous, i'll stop playing. i think the reason i get nervous, i want to be great. >> byron: is a point in a performed where you think, i got 'em, i'm here, let's do it? >> oh, yeah. every night there's a moment, okay, they're with me, let's do this. yeah. >> byron: your new album "caroline's boy" is a tribute to your late mother. let's take a listen to one of the tracks, "fires don't start themselves." ♪ get to the kitchen and streak down the hall ♪

♪ my old blue jeans and a sundress fall ♪ ♪ girl we're holding a lighter and fires don't start themselves ♪ >> byron: why this one to your mom? >> i was in the studio the first day in the studio, recording the record. i was having a bad day. a bad mental health day. i just wanted to have a good day. at one point i said to myself, at the end of the day i'm just my mom's boy. that brought me out of it. i felt better about life. that moment, i decided it was time for me to pay tribute to my mom. i decided to name it "caroline's boy." >> byron: how do you manage the fact that much of your success came after she passed? >> that's the toughest thing. about all of it. i look at it, and what a run i've been on. 30 years of being in it. the thing that i really still get choked up when i think about it, the fact that she never saw any of it. i mean, she saw us play in a club i think once. she died before any of it happened. i wish she'd seen it. i wish she'd seen any of it. i'll never forget after we won our first two grammys, back in my hotel room, that just hit me

that she didn't see it. that was a sad day. but she's watching somewhere. >> byron: many recognize you as lead singer in hootie & the blowfish with hits like "only want to be with you." ♪ call me your fool i only want to be with you ♪ >> byron: how do you go from this incredibly successful rock band, right, to country? oh by the way, you're a brother? >> that was the hard part of it was being the african american coming in. when i started in country music, 15, 16 years ago, there wasn't anybody that looked like me on the radio. i think they were actively keeping people that looked like me off the radio. when i did radio tours, people told me straight up, "my audience will never accept a black country singer." that was a lot of work. i just loved the music. i'm a music guy. everybody wants to call it country, r&b, soul, whatever. for me it's notes and words and it's great music. i just wanted to sing it. i've never wanted to let anybody deter me from doing what i wanted to do. i was going to do it no matter what.

even if i had to do it at my home. >> byron: your song "wagon wheel." ♪ rock me like a wagon wheel ♪ ♪ rock me mama any way you feel ♪ >> byron: huge hit. what was it like to have such a successful song? >> it was amazing. at that time i was still trying to find my place, my way in country music. we put out "wagon wheel." it becomes this massive hit all over the world. i think that was really where i started to feel like i was part of the landscape of country music and part of what country music was. >> byron: people are going to be surprised. one of the cowriters is ed sheeran. what's it like to work with this dude who's famous in pop, r&b, to now do this thing? >> he's one of the best songwriters i've been in a room with. the sense of melody and the words he chooses, great guy, great songwriter, and i love him. >> jimmy: clearly people love you, love your music in general. in country you found an audience, people welcome you. the tension people expect, does that exist at all? >> not for me.

i think i'm accepted in the country music field. it's great to be the guy after charlie pride who actually kicked the door open, now they're letting other folks in. king brown, mickey, bronco brown, chapel heart, these are bands getting a shot. i like to see country music look more like america. >> byron: someone told me when you're a trailblazer, it's nice but you get a lot of arrows in the butt. >> oh, yeah, i'm still getting them. at that point in my career where, you know, there are people that are mad at me for what i did. but i don't care. it's just great to have done what i wanted to do, to help other people along the way. i love that. >> byron: i want to ask about your philanthropic work. it's been core to who you are for a very long time. why and what are the causes that speak to your spirit most? >> that comes straight from my mom. when we were kids, she always taught us to always help people who needed help. not people who were less fortunate, just people who needed help. that was ingrained into me. >> byron: what's next? you're touring, you've got this new album out. >> i'll make a new record sometime. i'm going to finish this tour, then sit back and see what's going on.

>> byron: last question. this level of honesty, this openness. why? where does that come from? >> i'm just a little kid from south carolina that got really lucky. the one thing that i've really been proud of is i've managed to stay the same dude that i was all of that time. for me, my why is just because that's who i am. >> byron: mama's watching. is she proud? >> i hope she is. >> byron: his new album "caroline's boy," the great darius rucker. so nice to have you on the show. continued grace and success to you. >> thank you very much. great to be here. when we come back, remembering astronaut ken mattingly. ost important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. the right age for

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stop in and save today. ♪ >> byron: finally tonight, astronaut ken mattingly has died. american astronaut ken mattingly orbited the moon aboard apollo 16. he had been slated to be aboard "apollo 13," but last-minute health concerns grounded him. he played a key role in guiding the crew home. nasa administrator bill nelson today called mattingly "one of our country's heroes and keys to

the success of our apollo program," saying his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history. thomas kenneth mattingly ii was 87. and that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you back here on monday. thanks for the company, america. have a good and safe weekend.