On April 2, Netflix released “The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson,” a documentary about the life and death of Moriah Wilson ’19, a professional cyclist and Dartmouth alum who was murdered in 2022. The documentary gained immense popularity within the first few days of its release and has since ranked in the top 10 most-watched films on Netflix, according to Matthew Wilson, Moriah Wilson’s brother.
The documentary makers prioritized telling the story of Wilson’s life over focusing only on her death, according to Matthew Wilson. On May 11, 2022, Wilson was killed while visiting a friend in Austin, Texas, ahead of the Gravel Locos cycling race. After a 43-day manhunt, Kaitlin Armstrong was arrested for her murder, Time reported.
Amidst press coverage focused on a “love triangle” between Wilson and Armstrong and a “sensationalized storytelling” of events, Matthew Wilson said in an interview with The Dartmouth that his family felt that Wilson “didn’t have any say in who she was and the facts around everything.” He added that the documentary gave his family an opportunity to share a fuller picture of who his sister was.
“She inspired so many people in her life and in the cycling world and people who knew her, and I think we saw a real chance to have her impacts extend beyond the small communities that she had touched,” Matthew Wilson said.
While the producers and the Wilson family “had an idea that it was going to be well watched,” they did not expect that it would “be number one,” Matthew Wilson added. He said the documentary aimed “to honor her legacy and memory” by creating something lasting that would reach a wide audience.
“She was a unique person, a special person,” he said.
Wilson was born in New Hampshire and raised in Vermont, where she attended Burke Mountain Academy, according to the documentary. Close friend Audrey O’Brien ’19 said Wilson was “sure of who she [was]” and had “always been herself.”
“I feel like Moriah was always the very grounded, East Burke local,” O’Brien said. “…Of course, she was the strongest, fastest biker even in high school. She would beat all the boys.”
Wilson came to Dartmouth in 2015 after a gap year and joined the alpine skiing team. Matthew Wilson recalled that attending Dartmouth was Wilson’s “dream from a young age.
“She actually decided she wanted to go … in sixth grade, I think,” Matthew Wilson said.
Dartmouth alpine ski coach John Dwyer, who coached Moriah Wilson at both Burke and Dartmouth, said her work ethic “separated her from everyone else on the team.”
“She just grinded hard and never complained about anything, and she probably had plenty to complain about,” Dwyer said. "She was pretty much the perfect teammate.”
At Dartmouth, Wilson was also a member of the Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority and studied engineering. O’Brien shared that while Wilson was “often studying a lot,” she balanced a “rich social life” with “her own goals” in academics and athletics.
After graduating, Wilson moved to California, where she began her career as a professional cyclist. Much of the film centers around her quick success in the sport, highlighting her rise to the top ranks of gravel racing in the U.S.
O’Brien said watching Wilson’s success in the new sport was surreal.
“She just made it look so easy,” O’Brien said. “…Her rise was crazy and mind blowing, but at the same time, I feel like I was like, ‘Well, it’s Moriah. It’s not surprising to me that she’s so successful.’”
Dwyer shared similar feelings, recalling a gravel biking race that Wilson won by over an hour.
“When that happened, I was like, ‘Of course. Of course she did that,’” Dwyer said. “I had no doubt in my mind that she would have been the best female bike racer in the country for sure, if not in the world.”
On May 11, 2022, Moriah Wilson was visiting a friend in Austin, Texas for the Gravel Locos cycling race. According to Time magazine, that night, Wilson spent time with Colin Strickland, who she had shared a romantic relationship with. Later that night, Wilson was found shot dead in her friend’s house.
According to Time magazine, the investigation into Wilson’s killer led to Kaitlin Armstrong, the former girlfriend of Strickland. However, on May 17, when investigators issued an arrest warrant, Armstrong had fled the country, leading to a 43-day manhunt until June 29, 2022, when she was arrested in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.
The fall following Wilson’s death, her family began to receive emails about making a documentary about her story, Matthew Wilson said. They began speaking with producer Evan Hayes, who sounded “a little bit gentler and more sensitive” than other producers, Matthew Wilson added.
“We kind of just had conversations about what it would be like and what his vision for her story would be,” Matthew Wilson said.
As Armstrong faced charges for Wilson’s murder in fall 2023, the documentary began a “long journey” of production, Matthew Wilson said. While the family did not have “much participation in the actual making” of the documentary, they gathered home videos and photos, connected producers with key sources and helped coordinate filming tied to the trial, he added.
The Wilson family established the Moriah Wilson Foundation to carry forward her commitment to staying active and maintaining community. On May 9, the foundation will host its annual Ride for Mo at the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vt., The event will feature three gravel rides of varying lengths, with proceeds going to the Moriah Wilson Foundation.
