Alleged YOGA KILLER Kaitlin Armstrong is found: Fugitive with new look nabbed in Costa Rica
SANTA TERESA, COSTA RICA: Love triangle murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong was arrested in Costa Rica on Wednesday, June 29 after a massive 43-day international manhunt. Armstrong, 34, accused of fatally shooting her love rival Moriah Wilson, will be deported to the US to face charges in the murder, the US Marshals Service said.
“The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run,” US Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan Pamerleau said in a statement. “This is an example of combining the resources of local, state, federal and international authorities to apprehend a violent fugitive, bring an end to that run and hopefully a sense of closure to the victim’s family.”
READ MORE
Who was Sean Armstead? NYPD cop kills wife's beau and himself in DEADLY love triangle
Armstrong was found at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas. US Marshals, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations, Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and local authorities, subsequently nabbed her. She was found with an altered appearance, with her shoulder-length hair dyed dark brown, Deputy US Marshal Brandon Filla told KXAN. She had a bandage on her nose and bruising under her eyes from a surfboarding accident. “That physical appearance changed slightly,” Filla said. “Would it have changed more as she started to create that, you know, type of foundation for herself there in Costa Rica? Possibly.”
The Austin woman accused of killing world class cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson May 11 has been captured in Costa Rica.https://t.co/fz9FiUyWjQ pic.twitter.com/jkRzqqgv90
— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) June 30, 2022
HOW DID KAITLIN ARMSTRONG EVADE ARREST?
Filla said that Armstrong was possibly staying at a hostel to stretch her money. She had also been taking yoga classes at studios to “better her profession to teach a specific type of yoga” related to surfboarding. She had used a fraudulent passport and boarded a United Airlines flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport to San Jose, Costa Rica, on May 18. Last week, her black Jeep Grand Cherokee was found by marshals, who learned that she had sold it for $12,200 to a CarMax dealership in Austin on May 13. She possibly flew from Austin Bergstrom International Airport to Houston Hobby Airport after selling it, and then took a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York. On May 18, she was dropped off at the Newark airport. However, marshals confirmed that there were no outbound flights listed under her name. A video of the yoga teacher in police custody allegedly surfaced, where she can be seen from behind in shorts and an orange t-shirt.
Alleged video of suspected murderer #KaitlinArmstrong from Costa Rican news agency @teletica7 Armstrong reportedly seen here in Costa Rican police custody. https://t.co/W1NQJBUj66 # via @DailymotionUSA
— Amanda Salinas (@AmandaOnFOX7) June 30, 2022
Earlier in June, the US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force offered a $5,000 reward for "anybody who can generate a tip" that could lead them to Armstrong. Federal officials also shared that an anonymous donor contributed up to $15,000 for information leading to Armstrong's arrest. That brought the total award to $21,000. Armstrong allegedly suspected that her boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland, had a short fling with leading US gravel rider Moriah Wilson while they were 'on a break'. Armstrong was reported to be livid at the discovery and later Wilson was found murdered at a friend's home in East Austin.
Armstrong was questioned about the murder a day later but then released on a technicality around her birthdate. After the murder, surveillance footage showed Armstrong at New York's LaGuardia Airport on May 14. Only Armstrong’s father is on the record saying she’s innocent. “I know her. I know how she thinks, and I know what she believes. And I know that she just would not do something like this,” Mike Armstrong, 62, told ABC’s “Good Morning America”.
In the case of Armstrong's victim, her family said: “While we will not elaborate about the ongoing investigation, 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."