After a 43-day hunt, Kaitlin Armstrong, a wanted suspect in the death of cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson, was found in Costa Rica, according to investigators.
The U.S. Marshals Service reported that 34 years old Armstrong was detained on Wednesday at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas. She’ll be deported back to the United States.
On May 17, Austin police issued a warrant for Kaitlin Armstrong’s arrest on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Wilson, 25, who they found to be intimately involved with Armstrong’s boyfriend, pro cyclist Colin Strickland.
On May 11, numerous gunshot wounds to Wilson left her bleeding and unconscious at a friend’s house in Austin.
An arrest warrant document claims that a vehicle that looked like Armstrong’s 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was seen stopping outside the friend’s house on surveillance video the night of the killing.
Kaitlin Armstrong was “confronted with video proof of her vehicle” when she was questioned by police on May 12, but “she had no explanation as to why it was in the vicinity and did not offer any denials around the remarks,” according to the affidavit. According to the affidavit, Armstrong asked to leave after more interrogation.
Last week, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals located Armstrong’s Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Before taking off from an Austin airport on May 14, Kaitlin Armstrong sold the car to a CarMax store there on May 13 for $12,200, according to the authorities. In order to connect to a trip to New York LaGuardia Airport, investigators think she then boarded a Southwest Airlines flight to Houston Hobby Airport.
According to U.S. Marshals, investigators discovered Armstrong received transportation to Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18 before boarding a United Airlines flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, that same day using a fake passport.
Armstrong, a professional realtor and yoga instructor, had initially been sought out by the U.S. Marshals, who also promised a $5,000 reward for information leading to her capture.
The late Wilson, who was a budding top cyclist from San Francisco, was in Austin for a gravel bike event. Hours after meeting with Strickland, she was discovered shot, according to authorities.
At the time, Austin police stated that they had a person of interest in the event and that the shooting did not appear to be random.
According to the affidavit, the killer’s boyfriend Strickland, informed officers that he hadn’t seen Kaitlin Armstrong since May 13.
Wilson’s family was relieved to hear that Armstrong had been found.
