U.S. Marshals released these images during the search for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong.
The woman accused of murdering her perceived romantic rival has returned to Texas in handcuffs. Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, was booked Sunday into the Harris County Jail on a count each of murder, and theft, online records show. (Authorities previously had her age as 35.) She was arrested Thursday, U.S. Marshals have announced.
Armstrong allegedly shot and killed Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson on May 11, in Austin, Texas, months after Mo engaged in a fling with Armstrong’s longtime boyfriend Colin Strickland.
“The caller advised Armstrong became furious and was shaking in anger,” police said, according to an affidavit obtained by The Austin American-Statesman. “Armstrong told the caller Armstrong was so angry Armstrong wanted to kill Wilson. Armstrong then proceeded to tell the caller Armstrong had either recently purchased a firearm or was going to.”
Strickland has said that he and Wilson had an approximately weeklong fling after meeting her in October, but it became platonic and professional. They had bonded as participants in the sport of cycling.
“It was not my intention to pursue along an auxiliary romantic relationship that would mislead anyone,” he reportedly said. “Moriah and I were both leaders in this lonely, niche sport of cycling, and I admired her greatly and considered her a close friend. I am deeply grieving her loss.”
“A search of outbound flights at the Newark airport revealed no reservations had been made under the name Kaitlin Marie Armstrong,” a press release stated.
U.S. Marshals say she used a fake I.D. to make her way from the New Jersey airport to a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in the Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica.
Kaitlin Marie Armstrong in handcuffs.
Armstrong appears quite different in her new booking photo compared to the smiling picture that U.S. Marshals circulated during the search. She had dyed her shoulder-length hair dark brown, and had bandaging on her nose and bruising under her eyes from a reported surfboarding incident, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla told KXAN.
#Breaking: Here is the mug shot of Kaitlin Armstrong booked into Harris County jail on murder charges for the death of cyclist Moriah Wilson. She was from Costa Rica where she was hiding out. @KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/kUWNUsxJwD
— Ricky (@RickyG_TV) July 3, 2022
Inside Edition reported that according to a witness at the hostel, Armstrong left behind a receipt for plastic surgery under a different name.
Marisa Sarnoff contributed to this report.
[Images of pre-captured Armstrong via the U.S. Marshals. Screenshot of her post-arrest via KTRK]
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