Kaitlin Armstrong: Feds play yoga card to capture love-triangle killer on the run with altered face
SANTA TERESA, COSTA RICA: Convicted Kaitlin Armstrong, 36, who fled to Central America after fatally shooting her love rival, professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson, 25, in May 2022, was arrested by US Marshals by employing a surprising strategy involving a phony ad for a yoga instructor.
The Texas native had reportedly eluded authorities by changing her appearance through plastic surgery and adopting multiple aliases.
What happened to Anna Moriah Wilson?
Wilson, a top-tier cyclist, was discovered lifeless in her Austin apartment on May 11, 2022. After learning that the 25-year-old was seeing her on-and-off boyfriend Colin Strickland, 35, the 36-year-old Kaitlin apparently became enraged.
Armstrong tracked her through a fitness app, leading to a fatal encounter where Wilson was shot three times—twice in the head and once through the heart. A Jeep matching the suspect's was captured on camera outside the crime scene, triggering a 43-day international manhunt.
Timeline of Kaitlin Armstrong's arrest
Armstrong's escape led US Marshals on a relentless pursuit, spanning across the United States and into Costa Rica, where they suspected she was hiding along the coast. Evading authorities with multiple new identities and a surgically altered nose, her elusiveness posed a significant challenge to law enforcement.
Turning the tables, the federal agents decided to make Armstrong come to them by leveraging her passion for yoga. Placing an ad for a yoga teacher on a local Facebook page in the quaint town of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, the Marshals patiently waited.
Although initially unsuccessful, Armstrong, now serving a 90-year sentence for Wilson's murder, eventually took the bait after nearly a week. Just as the Marshals were considering a return to the United States, a breakthrough occurred.
A message from someone identifying as a yoga instructor reached them, expressing a desire to meet at a particular hostel. Deputy US Marshal Emir Perez saw this as their golden opportunity, exclaiming, "This is our chance!" reported CBS.
Perez and his partner, Deputy US Marshal Damien Fernandez, hastily made their way to Santa Teresa.
Kaitlin Armstrong attempted to escape again!
Locating Armstrong at a hostel, Perez engaged her in Spanish, examining her bandaged nose and swollen lips from the surgeries meant to conceal her identity. Moreover, her eyes remained unchanged, allowing the Marshals to confirm her identity.
Despite a brief escape attempt, Armstrong's capture marked the first crucial step in the long road to justice for Wilson. Local law enforcement swiftly made the arrest, and she was transported back to Texas, where a jury only took two hours to convict Armstrong. She was given a nine-decade prison sentence.
