Alleged killer Kaitlin Armstrong, accused of murdering an elite gravel cyclist last month in Austin, was captured with her her sister’s passport in her possession in Costa Rica, police say.
According to Harris County online jail records, Armstrong is charged with murder in connection with the death of professional cyclist, Anna “Mo” Wilson. She was captured in Costa Rica last week and extradited back to Texas, where she remains behind bars with a bail set at over $3.5 million.
Armstrong is also facing a theft charge for allegedly failing to pay a Botox bill several years ago.
Fox 5 reports that authorities captured Armstrong at a Santa Teresa beachside hostel, an area where yoga enthusiasts and surfers frequent. Armstrong allegedly arrived in Costa Rica with both her own passport and her sister’s passport. She also reportedly had a receipt on her for plastic surgery.
Investigators previously said Armstrong sold her Jeep for $12,200 before fleeing to Costa Rica. She was living off of the money in the inexpensive hostel.
“She was just asking about how to get around cheaper, and then the police came,” Zachary Paulsen, who saw Armstrong getting arrested, told Inside Edition.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla said Armstrong had cut her hair and changed her appearance in an attempt to blend in without detection while trying to carve out a new life for herself.
“It looks like she retreated back to her hobby, her career of being in the yoga practice. We believe she was trying to learn new yoga, possibly to instruct,” Filla said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators believe that Armstrong murdered Wilson because she suspected Wilson was having an affair with her boyfriend, Colin Strickland, 35, who is also a cyclist.
One person who knows Strickland apparently wasn’t surprised that he may have been cheating.
“Colin’s a douche and a player,” a fellow Austin cyclist recently told the New York Post. “All he cares about now is covering his ass.”
Strickland and Armstrong had been dating for about three years, but the pair took a break in their relationship this past October. During that pause, Strickland told investigators he and Wilson saw each other romantically.
Affidavit: Kaitlin Marie Ar… by Leigh Egan
Strickland claims that after he and Armstrong reconciled, his relationship with Wilson became platonic and professional. But based on evidence from her phone, police have concluded that Wilson believed she “was still in a romantic relationship with Strickland even though he was currently dating Armstrong,” according to court documents.
Despite that evidence, Wilson’s family later issued a statement saying they believed she was not in a romantic relationship at the time.
Still, Strickland acknowledged to investigators that he changed Wilson’s name on his phone “so Armstrong does not know who he is speaking to, as they continue their relationship,” and that he also would delete text messages from Wilson “to prevent Armstrong from finding them.”
On the day of Wilson’s death, Strickland lied to Armstrong to conceal that he had gone swimming with Wilson and had dinner with her. He instead claimed that he dropped off flowers for someone and then his phone battery died.
Wilson had been staying at a friend’s home in Austin ahead of a bicycle race in Texas. Her friend found her at the home with multiple gunshot wounds, which police believe were fired by a 9mm handgun.
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[Featured image: Kaitlin Armstrong/US Marshals]
Additional reporting by Jonathan Anderson & KC Wildmoon
