Woman charged with murdering Vermont cyclist altered her appearance and used aliases while on the run

A fugitive from Texas charged with murdering a rising biking star from Vermont was discovered to have obscured her bodily look and used false names whereas on the run, legislation enforcement officers stated. 

Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, had cropped her lengthy light-colored hair brief and dyed it brown, Brandon Filla, deputy U.S. marshall and public affairs officer within the Austin division, stated at a Thursday afternoon press convention in Texas.

She now faces a first-degree homicide cost within the Might 11 capturing loss of life of Anna Moriah Wilson of East Burke, a rising bike owner in Vermont.

Federal authorities captured Armstrong on June 29 at a hostel on Santa Teresa Seashore on Costa Rica’s west coast after she had been on the run for greater than a month. 

She was found with a bandage over her nostril and bruising underneath her eyes, authorities stated, however denied having had cosmetic surgery, contending the discoloration resulted from a browsing accident.

Throughout Thursday’s press convention, Filla stated authorities are in possession of a receipt for cosmetic surgery discovered alongside different paperwork in a lockbox that had been in Armstrong’s possession whereas in Costa Rica, although her identify shouldn’t be on the receipt. It was found together with different paperwork within a lockbox to which she claimed to not possess a key, together with a fraudulent passport. 

These paperwork are being thought-about as proof in relation to the case, Filla stated. 

Officers suspect Armstrong was attempting to grow to be a yoga teacher in Costa Rica, as she had frequented “greater than a handful” of yoga studios and was “very into the yoga group,” Filla stated. She had additionally been discovered to be utilizing aliases at these studios and at a number of inns and hostels: Beth, Liz and Ari Martin. 

After she was positioned final week, Armstrong was detained on an immigration violation over use of a fraudulent passport, and deported to the U.S. on Saturday. The Austin Police Division extradited her from the Harris County Jail in Houston to the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday — 43 days into the fugitive investigation. 

She is being held on $3.5 million bail.

The passport she used belonged to an individual near her, Filla stated. That particular person is present process an energetic investigation, however has not but been publicly recognized and isn’t at the moment going through costs.

Now that the “major purpose” of getting Armstrong into custody is full, legislation enforcement will start to look into whether or not she “had any help,” Filla stated.

Particulars surrounding the fraudulent passport are within the arms of the U.S. Lawyer’s workplaces in Austin and New Jersey. 

The Lone Star Fugitive Activity Pressure within the Austin division initiated the fugitive investigation, which helps native crime get federal consideration, Filla stated. The case had been elevated to “main case standing” by the U.S. Marshal Service headquarters on June 6, including further funding and specialised talent units to the investigation. 

Police had initially questioned Armstrong on Might 12 and launched her Might 13. Investigators say she offered her black Jeep for $12,200 the following day and flew from Austin to LaGuardia Airport in New York. She’d then taken an illegal flight, they stated, to keep away from prosecution from New Jersey to Costa Rica on Might 18 utilizing the fraudulent passport. 

Wilson had been in Texas making ready for a biking competitors when she was discovered useless with a number of gunshot wounds in a good friend’s East Austin house the place she had been staying on Might 11. Authorities suspect jealous vengence as a motive for the homicide. 

Armstrong’s boyfriend with whom she lived, Collin Strickland, was out swimming and eating with Wilson simply hours earlier than her loss of life. Strickland and Wilson had briefly dated beforehand, throughout a time when Strickland was on a break from his relationship with Armstrong. 

Wilson was a rising star in mountain and gravel biking who had attended Burke Mountain Academy and Dartmouth Faculty.