Austin, TX
– The Austin woman accused of killing world class cyclist Anna Moriah
Wilson May 11 has been captured in Costa Rica.
The U.S. Marshals Office of International
Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of
State Diplomatic Security Service, working with authorities in Costa
Rica, located and arrested Kaitlin Marie Armstrong June 29 at a hostel
on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas.
Armstrong, 34, will be deported and returned to
the U.S.
Members of the U.S. Marshals-led Lone Star
Fugitive Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations recently
discovered that Armstrong, using a fraudulent passport, had boarded
United Airlines Flight 1222 from Newark International Airport at 5:09
p.m. EST on May 18 and arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, at 8:27 p.m.
EST.
“The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin
Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this
investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a
43-day run,” said U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan
Pamerleau. “This is an example of combining the resources of local,
state, federal and international authorities to apprehend a violent
fugitive, bring an end to that run and hopefully a sense of closure to
the victim’s family.”
The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force
located Armstrong’s black Jeep Grand Cherokee last week and learned that
Armstrong sold the vehicle May 13 to a CarMax dealership in south Austin
for $12,200 dollars. Armstrong was provided a check from the dealership
a day after being questioned by Austin authorities. She departed the
Austin airport on May 14.
Investigators learned that Armstrong was dropped
off at the Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18, a day after
Austin police issued a homicide warrant for her arrest.
She is suspected of the May 11 murder of Anna
Moriah Wilson.
Police responding to a call at an east Austin
residence May 11 discovered Wilson bleeding and unconscious from
multiple gunshot wounds. They performed CPR on her, but she was
pronounced dead at the scene. Wilson, 25, a Vermont native and world
class cyclist, had been in Austin for a race. The Austin Police
Department requested assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force –
Austin Division to locate and apprehend Armstrong. On May 17 Austin
police issued a homicide warrant for Armstrong.
During the investigation it was learned through
an interviewed source that Armstrong was provided transportation to the
Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18. Investigators searched
outbound flights at the Newark Airport and found no flight reservations
under her name.
On May 25 investigators obtained an arrest
warrant in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas for
an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.
Investigators believe Armstrong was at the Austin
Bergstrom International Airport on May 14 at approximately 12:30 p.m.,
and that she boarded Southwest Airlines Flight WN2262 from ABIA to
Houston Hobby Airport, where she boarded a connecting SW Flight WN30 to
New York LaGuardia Airport.
Media wishing to arrange an interview on this
case are to contact Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla at
Brandon.Filla@usdoj.gov.
Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin:
Austin Police Department-Tactical
Intelligence Unit
Georgetown and Round Rock Police Department’s
Travis, Caldwell, Hays, Williamson, and
Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office’s
Texas Attorney General’s Office
Texas Department of Criminal Justice OIG
Texas Department of Public Safety
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
####America’s
First Federal Law Enforcement Agency