Authorities said they found Caitlin Marie Armstrong in a hostel in Costa Rica on Wednesday. She faces extradition to the United States to face murder charges in the May 11 shooting death of Anna Moriah “Moe” Wilson.
Wilson briefly dated Armstrong’s boyfriend, a professional cyclist, and investigators say romantic jealousy may have been a motivating factor.
Here’s the timeline of the case, from Wilson’s death to the capture of Armstrong, a 34-year-old real estate agent and yoga teacher from Austin, Texas.
May 11: Wilson was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at a friend’s home. She had told her friend she was going for an afternoon swim with Colin Strickland, 35, a professional cyclist and Armstrong’s boyfriend. He told police he and Wilson went swimming and had dinner and he dropped her off at his friend’s home, according to an arrest affidavit in Travis County District Court.
May 12: Austin police arrest Armstrong on an unrelated warrant. They release her after realizing the warrant is invalid.
May 13: Armstrong sells his black Jeep Grand Cherokee for $12,200.
May 14: Armstrong flies from Austin to Houston to New York.
May 17: Police issue a warrant for Armstrong’s murder. It said a vehicle similar to hers was shown on surveillance video near the home shortly before Wilson’s body was found.
May 18: Armstrong was seen at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. No booking found in her name.
May 19: An arrest warrant says Strickland told police he tried to hide his communications with Wilson from Armstrong. It said Armstrong told Wilson to “stay away” from Strickland, one of Wilson’s friends told police.
May 25: Authorities issue a separate federal warrant for Armstrong for “unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.” Strickland tells the Austin American-Statesman that he had a “brief romantic relationship” with Wilson last year while he and Armstrong were separated. He told the newspaper that he and Armstrong had reconciled and that he considered Wilson “platonic” and a “close friend”.
Found 6 weeks later in another country, with another species
June 29: Authorities arrest Armstrong at a hostel in Santa Teresa Beach in the Province of Puntarenas, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
June 30: Austin-based Deputy Marshal Brandon Fila tells CNN that Armstrong has “drastically changed her appearance.” Her long blonde hair is now “shoulder length and dark brown,” he says.
He also reveals additional details about the weeks-long manhunt:
• Armstrong previously “looked like” the person whose passport he used to flee the country. Fila did not say how Armstrong obtained the passport or whether its rightful owner gave it to her.
• After authorities learned of the name Armstrong may have used to travel, U.S. Marshals “worked with Homeland Security and reviewed the flight’s passenger lists.” They found the name matched that passport on a May 18 flight from Newark to San Jose, Costa Rica.
• They then searched the surveillance cameras for the specific gate of the airport the flight departed from and “recognized Caitlin Armstrong” on board.
• US Marshals contacted Costa Rican authorities, who located Armstrong at the hostel and detained her on an immigration violation for using a false passport to enter the country.
What’s next: Fila says Armstrong will face a murder charge upon his return to Austin. She also faces an additional federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
When she returns, she will be held on $3.5 million bail, Travis County, Texas court records show.
It’s unclear if anyone else helped Armstrong in her efforts to elude U.S. Marshals, but Fila said they are “not ruling out others being charged” depending on where the investigation leads them.
CNN’s Emma Tucker, Rebecca Rees, Holly Yang and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.
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