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Caitlin Armstrong, the Texas woman accused of murdering her in a love triangle before fleeing to Costa Rica, was initially detained by Costa Rican authorities on a false passport charge before they discovered her true identity, authorities said Thursday.
Costa Rican officials initially took the fugitive into custody on immigration charges on June 29, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Fila, public affairs officer for the marshals’ Austin division.
The captured fugitive allegedly stalked and killed professional gravel cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, 25, after the latter had spent a night with Colin Strickland, Armstrong’s 35-year-old boyfriend and also a professional cyclist. The two had a romantic relationship that angered the suspected killer, according to a police affidavit.
Fila likened Armstrong to “the worst of the worst criminals wreaking havoc on our communities” and noted that the marshals’ fugitive task force arrested the Austin serial killer in 2018 and the suspect in the Sixth Street shooting last year summer.
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Booking photos taken after Kaitlyn Armstrong was extradited to the US appear to show a change in her facial features. (US Marshals, Travis County Sheriff)
Fila said a confidential source told marshals that Armstrong was transported to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey – where authorities say she was dropped off on May 18.
Federal law enforcement agents from Homeland Securities Investigations found that Armstrong had flown to Costa Rica using the passport of “someone who was closely associated with her,” Fila said, without disclosing the owner’s name. Fox News Digital reported that Armstrong was seen at a campsite in New York where her sister lived between her arrival in the Empire State and her flight out of the country.
“She took a bus from the San Jose airport in Costa Rica, hours away,” Fila said, before police traced her route with “old-fashioned police work.”
In Costa Rica, she used aliases, including Beth Martin, Liz and Ari Martin, Fila said. She gave a false name to police in an interview at Don John’s Hostel in Santa Teresa Beach, on the Pacific Ocean. They detained her on an immigration violation for allegedly fraudulently using a passport. She eventually “recognized her true identity,” Fila said.
Left: Victim Moriah “Mo” Wilson after a race. Right: A photo of suspect Caitlin Armstrong released by the US Marshals. (Wilson Family/US Marshals)
She claimed to Costa Rican officials that she did not have a key to the lock where she kept her belongings, Fila said, and the owner of the hostel was not around at the time of her arrest.
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“So she was taken into custody where she was taken away from the scene,” Phila said.
Reporters subsequently contacted the owner of the hostel, who unlocked the box and found an alleged plastic surgery receipt and two passports – one belonging to Armstrong and the other belonging to her sister.
Phila turned to the receipt but said she could not confirm its validity and noted that it did not have her name on it. The clinic named in the document told Fox News Digital that it could not confirm that Armstrong was ever there.
However, Fila admitted that police found her with a bandage on her face, which she attributed to a surfing accident. Her booking photos also seem to show a change in her facial features.
A combination of Kaitlyn Armstrong’s US Marshal handing out photos and her booking photo after her extradition to the US from Costa Rica. (US Marshals/Harris County Sheriff’s Office)
He named three members of the task force: Deputy U.S. Marshal Emir Perez and Officers Jonathan Reilly and Mark McCloud. They and other investigators “lost their vacations, weekends and vacations” in the 43-day manhunt.
Their persistence led to Armstrong’s eventual capture at a beachfront hostel in Santa Teresa, a Pacific surfer’s paradise known for its waves, expat yoga community and jungle hiking trails.
She had also changed her appearance, Phila said.
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She arrived back in the US over the weekend and was transferred to Austin to face justice.
Armstrong faces charges of first-degree murder and fleeing to avoid prosecution in connection with Wilson’s death, as well as an unrelated felony theft of services charge for allegedly leaving the Botox account in 2018.
Colin Strickland seen outside his home in Austin, Texas on June 17, 2022 (MEGA)
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Fila also credited the media coverage for helping generate 80 tips that helped investigators catch the suspect.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports
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