The woman accused of killing professional cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson last month has been apprehended in Costa Rica, officials with the U.S. Marshals Service said Thursday.
In a news release, officials said they found Kaitlin Marie Armstrong at a hostel Wednesday on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas. The 34-year-old will be deported and returned to the U.S., authorities said.
Armstrong is accused of killing Wilson, who was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds at a home in East Austin, Texas, on May 11. Wilson, a 25-year-old Vermont native and San Francisco resident, had been in town for a cycling race, officials said.
“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,” Susan Pamerleau, U.S. marshal for the Western District of Texas, said Thursday. She added that she hoped Wednesday’s arrest would bring “a sense of closure to the victim’s family.”
Police issued a warrant for Wilson on May 17. Officials subsequently learned that two days after Wilson’s death, Armstrong sold her SUV to a CarMax dealership in South Austin for $12,200. Investigators believe that one day later, Armstrong left Austin for Houston and then New York.
Authorities said they learned that on May 18, Armstrong got a ride to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, although they were unable to find any flight reservations in her name. Officials later determined that Armstrong used a fraudulent passport to board a flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Wilson was a rising star in gravel racing who traveled to Texas to compete in the Gravel Locos race in Hico, a small city about two and a half hours north of Austin, according to CNN and an arrest affidavit for Armstrong. In court records, authorities indicated that a love triangle involving Wilson, Armstrong and Armstrong’s boyfriend -- a professional cyclist who dated Wilson on and off -- prompted the killing.
Authorities continue to investigate.
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