Kaitlin Armstrong case: Notice of appeal filed, escape charge dropped

AUSTIN, Texas - The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss the charge related to Kaitlin Armstrong’s brief escape from custody in October.

The office filed the motion Thursday after "consulting with the family of Anna Moriah Wilson and law enforcement."

"I think it's just an effort to kind of save everybody time and trouble with that prosecution," said Gene Anthes, a criminal defense attorney unaffiliated with the Armstrong case. "She essentially got a life sentence with this jury's verdict."

It’s been two weeks since Armstrong was found guilty of murdering Anna Moriah Wilson and sentenced to 90 years in prison.

On Monday, Armstrong’s court-appointed appellate attorney issued a notice to appeal, which must be done within 30 days of her conviction.

This begins what can be a lengthy process with many opportunities to extend deadlines, according to Anthes.

"Her appellate lawyer is going to have to read through all of that testimony and then go through all the evidence," he said. "So it's also very common for an appellate lawyer to file a motion for extension of time to file a brief."

The brief will ultimately try and prove that something went wrong in the trial. 

"Maybe mishandled evidence, evidence that came in that should have should not have come in or, the other way around, evidence that was suppressed, that should have come in from the defense side or maybe new evidence," said Anthes. "The other issue is what's called ineffective assistance of counsel. And that would be an argument that Ms. Armstrong's trial lawyers were ineffective."

The state has its own appellate attorneys which will bring forward their own brief and the case will ultimately be brought to the Third Court of Appeals.

Oral argument can also be requested.

"She could have a whole new trial. I think the odds of that are relatively small. The other issue that could happen would be a punishment issue," said Anthes. "The Court of Criminal Appeals or one of the lower courts of appeals could say, Ms. Armstrong, we believe you had a fair trial as to guilt or innocence…we will allow you a new trial just as to punishment."

If either side is unhappy with the decision made by the Third Court of Appeals, the attorneys can appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal cases.

While the escape charge is dismissed – along with a theft charge for walking out on a Botox treatment – there is another federal charge Armstrong may face for using her sister's passport to flee the country. 

RELATED: 

• Kaitlin Armstrong found guilty in murder of Moriah Wilson
• Accused murderer Kaitlin Armstrong faces new felony charge for brief escape
• Kaitlin Armstrong sentenced to 90 years for murder of Moriah Wilson

That charge is still pending. If charged and sentenced, she could face up to 25 years in federal prison.

"That charge could, in theory, be stacked on top of her state sentence. And the way that would work is she would serve all of her sentence under state court. And let's say she's granted parole when she turns 81," said Anthes. "Ms. Armstrong, the 81-year-old, will now move to whatever federal prison, and that's where she'll serve out the rest of her life."

Armstrong is eligible for parole after serving half of her sentence. Criteria that will be considered for parole eligibility include the original charge, criminal history, the opinion of the victim’s family, Armstrong’s behavior while in prison and her age.

Armstrong was facing one other federal charge that was previously dropped for "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution."

"That is a charge the feds or the legislature passed, quite frankly, to give federal authorities the ability to go out of the country and get fugitives from justice," said Anthes. "It's honestly rarely prosecuted."