Kaitlin Armstrong may have been planning to escape for a while: court documents
AUSTIN, Texas - New details revealed in court documents claim Kaitlin Armstrong may have been planning her escape from the Travis County Jail for quite a while.
Armstrong is accused of murdering professional cyclist, Anna Moriah Wilson, a romantic rival in 2022. She now faces new charges after trying to escape.
A short-lived race for freedom was caught on camera.
During the investigation of the escape, officials said video footage from the Travis County Correction Complex showed Armstrong exercising vigorously throughout the last several months and in her cell was a metal pen and dental floss that could be used to remove handcuffs. Correctional staff said Armstrong had also recently utilized an injury complaint to go to an outside medical appointment and requested not to use leg restraints.
Last Wednesday, Travis County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Officers were supposed to escort Armstrong from the doctor’s appointment in South Austin back to the correctional complex. The officers said she had other plans and darted as they left the doctor's office. They said they yelled for her to stop, but she kept going for about a mile and even tried to scare a 6-foot fence.
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During the chase, officers said Armstrong removed her black-and-white striped uniform pants and had thermal pants underneath, to disguise her appearance, something officials said she’s done before.
"She cut her hair about shoulder-length. It was a little uneven on sides. And she also dyed her hair to a darker brown color. And we were also told that she had some type of bandage over her nose area where she claimed that she had gotten into a surfboard incident," U.S. Deputy Marshal Brandon Filla described Armstrong when she was found in Costa Rica.
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Armstrong had been hiding out for more than a month after being questioned for Wilson's murder.
"She probably went into a panic when she was interviewed by the Austin Police Department. She probably knew they had a lot of information on her," Filla said.
Armstrong was brought back to Texas and charged with murder. She now faces another felony charge of escape causing bodily injury.
Armstrong’s murder trial starts October 30, 2023.