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Kaitlin Armstrong charged with using someone else's passport to leave the country

By FOX 7 Austin Digital Team
Published  July 8, 2022 6:28pm CDT
Kaitlin Armstrong
FOX 7 Austin

Kaitlin Armstrong moved around while in Costa Rica, used several aliases, officials say

In the media briefing Thursday, new details were shared that shed more light on the 43 days leading up to Armstrong’s arrest.

NEWARK, NJ - The Austin, Texas, woman accused of killing cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson is now facing another charge, this time for allegedly using someone else's passport to leave the country.

34-year-old Kaitlin Armstrong is charged by complaint with one count of misuse of a passport according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. This charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Earlier this week Armstrong was booked into the Travis County Jail for first-degree felony murder and theft of service. She is currently being held with a $3.5 million bond for murder and $3,500 for theft of service.

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Armstrong is facing the new charge as officials say she boarded a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Juan Santamaría Airport in Costa Rica on May 18 after presenting a ticket and United States passport in someone else's name while claiming to be them. 

Armstrong was apprehended over a month later and was in possession of both her own passport and the one she gave to officials in Newark, says the US Attorney's Office.

Who is Kaitlin Armstrong?

Armstrong is the prime suspect in the death of 25-year-old cycling star Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson who was found shot dead at a friend’s apartment in East Austin on Maple Avenue near East 7th Street on May 11. 

Wilson, a rising cyclist star, had flown from Colorado to Texas earlier that week in preparation for the Gravel Locos race in Hico, where she was a favorite to win. A few weeks earlier, she won the Belgian Waffle Ride in California.

Law enforcement had not been able to locate Armstrong since police briefly detained and mistakenly released Armstrong on an unrelated charge. Armstrong had been arrested for a misdemeanor warrant out of Travis County from 2018.

"Armstrong was questioned about her vehicle being in the area as pictured on the Ring camera. However, she would not confirm or deny being in the area of the murder and quickly terminated the interview," APD Homicide Det. Richard Spitler said.

"She was then mistakenly released from custody on the misdemeanor warrant" because her date of birth in the department’s report management system did not match the date of birth on the warrant, Spitler added.

Family speak about romantic relationship of murdered cyclist Moriah Wilson

The family of murdered cyclist Moriah Wilson talks about the romantic relationship that may have played a role in her death.

"Armstrong was mistakenly released from custody on the misdemeanor warrant because her date of birth in our report management system did not match the date of birth on the warrant," said Detective Richard Spitler, with Austin police in a press conference on May 25.

Further investigation revealed Armstrong had dated star cyclist Colin Strickland for a few years. Last year, Strickland was romantically involved with Wilson while Strickland and Armstrong were on a brief break.

Investigators believe Wilson was shot and killed over a love triangle since Wilson and Strickland went out the day of the murder and Armstrong’s car was seen driving around where Wilson was killed. Strickland admitted to having "a brief romantic relationship" with Wilson while she was visiting in 2021.

"She returned to her home in California and about a month later, Kaitlin Armstrong and I reconciled and resumed our relationship," Strickland said. "Since then I often saw Mo at cycling events, and always in public settings," his statement further adds. "After our brief relationship in October 2021, we were not in a romantic relationship, only a platonic and professional one."

New details on timeline of murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong's run from authorities

After she fled from Austin, Armstrong visited several US locations before traveling to Costa Rica, where she was apprehended.

According to an affidavit, Strickland told investigators that he and Wilson had gone swimming at Deep Eddy Pool, then ate at Pool Burger before he dropped her off at her friend’s house around 8:30 p.m. the night of her death.

Strickland reportedly told police that he had lied to Armstrong about his whereabouts.

An anonymous tipster reportedly told investigators that when Armstrong found out the pair was together, she told the person she wanted to kill Wilson, and also said she had acquired a gun.