A Texas woman who allegedly killed a cyclist is being held in the Harris County jail as she awaits her return to Travis County, where she will be detained on a $3.5 million bail, per county records.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Costa Rica last week after a 43-day run from law enforcement officials. She arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Saturday.
Last month U.S. Marshals and the Texas Fugitive Task Force conducted a high-priority search for Armstrong in connection to 25-year-old Moriah Wilson’s murder.
While on the run, Armstrong trimmed her hair to shoulder length and colored it dark brown. At the time she was arrested, she had bruises and a bandage on her face and claimed to have been in a surfboarding accident, according to officials.
The Dallas Express reported Armstrong is accused of fatally shooting Wilson on May 11 while Wilson was staying at a friend’s residence on Maple Avenue in East Austin.
Wilson was discovered suffering from several gunshot wounds, according to Austin police. Despite the efforts of first responders, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Armstrong’s 2012 Jeep Cherokee was allegedly seen stopping outside the home the night of the murder, according to surveillance footage from a nearby residence.
Wilson and fellow cyclist Colin Strickland had gone swimming earlier in the day, according to an affidavit.
Strickland, 35, who was interviewed by police on May 12, acknowledged having been out with Wilson. He also disclosed his relationship with Armstrong, with whom he had lived for approximately three years.
The affidavit also claims that Strickland began seeing Wilson romantically after he and Armstrong took a break from their relationship in October 2021. To “prevent Armstrong from finding them,” he informed police, he had to change Wilson’s name on his phone and remove their text conversations.
The police reported that an anonymous tipster claimed that when Armstrong found out about Strickland and Wilson’s relationship, she became angry and allegedly stated that she wanted to kill Wilson.
After the incident, Strickland said he had bought two guns for Armstrong and himself, which were later found by the police. Following ballistics testing, detectives concluded there was a “significant” possibility that one of the firearms was used in Wilson’s murder.
