Cyclist murder suspect moved around before being arrested

AUSTIN, TEXAS >> The suspect in the killing of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson in Texas tried to change her appearance and used several aliases as she moved around Costa Rica in an attempt to establish herself as a yoga teacher before she was tracked down by U.S. and local authorities, investigators said Thursday.

Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, had cut and darkened her hair, and had a bandage on her nose and discoloration under her eyes when she was arrested at a beachside hostel on an immigration charge on June 29, Brandon Filla, deputy U.S. Marshal said a news conference to detail the 43-day search for her.

Filla declined to say whether authorities believed Armstrong had some sort of surgery to change her facial features.

“When she was encountered by uniformed officers in Costa Rica, she didn't give her true identity at first,” Filla said. “But when she was taken into custody and questioned, minutes later she confessed to her true identity.”

Armstrong had moved around Costa Rica visiting yoga studios and hostels while investigators searched for her, Filla said.

Wilson, 25, was found dead May 11, and Austin police on May 19 issued a murder warrant for Armstrong.

Armstrong left Austin for New York shortly after Wilson was killed, then flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Costa Rica. According to an affidavit, Wilson had previously dated Armstrong's boyfriend, cyclist Colin Strickland, and Armstrong's SUV was seen on surveillance video outside the home where Wilson was found shot to death.