- Kaitlin Marie Armstrong was arrested in Costa Rica in connection to the murder of star cyclist Moriah Wilson.
- Armstrong, who left Austin, Texas, days after the death of Wilson, was found with a passport that did not match her identity.
- Armstrong was connected to Wilson by Colin Strickland, a cyclist they had both dated.
After 43 days of searching for a 35-year-old woman accused of murdering a star cyclist, the US Marshals Service announced Thursday they had apprehended her in Costa Rica.
Kaitlyn Marie Armstrong was charged with first-degree murder. A warrant for her arrest was issued on May 17 by Austin Police after cyclist Moriah "Mo" Wilson was found dead in Austin, Texas, on May 11. Armstrong will be deported and returned to the US, a statement from the US Marshals said.
Armstrong, who arrived in Costa Rica on May 18, came with "a passport that did not correspond to her identity, but the document was not faked," the General Migration Directorate of Costa Rica told CNN.
Wilson, a champion gravel racer, had arrived in Texas from San Francisco for a race scheduled for May 14. She was found bleeding and unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds at the home of a friend on May 11.
Armstrong, an amateur cyclist, was connected to Wilson through Colin Strickland, who both Armstrong and Wilson had dated. Wilson and Strickland remained friends and had spent May 11 together prior to her murder.
On May 12, Armstrong was questioned by police about why her Jeep appeared at the crime scene. On May 13, Armstrong sold her Jeep to a CarMax dealership and flew out of the Austin airport the following day, the statement said. She then flew from the Newark Liberty International Airport to San Jose, Costa Rica, on May 18.
Armstrong was found in a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas.
"The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run," US Marshal Susan Pamerleau said in the statement.