The U.S. Marshals have upgraded a reward for information leading to the arrest of a Texas woman wanted in the suspected love-triangle killing of another woman last month.
The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force announced Monday that it is offering $5,000 toward the arrest of Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, who was last seen in the New York City area just days after Anna “Mo” Wilson’s May 11 shooting death.
Armstrong, 34, is believed to have fled Austin, Texas, three days after allegedly shooting Wilson, 25, after Wilson spent an evening with Armstrong’s boyfriend, authorities said.
Armstrong allegedly flew to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport on May 14. Then, on May 18, a day after Austin police obtained a warrant for her arrest, she was seen being dropped off at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, though authorities said there were no flight reservations at the airport under her name.
“Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of a very serious crime that she needs to answer for,” Susan Pamerleau, U.S. marshal for the western district of Texas, said in a statement. “The best thing she can do at this point, wherever she is, is surrender to authorities, so she can return safely to Austin and answer the charges against her. She needs to know the Marshals are not going to stop looking for her.”
Armstrong had been linked to Wilson’s death through her boyfriend, Colin Strickland, 34, who admitted to spending time with Wilson behind Armstrong’s back just before she was killed, according to an arrest affidavit. Strickland and Wilson were both professional cyclists. Armstrong cycled recreationally.
Strickland told investigators that he had briefly dated Wilson in October last year when he was on a relationship break with Armstrong. He said Armstrong didn’t approve of him staying friends with Wilson afterward, so he had to communicate with Wilson in secret. When he went out with Wilson that evening, he said, he lied to Armstrong about his whereabouts.
Text messages between Wilson and Strickland in January suggested that Wilson believed she was still in a relationship with Strickland, even though he was dating Armstrong, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance video later revealed that Armstrong’s vehicle had driven past the Austin apartment where Wilson was killed around the time of the shooting. Detectives questioned Armstrong and said she couldn’t explain why her vehicle was in that area at the time, according to the affidavit.
Ballistic evidence later also suggested that a handgun Armstrong owned had been used to kill Wilson, investigators said.
Armstrong is white, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has light brown, long, curly hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen on surveillance video wearing a blue denim jacket, black shirt with a pink design on the chest, white jeans, black and white tennis shoes, a black COVID face mask, with a possible yoga mat carrier on her shoulders.
Anyone with information on Armstrong’s whereabouts can contact the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102 or submit a tip using the USMS Tips app.