Murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong pleads not guilty in court
Moriah Wilson murder trial is underway
Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of murdering Moriah Wilson and then fleeing the country to Costa Rica pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Austin. The hearing began at 1 pm e.s.t. She pleaded not guilty to both both counts of murder and theft of services, according to FOX 7 Austin.
The 34-year old Armstrong is currently being held in Travis County Jail on a $3.5 million bond.
Moriah Wilson was killed May 11. Armstrong, who was dating pro gravel rider Colin Strickland at the time, sold her jeep for well under price, and then went to New York days later.
Kept active in Costa Rica
She then went on a flight to Costa Rica, where she evaded the authorities for 43 days.
On June 29, she was captured in Costa Rica and extradited to the United States for trial. The yoga instructor was arrested at a Don Jon’s Lodge, a $50-a-night hostel where she taught part-time yoga under the name Ari Martin, one of many aliases.
Costa Rican cops arrested her at the hostel where they discovered she had dramaticall modified her appearance, by cutting her hair as well as dyeing it brown. Additionally, she had a bandage on her nose. The police also found a $6,350 receipt for cosmetic surgery, and two passports, one of which was not hers.
Authorities also learned that she had access to $450,000 that Strickland had given her, and learned how to shoot with her sister, according to court documents.
Dated locals
When in Costa Rica, she also went on dates with a local, who didn’t know she was a fugitive, wanted by authorities.
“Ari [Kaitlin] was a strange person,” Teal Akerson said to the Austin American-Statesman. “I met her right outside the tattoo shop, Good Life Tattoos, and her friends were getting tattooed, so she was waiting out there on the bench.”
“She said that she had just been through a real traumatizing breakup, and she hadn’t healed from it yet and wasn’t ready to get close at all,” he added. “So we were just being friends.”
He also said Armstrong preferred to go out to secluded spots on their dates.
