The hunt for love-triangle murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong has been upgraded to a “major case” – with at least 70 tips pouring in about the fugitive who fled to New York after being “mistakenly released” from custody in Texas, according to investigators.
The U.S. Marshals upgraded the hunt this week while offering a $ 5,000 reward for helping nabbing Armstong, a 34-year-old Vermont yoga teacher accused of gunning down love rival Anna Moriah Wilson, 25, in Austin, Texas, last month.
Surveillance footage had captured her SUV parked outside the apartment where Wilson, a professional cyclist, was found with multiple gunshots on May 11, a search warrant shows.
She had also “made prior statements expressing a desire to kill Wilson,” who once dated Armstrong’s cyclist boyfriend, Colin Strickland, according to the warrant.
She was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant from 2018 – one for skipping out on paying $ 650 for Botox at a Travis County spa, Fox 7 previously revealed.
But during questioning about the shooting last month, she “would not confirm or deny being in the area of the murder and quickly terminated the interview,” Austin homicide Detective Richard Spitler told Acesparks Digital.
“She was then mistakenly released from custody” because her date of birth in the department’s report management system did not match the one on the warrant, the detective said.
Investigators initially said they lost track of Armstrong after she flew to New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the afternoon of May 14.
However, on Monday they revealed that she was dropped off at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18 – the day after Austin cops got the warrant for her arrest. No flights appear to have been booked under her name, investigators said.
Since then, at least 70 tips have been called in, some providing “instrumental value” in the investigation, Deputy US Marshal and Western District of Texas spokesperson Brandon Filla told Acesparks Digital.
“Kaitlin is out there watching this, listening to this or reading this information,” Filla told the outlet. “She needs to surrender to law enforcement.”
The “major case” upgrade will give access to “a lot of manpower and money and state-of-the-art equipment,” Lenny DePaul, a retired commander of the marshalls ’fugitive task force in New York and New Jersey, told Acesparks.
“A major case is afforded money from our headquarters, funding to support the folks in the field with whatever they need – aviation support, if they need K-9 help,” he said.
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