Warrant: Kaitlin Armstrong Bought Prepaid Debit Card, Burner Phone Before Fleeing
COVERING HER TRACKS
Austin police filed a search warrant Monday for an email account they believe Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of killing pro-cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson, used in her elaborate effort to flee the country. In explaining how police connected her to the email address in question, the search warrant reveals new details about Armstrong’s plot. Investigators say her boyfriend, pro-cyclist Colin Strickland, told police that she bought a new phone after authorities seized hers while searching their Austin house shortly after Wilson’s death. (Armstrong wasn’t charged for several days, giving her time to flee to Costa Rica.) Strickland said he got an alert on his phone to say Armstrong had tried to make a purchase at Walmart. When cops followed up with Walmart, they were told she’d bought the phone and a prepaid debit card. She then used that card to catch a ride service to the airport on May 13, leading investigators to the email account that they say aided her escape. Armstrong was found in Costa Rica going by a different name and wearing a disguise.