How was fugitive Kaitlin Armstrong caught? She answered U.S. Marshals' ad for a yoga instructor
How was fugitive Kaitlin Armstrong caught? She answered U.S. Marshals' ad for a yoga instructor
When cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson was murdered in Texas, U.S. Marshals assigned to the case used a unique tactic to track down her suspected killer in Costa Rica and bring the fugitive to justice.
Kaitlin Armstrong is serving 90 years in prison for murdering professional up-and-coming gravel cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson. It's a story that drew international headlines because after being suspected of killing Wilson in Texas, Armstrong vanished -- seemingly into thin air. The search for the suspected killer sparked what would become an international manhunt -- first leading authorities across the United States, and then eventually to the beaches of Costa Rica.
In June 2022, one month after Armstrong disappeared, Deputy U.S. Marshals Damien Fernandez and Emir Perez traveled to Costa Rica. A source told them Armstrong could be hiding out in Santa Teresa. They knew finding Armstrong in the small, tourist-filled village was going to be a challenge -- along the way, Armstrong used multiple identities and changed her appearance -- even getting plastic surgery.
They hit dead end after dead end. After many intense days of searching for Armstrong with no luck, the U.S. Marshals decided to try one last tactic, hoping that her love of yoga would pay off for them.
"We decided we were gonna put an ad out … or multiple ads for a yoga instructor and see -- what would happen," Perez told "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti.
But after almost a week of hunting, even that didn't seem to be working. Perez and Fernandez were about to head back to the States, when suddenly they got a break.
Det. Jonathan Riley: … on the night of the murder, Kaitlin Armstrong's phone was not connected to a cell network.
Jonathan Vigliotti: Not connected?
Det. Jonathan Riley: Correct. So, whether she powered it off, whether she put in an airplane mode, uh, there's some something happened that her phone was not communicating with any cellphone towers.
Jonathan Vigliotti: Do you think this was on purpose?
Det. Jonathan Riley: Absolutely … in this day and age, if your phone is off and not connected to a network, you're either the victim of a crime or you're probably committing one.
That's kind of ...disturbing?
Lawyer would tear that argument down in a second.
They won't say that in court
Well yeah, they have plenty of other evidence in this case. But it does show the mindset of the police in the US.
... Yeah. I agree it's disturbing that they can draw suggestions from that.
E: changed conclusions to suggestions, wasn't fully awake.
Yea there are many reasons you could be disconnected, wanting to be left alone, on a plane so on airplane mode.., battery died, etc. They just look for any reason to add more slaves in the prison system.
I’ve seen them add people as suspects to crimes because it was determined they left the house with their phone at home, obviously no one has ever forgotten their phone so they must have left it their on purpose
Nobody would ever be convicted of murder solely because their phone was off. But anything can be used by investigators as a prompt to suspect someone and conduct further investigations. And that's fine by me. If you read the article there's a ton of other clues that were adding to make Armstrong interesting, it wasn't just the phone.
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Me who's been playing a video game all weekend and hasn't bothered to look at my dead phone for 16 hours: ... what....?
well clearly you're guilty. Hang on a second while we check the cold case files to pin something on you.
Det. Jonathan Riley: Absolutely … in this day and age, if your phone is off and not connected to a network, you’re either the victim of a crime or you’re probably committing one.
That’s kind of …disturbing?
Theoretical reporter asks: "Detective, is it possible the battery died because of heavy phone use that day or an old phone with a worn out battery that doesn't hold a long charge?"
Theoretical Det. Jonathan Riley: "Absolutely not; victim of a crime or you’re committing one. Those are the only two possible outcomes."
This is why I ordered a clockwork pi. I want to be portable, connected, but on my terms.
It's funny, the US Marshalls interviewed for this are extremely forthright in explaining their methods, but clam up and say they "can't explain these methods" as soon as they have any leads relating to cell phones. Probably because they're using the US's vast warrantless surveillance system to pull any possible info they can on her.
For example, they "track[ed] down the phone number for an American businessman they believed had connected with Armstrong at some point," and are cagey about how they got that number. I'd bet that they pulled her phone records and started cold calling everyone she's ever contacted through her cell phone until they got someone who could give them a lead.
Later, they set up the fake yoga instructor ad, and mention that they're tracking the phone location of the person who answered the ad to make sure they're at the sting location.
It's crazy that even with all those "methods the Marshalls won't go into," they almost gave up on finding her.
They're using Pegasus. Everyone is using a version of it, even private enterprise now.
The digital spying capabilities of some of America's allies and enemies dictates more policy than we'll ever know.
Yeah I reread that section two times because i thought I missed something considering how big of a gap that is on the story
On the plus side, none of those mystery methods can be used to provide evidence in actual court. The defense would be able to dig into them if they did.
Still, parallel reconstruction is a very dangerous thing for society.
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The only thing she didn't do to escape justice was declare presidential immunity.
The one thing she did wrong was not frame the boyfriend. Prosecutors would have eaten him alive.
I'm guessing she doesn't like pina coladas and wonder whether it was raining when she got caught..
under appreciated response
Thanks 😁
Invisible Choir podcast did an episode about this case, for anyone interested!
Movie based on a similar true story
Hot Marshals in your area.