A FUGITIVE yoga teacher wanted for the murder of a professional cyclist she allegedly killed in a jealous rage may be using her sister’s identity to evade cops and hiding in rural New York, a private investigator claims.
Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, has now been on the run for more than a month having vanished days after being questioned by police in the death of Moriah “Mo” Wilson.
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Wilson, 25, was shot dead in Austin, Texas, on May 11.
She was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds hours after she went swimming with Armstrong’s boyfriend, fellow cyclist Colin Strickland, whom she briefly dated last fall.
Armstrong was brought in for questioning by police on May 12 but was released on a technicality. She was last seen on May 14 leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York City – three days before a warrant was issued for her arrest.
With no trace of Armstrong having been found since, private investigator Jason Jensen told The US Sun that he believes the fugitive may be using an alias to avoid detection and has likely altered her appearance.
He likened the case to the hunt for Brian Laundrie, who went on the run after murdering his girlfriend Gabby Petito during a 2021 cross-country road trip before being found dead several weeks later.
Police hesitated to arrest Laundrie and a case of mistaken identity afforded him a several-day head-start before police realized he was missing.
Jensen, who has been a PI for 15 years, said he believes Armstrong may be going by the name “Christine Armstrong”, which is her younger sister’s name, who has a registered address in Austin.
According to documents obtained by Jensen, which have been viewed by The US Sun, three days after Kaitlin Armstrong was last sighted, a person identifying themselves as “Christine Armstrong” registered for a driver’s license in New York.
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The address listed on that license appears to be the location of a Haven For Humanity wellness center in Livingston Manor, New York.
Christine is listed as a communications representative on Haven for Humanity’s website.
A request for comment left with Christine went unanswered.
However, a spokesperson for Haven for Humanity confirmed to The US Sun that Christine is a volunteer for the company and is currently staying at its Camp Haven compound in New York.
The spokesperson declined to confirm when Christine arrived at the wellness center.
It’s also unclear whether Christine has relocated from Austin to New York permanently, and whether she has had any contact with her sister since she vanished.
But an unnamed camper claimed to Fox News on Wednesday that he had seen Kaitlin Armstrong at Camp Haven around a month ago, and has previously seen Christine at the campsite too.
“She was [here] a while back,” the man said of Kaitlin. “Right before the whole thing blew up.”
A STRANGE COINCIDENCE?
For Jensen, he believes the timing of the driver’s license application – just three days after Kaitlin Armstrong arrived in New York and was last seen – is more than just a coincidence, telling The US Sun: “I mean, are you kidding me?”
“The last place Kaitlin was cited was at New York LaGuardia Airport on May 14th and just three days after that, an address pops up in New York state in Christine’s name.
“What are the odds that you see Kaitlyn in New York, and three days later, Kaitlin’s sister has a new license and address listed in New York?” Jensen asked.
“Kaitlin is either traveling under the name of Christine and using it to get a temporary address somewhere, or her sister could be helping her out by establishing that temporary address up there.
“It makes you wonder if Kaitlin borrowed or stole a passport or some form of ID from Christine before she left Austin and has now used it to get a New York state license with her photo on it.”
Should that prove to be the case, Jensen says Kaitlin would be permitted to “travel around as Christine and go undetected.”
The PI has alerted the US Marshal Service and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office to the potential lead but has not yet heard anything back.
The US Sun has reached out to both departments for comment and is still awaiting a response.
ON THE LAM
Where Armstrong may be hiding now remains “the big mystery”, Jensen says.
According to the investigator, typically in such cases, fugitives deploy one of two strategies in their efforts to evade cops.
One of the tactics used is to return to areas where they once lived because they’re familiar with the area and feel they can easily “blend into the terrain”, according to Jensen.
“They’re accustomed to traveling around their chosen place and they know where they can go off and hide,” he said.
“The other thing that they can do is they will turn to friends or trusted confidants or family members that can help them out and get them money, give them shelter, but once a warrant has been issued for their arrest, whoever helps them is at risk of facing charges of harboring a fugitive.”
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Armstrong, who originally hails from Michigan, may have returned to her home state and could’ve even fled the US over the Canadian border using a bogus ID, Jensen suggests.
She may also be hiding in a remote part of New York, he claims, or even living in New York City itself, altering her appearance to blend in and hide in plain sight.
Having been on the run for more than a month, Jensen said Armstrong’s ability to avoid detection suggests that she’s hiding in a remote location, waiting either for law enforcement to catch up with her or “until she decides to take her own life.”
He said it’s only a matter of time until she’s caught, though it remains unclear if she’s being actively assisted by any friends, confidants, or family members.
What are the odds that you see Kaitlyn in New York, and three days later, Kaitlin’s sister has a new license and address listed in New York?
Jason Jensen
Should anyone be found to have assisted Armstrong after a warrant was issued for her arrest on May 17, then they could be charged by authorities with assisting or harboring a fugitive.
“However, when she first left town and was released by law enforcement she could have received all the help she wanted, whether that be someone giving her an ID or buying her a plane ticket because at that time it was legal,” Jensen explained.
“She wasn’t under arrest, she wasn’t charged with anything.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the day she went to the airport that she had her sister’s passport with her or something.”
‘A BRIAN LAUNDRIE SITUATION’
On the night Wilson was killed, Strickland, 35, later told police he had gone swimming with the rising cycling star and they then had dinner together.
He says he then dropped her off at the home, where she was later found dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators say just one minute after Wilson arrived home, security footage shows an SUV similar to Armstrong’s appearing to pull up outside the property.
Detectives analyzed shell casings found at the scene of the murder against a gun belonging to Armstrong, writing in an affidavit, “The potential that the same firearm was involved is significant.”
During an interrogation on May 12, officers confronted Armstrong with the video evidence but the fitness enthusiast reportedly offered no reaction and remained “still and guarded”, police documents show.
Investigators used an outstanding but unrelated class-B warrant for her arrest to bring her in for question about the death of Wilson.
However, Armstrong’s date of birth was incorrectly listed on the document and police were unable to arrest her for the class-B offense and forced them to let her go.
She fled to New York two days later and remains on the lam for almost five weeks.
Jensen said even though officers were unable to detain Armstrong they should’ve never let the 34-year-old out of their sight.
Instead, officers should’ve placed a surveillance team outside of Armstrong’s home to tail her until they had probable cause to arrest her for the murder of Wilson.
“They’ve basically created this Brian Laundrie scenario for themselves
Jason Jensen
Jensen likened the perceived slip-up to the case involving Brian Laundrie, who fled his home in Florida last summer amid an investigation into the murder of his fiancé Gabby Petito.
While Laundrie was under surveillance, police mistook the 21-year-old for his mother, permitting him a several-day head start before they realized he was missing.
A several-week search for Laundrie ensued before his remains were found in a nearby nature park having claimed his own life with a bullet to the head.
“Police in Austin should have detained [Armstrong] long enough to amend those documents, but they didn’t,” Jensen said.
“They’ve basically created this Brian Laundrie scenario for themselves; they could’ve put a couple of officers on her to watch her closely but they haven’t and now they got to invest all these resources, manpower and other assets trying to track her down all the way across the country – just like they did with Laundrie.”
LOVE TRIANGLE MURDER
Police believe Armstrong murdered Wilson in a jealous rage after becoming convinced she and Strickland were having an affair.
Wilson and Strickland had dated briefly last fall while he and Armstrong were on a break.
A tipster later told police that when Armstrong found out about Strickland’s fling with Wilson she became became “furious,” “shaking with anger” and said she wanted to “kill” her.
In a statement released last month, Strickland confirmed he met Wilson through cycling and had a “brief” romantic relationship with her at the end of October 2021.
He said he reconciled with Armstrong at the start of December and had no intention of pursuing an “auxiliary relationship that would mislead anyone.”
However, in a police affidavit, he admitted to changing Wilson’s number on his phone to a fake name after Armstrong learned of the fling in January.
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On the night she was killed, Strickland went out for dinner with Wilson at Pool Burger after an evening swim at Deep Eddy Pool.
He dropped Wilson off at 8.30pm and then texted Armstrong to say he had been dropping flowers off at another friend’s house and his phone had died.
But police say Armstrong already knew of his and Wilson’s whereabouts, having tracked them both through the cycling app Strava, which documents the routes runners and cyclists take.
Armstrong’s black Jeep Cherokee was then seen driving up to Wilson’s home at 8.35pm.
Wilson was found dead on the bathroom floor by a friend an hour later.
Anyone with details on where Armstrong could be is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at (800) 336-0102 or submit a tip using the USMS Tips app.
