Woman accused of killing cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson mistakenly freed from custody, police say
Investigators in Austin on Wednesday said Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, the woman accused in the killing of cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson and currently on the lam, was mistakenly released from custody after the slaying.
Armstrong, a 34-year-old Austin resident, was arrested for an unrelated misdemeanor warrant issued out of Travis County a day after Wilson's May 11 death, according to Austin police Detective Richard Spitler.
It was a mistake made on the Austin police management system, which listed her birthday month incorrectly, that allowed Wilson to be released from custody because the birth month did not match the warrant, Spitler said.
More: Austin woman accused of killing of cyclist Moriah Wilson spotted in New York, authorities say
"We cannot simply arrest somebody if there is some sort of discrepancy," he said, adding that Armstrong still could have been released on bond because she had not yet been charged with killing Wilson.
Federal agents said Wednesday that Armstrong, who now faces a murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting, might have fled to New York days after Wilson's death.
Federal authorities think Armstrong boarded a flight to Houston at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 12:30 p.m. May 14. She then took a connecting Southwest Airlines flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport, investigators said.
An arrest warrant in the death of 25-year-old Wilson details a love triangle that included a male professional cyclist and Armstrong, according to Austin police.
Wilson was found dead in an East Austin home on Maple Avenue. She had traveled from San Francisco and was staying in town before riding in a gravel race in Hico, northwest of Waco, that coming weekend.
More: Anna Moriah Wilson death: See the facts about the case, charges against Kaitlin Armstrong
Authorities spoke with Armstrong on May 12 — the day after Wilson was killed — and confronted her with video surveillance that investigators say shows a vehicle matching one Armstrong drives pulling up to the residence where Wilson was staying. One minute earlier, Wilson had returned to the house after swimming with Armstrong's boyfriend.
That same day, investigators during a search of a home Armstrong shared with her boyfriend found two handguns, according to Spitler. One of those guns matched the weapon used to kill Wilson, he said.
Over the weekend, agents were still looking for Armstrong's black Jeep Grand Cherokee, Texas license plate LDZ5608, and believed it was possible she could have still been driving it or had abandoned it around Austin.
The U.S. Marshals issued a wanted poster asking the public to call 800-336-0102 if they see the vehicle or have any information about Armstrong’s whereabouts.
Armstrong, police said, nodded in agreement when detectives told her the video showing a matching vehicle to hers did not look good for her.
Police say she deleted her social media accounts and that her boyfriend told them he has not seen her since May 13. Her account on Strava — an online cycling and fitness platform — remains public and shows that she last cycled on May 11, the day Wilson died.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Woman accused of killing cyclist in Austin mistakenly freed from custody
