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Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode

February 02, 2024 / 42:02

This episode covers the tragic murder of cyclist Mariah "Mo" Wilson, the investigation into her death, and the subsequent manhunt for Caitlyn Armstrong, who was suspected of the crime. Key discussions include the relationships between Mo, Colin Strickland, and Caitlyn Armstrong, as well as the details of the investigation and trial.

Mariah Wilson, a promising cyclist, was found murdered in Austin, Texas, just before her 26th birthday. The episode features insights from reporter Polar Melendez and editor Lisa Goslin, who discuss Mo's rise in the cycling world and the shock within the community following her death.

Colin Strickland, a fellow cyclist and Mo's brief romantic interest, is introduced as a key figure in the investigation. The episode details his relationship with both women and the complications that arose, particularly with Caitlyn Armstrong, who was Strickland's girlfriend.

The investigation reveals a series of clues, including a black SUV linked to Caitlyn and her eventual disappearance, leading to an international manhunt. The episode highlights the challenges faced by law enforcement as they tracked Caitlyn across multiple locations, including Costa Rica.

Ultimately, Caitlyn Armstrong was arrested and charged with Mo's murder. The episode concludes with details of the trial, her conviction, and the emotional impact on Mo's family and friends.

TLDR

Mariah Wilson was murdered, Caitlyn Armstrong was arrested, and the investigation revealed complex relationships in the cycling community.

Episode

42:02
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[Music] here with the fabulous Mo Wilson you are like ready I'm ready I'm so excited to
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be here um feels like the first big race of the year so um yeah I'm ready to kick
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it off I'm still getting better I'm still learning it's an exciting time there's
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still so much for me to learn her name was Mariah but everybody called her Mo my name is polar Melendez and I am a
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senior reporter with The Daily Beast funny and friendly and smart and driven Mo was a rising star she
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graduated from Dartmouth in engineering everyone thought she was about to make her big break in
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cycling I have always relied on other people to push [Music] myself what happened to Mo was a
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tragedy they found Mo inside the residence it was pretty grizzly scene she had been
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shot multiple times at first detectives thought it was a robbery you're looking into this possibility of a robbery or a
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burglary but parallel to that there is this name Colin Strickland my name is Colin Strickland I
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am a bicycle racer Colin Strickland was a top biker and he was also friends with
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Mo I mean Colin you know he was an interesting character had a lot of like you know cool qualities about him
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motorcycled professional athlete I mean Colin had dated like a few girls in the cycling scene you know girlfriends here
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and there but you know pretty standard stuff Colin's relationship with Mo like was like they were both bike racers they
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had like a romantic relationship there had definitely been something romantic between
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them colins said they had broken up the situation was complicated there was another woman in
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colins's leg her name was Caitlyn Armstrong Caitlyn you know first impressions she was really nice glow
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hopping around the world was you know really interested in yoga like very attractive person uh both inside and out
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at least the Caitlyn I you know initially knew homicide detectives were very interested in talking to Caitlyn
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Armstrong he's starting to get this sense that there could be some jealousy to it she has a gun few things like that
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start to paint a picture of like it could definitely be her we were still trying to figure out
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are they going to have enough information to sit down and scratch out a warrant at this point she kind of
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disappears no one knows where she [Applause] is Caitlyn Armstrong vanished seeming in
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a thin air sparking what would become an international Manhunt first leading authorities across the United States and
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then eventually here to the beaches of Costa Rica along the way she used multiple identities and changed her
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appearance even getting plastic surgery how smart was Caitlyn Armstrong she did some pretty intelligent things
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the thing that people don't know is you don't have to be just smarter than 1 2 three or four four of us cuz there's a
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team of 20 plus people you have to be smarter than a lot of people to get away with it it almost worked it almost
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[Music] worked [Music] [Music] hello I'm here with the fabulous Mo Wilson you are like ready I'm ready
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ready in March of 2022 upand cominging PR gravel bike racer 25-year-old Anna Mariah Wilson known as Mo to some
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appeared on the pre-ride show an online program about cycling so excited to be here um feels like the first big race of
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the year so um yeah I'm it ready to kick it off just 2 months later Mariah was found
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murdered the news shocking the cycling Community I don't think anybody could really believe it at first you know why
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would anybody want to hurt or harm or kill this lovely talented young woman Lisa gosin Len is the editor of Vermont
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Sports magazine and Vermont ski and Ride magazine she's also a CBS News consultant Mariah Wilson right there
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coming in Lynn had been following Mariah Wilson's career for many months before her tragic death it is all Mariah Wilson
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as she is snaking through into the finish of Mariah was pretty much winning every race that she entered Mariah
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Wilson the winner of round one winning or finishing in the top two and the races that she entered were top tier
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first place Mo Wilson Mariah had the potential to be one of the top bike racers definitely in the country and
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probably in the world phenomenal race remarkably Lynn says that Mariah was new to the pro cycling
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World her first Passion had been downhill ski racing a love shared by her close-knit family she was born into a
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family of really great athletes her father Eric had been on the US ski team and Mariah's Aunt actually was a
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two-time Olympic Nordic ski racer and it's no surprise that Mariah was drawn to outdoor Endurance Sports she was
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raised in in Northern Vermont next to Kingdom Trails a mecca for skiers and mountain
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bikers and that was her playground Mariah attended Burke Mountain Academy an elite ski school that produced
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Olympic rates like two-time gold medalist Michaela schiffren Mariah had hoped to make the US ski team but knee
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injuries eventually ended her skiing career that's when she switched Sports she had used cycling as a way for
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rehabbing and kind of building back her strength what was fascinating to me was she then went on to Dartmouth she got an
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engineering degree and after doing that she went to her mother and said hey Mom I think I want to be a professional
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cyclist and Mariah told the podcast we got to hang out that she wanted to do much more than just win
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races how can I inspire people how can I give back to the cycling Community how can I bring more people into this sport
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how can I make it more inclusive like I want to find meaning and purpose in cycling that goes like far beyond the
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the result Mariah eventually moved to San Francisco where she focused on cycling
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and quickly Rose to the top of the sport Mariah was forging her own path she knew
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what she wanted to do and she was working hard to pursue [Music] it on May 10th 2022 just one week before her 26th
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birthday Mariah arrived in Austin Texas to prepare for the gravel Loos bike race
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a race she was favored to win Mariah stayed with a close friend in this Austin apartment but the next evening just
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before 1 p.m. the friend returned home and discovered Mariah who had been shot multiple times she called 911 she's
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laying on the bathroom floor and there's blood everywhere Mariah's friend tried CPR but it was too late it sound like
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started off near the door and went backwards like she was trying to get away or there was some sort of struggle
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or Austin police officers Mark McLoud and Jonathan Riley worked the case from the beginning whoever shot her at that
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point stood over top of her and shot her at least once sorry you're in apartment
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investigators wondered who could have murdered this promising young athlete as they canvas the immediate area police
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discovered a possible clue 432 I located the bike Mariah's expensive racing bicycle had been discarded in the bushes
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so at that point okay is this a burglary a robbery gone wrong but that theory was
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quickly dismissed because there was no sign of a Breakin then police learned that just hours before Mariah was found
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murdered at around 8:30 p.m. she had been dropped off by another professional bike racer named Colin Strickland so
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obviously the focus would be who's this Colin Strickland Colin Strickland was a very
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good grapple racer he was at the top Echelon Colin Strickland who was 35 was considered a Pioneer in the sport he had
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won some of the most prestigious races and was sponsored by the industry's top brands like Red Bull my name is Colin
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Strickland I am a bicycle racer and general Entertainer in 2020 he appeared in an
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online video called Wahoo Frontiers about his long and successful career pretty early on I looked up to Colin
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when I was coming up in the scene please welcome for Chris T Chris T is friends with Colin
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Strickland they met on the racetrack he was the one to beat he loved to kind of create a show around bike racing uh kind
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of selling bike racing he was really passionate about it and tal said although his friend had
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been popular with women he eventually became became serious with a woman named Caitlyn Armstrong however in a social
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media post after the crime Strickland wrote that about 6 months before Mariah's murder during a short breakup
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with Armstrong he did have a brief romantic relationship with Mariah that spanned a week or so he said that it
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ended and their relationship had turned into a platonic and professional one he just wanted to be friends with like
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someone who was going to do great things in cycling the day after Mariah's murder police
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visited and spoke to Colin Strickland at his home my personal take was he's being
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very Cooperative being very forthcoming um obviously he was in shock being very transparent at very transparent yeah an
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investigators say when he agreed to go down to the police station to be interviewed he didn't seem to hold back
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when telling them about the day he spent with Mariah a day that would end up being her last that day in may it was
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hot in the 80s and this story started with a swim right here it's a famous old outdoor pool and Colin Strickland told
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detectives he took the victim Mo Wilson on the back of his motorcycle here to cool off they went swimming then they
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got food Mariah and Strickland are seen here on the restaurant's security camera
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I know he's being transparent at this point during this questioning but what he's saying is starting to sound a lot
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like a date oh yeah 100% investigators had a lot of questions and their prior visit to
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Strickland's home had raised even more on the night of Mariah's murder police discovered an important clue on video
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from a neighbor security camera the video was taken just one minute after Mariah was dropped off there's a video
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from a ring doorbell camera that clearly shows like a black SUV with a bike rack
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can't see the license plate because of the bike rack on it so it was obviously like we need to focus on this and a
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vehicle that fit that description was outside Strickland's house who was driving the black Jeep SUV with the bike
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rack the answer would lead directly to another [Music] woman the day after Mariah Wilson's murder
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investigators quickly had an answer to who could have been driving that black Jeep that was seen on security cameras
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shortly before her death investigators had spotted a similar looking Jeep in Colin Strickland's driveway when they
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spoke to him they see a black jeep with the bike rack on the back of it so at that point we run the license plate and
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it comes back that it's registered to Caitlin Armstrong Caitlyn Armstrong Colin Strickland's
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Girlfriend Chris tally says he knew her very well you know we connected pretty early on Caitlyn and I became friends
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they were both from the Midwest we kind of had a similar uh like upbringing and so I think that kind of uh you know
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helped us become like even better friends she'd come over to parties I would have Armstrong had a background in
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finance and loved yoga she had a really strong you know kind of uh you know love
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for travel love you know she spent time pretty much you know Globe hopping around the world really you know kind of
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interesting person Armstrong got certified as a yoga instructor in Bali after she met Colin Strickland in 2019
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she also started getting into cycling he's very willing to kind of show her you know what his passions were and how
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passionate he was for cycling and you know get her involved with it and she also became you know kind of addicted to
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cycling along with Colin Armstrong even started racing on an amateur level at the end of the day like I feel like they
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had a pretty like normal relationship they both ride bikes together they would you know do fun stuff and you know then
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2020 happened and the pandemic started so everyone was kind of you know forced with uh you know Close Quarters with
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their significant others the couple eventually moved in together the moment I I saw the relationship become more
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serious is you know they talked about uh that they purchased a house recently uh
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together which I thought you know was a pretty big indication that it's you know
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a serious relationship they also started a business together restoring classic trailers I think she was helping with
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the finance side of things Colin was doing a lot of the operations their relationship went from you know just a
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normal couple to also owning a business together but things got bumpy in late 2021 the breakup I personally didn't
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know like they were split up at the time neither of them mentioned anything to me
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it was during this time that Colin Strickland and Mariah Wilson had briefly dated
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although Strickland had said they had broken It Off Mariah seemed confused in the
00:16:04
aftermath po Mendez covered the case for The Daily Beast around this time I think
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Mo was pretty confused about her the status of her relationship with Colin and she literally wrote this weekend was
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strange for me if you just want to be friends that's cool honestly my mind has been going in circles it sounds like
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someone who's in her early 20s who just wants to know the status of her relationship ship with someone that's
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confusing her and it seems totally reasonable that she might be confused Strickland had a lot to say
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about his relationship with Caitlyn Armstrong he starts to portray her as being the jealous type even saying
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things like I can't keep people in my phone like Mo's not in my phone as Mo Strickland told investigators he kept
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Mor's phone number under an alias in his contacts and on that evening after he'd
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been out with with Mariah at the pool he texted Armstrong that he'd been running
00:17:02
an errand and that his phone had died that was not true investigators say there were other
00:17:10
Clues pointing toward Caitlyn Armstrong on the night of the murder Caitlyn Armstrong's phone was not
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connected to a cell network not connected correct so whether she powered it off whether she put it in Airplane
00:17:25
Mode uh there's some something happened that her phone was not communicating with any cell phone towers do you think
00:17:32
this was on purpose absolutely in this day and age if your phone is off and not connected to a network you're either the
00:17:41
victim of a crime or you're probably committing one a silent phone speaks louder in some cases than actions oh
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absolutely Strickland also shared that he had bought handguns for Armstrong and himself for personal
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security he talks about how they purchase guns M and that there are these two guns and that she has a gun um
00:18:02
they've taken lessons and that these guns are back at the house and so few things like that start to paint a
00:18:09
picture of like this could it could definitely be her police worked quickly that same day investigators picked
00:18:17
Caitlyn Armstrong up on an old warrant for failing to pay for a Botox treatment she's just kind of sitting there and
00:18:25
she's not showing very much emotion at all what were you doing yesterday yesterday I would like to leave I think
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typically when we see some interviews going on and if you didn't do it this is your like you're going to be like you
00:18:36
know not me not it I want out of this room what do you want to know so you don't come back looking for me and there
00:18:42
was none of that is there any explanation as far as why the vehicle would be over there I would like to
00:18:49
leave she was almost completely disinterested in in hearing what the detectives had to say so it sounds like
00:18:56
this is a big red flag immediately oh oh abely absolutely but investigators had to let Armstrong go there was a problem
00:19:03
Armstrong's birth date did not match the date on the warrant so the warrant wasn't valid and police didn't have
00:19:09
enough to charge her with anything else two days after that interview police got an unexpected call it was
00:19:18
from a friend of Caitlyn Armstrong police say the caller told them that Armstrong was so angry about
00:19:24
Strickland's relationship with Mariah that she wanted to kill her it was yet another indication that they
00:19:31
were on the right track a few days later an arrest warrant was issued but when police went looking
00:19:37
for Caitlyn Armstrong she was [Music] gone after Caitlyn Armstrong vanished us Marshals got the job of
00:19:59
tracking her down plain and simply the Marshals are manhunters Chris godik hosts and
00:20:08
produces a podcast with the US Marshall service I'm Chris godik and this is chasing
00:20:15
evil his podcast tells the stories of some of the US Marshals biggest cases including the hunt for Caitlyn
00:20:24
Armstrong nobody thought Caitlyn Armstrong was going to run and she surprised of all she disappeared Caitlyn
00:20:31
Armstrong ran from a murder charge but the US Marshals Lone Star fugitive task force had a different
00:20:38
plan so take me through this where do you begin when you're looking for somebody that does not want to be found
00:20:45
you know it depends on the case honestly we look for friends sometimes we look for family one of the things that I did
00:20:52
was collect as many photos as I could Damen Fernandez and Amir Perez are Deputy US Marshal
00:20:59
they joined ausome police officers Jonathan Riley and Mark McLoud on the case the team based in Texas is known as
00:21:08
The lonar Fugitive task force with no sign of Caitlyn Armstrong the task force suspected Armstrong may have left town
00:21:17
headed for her sister christe's place in Upstate New York we were thinking maybe she's
00:21:22
driving cross country we didn't know their instincts were right in Upstate New York another deputy Marshall managed
00:21:29
to track down Armstrong's sister what did the sister say the sister ultimately said that her sister had come to visit
00:21:37
her had stayed with her a couple of days but that she had dropped her off at the
00:21:40
airport in New York and uh last she heard she was going to board a flight back to Austin but then called her back
00:21:49
later and said that she decided that she was going to drive back and which made absolutely no sense
00:21:57
to any of us that you would just drive back when the task force checked outbound flights at Newark Airport No
00:22:06
Reservations had been made in Caitlyn Armstrong's name we never got a hit on Caitlyn Armstrong's passport but the
00:22:13
team had a hunch unaware because Christy told the deputy Marshall in New York that she didn't know where her passport
00:22:20
was so they checked with their contct at Homeland Security and within minutes of
00:22:25
reaching out to him he got back to me and he's like yeah we're showing uh Christy Armstrong traveled out of nework
00:22:30
New Jersey International Airport on a one-way flight to Costa ricao you knew it and I said there's no way that the
00:22:38
sister left and we're looking for her we can't find Caitlyn no that's Caitlyn the Marshall suspected that
00:22:45
Caitlyn Armstrong had used her sister's passport to flee Christy Armstrong later
00:22:50
emphasized to authorities she did not give her sister the passport she has never been charged with any crime
00:22:56
related to this case [Music] [Music] and this is where Caitlyn Armstrong landed Costa Rica Gem of Central America
00:23:14
home to mountains tropical rainforests and white sand beaches as far as the eye can
00:23:22
see but she didn't spend much time here in San Jose shortly after arriving Caitlyn Armstrong disappeared again and
00:23:31
she had a huge lead on the US Marshals Marshall's Amir Perez and Damen Fernandez arrived in Costa Rica a month
00:23:41
after Armstrong this is you guys now on the hunt how intense is it once you touch
00:23:49
down in Costa Rica what happens you're on a timeline I hear timeline and I hear the pressure's on pressure's on I know
00:23:57
we were sitting in the plane and we're talking what's the game plan although they would have help from
00:24:04
the Costa Rican authorities and US state department officers on the ground they knew finding Armstrong was going to be a
00:24:11
big challenge we had other intelligence indicating that she was staying in hostels in Costa Rica and I don't know
00:24:20
if you know anything about Costa Rica but Costa Rica has a lot of hostiles a lot an unbelievable amount of
00:24:26
hostiles the marshals wouldn't tell us exactly how their intelligence gathering worked
00:24:32
but their team back in the States had managed to track down the phone number for an American businessman they
00:24:38
believed had connected with Caitlyn Armstrong at some point we didn't know what city he was in so we decided hey
00:24:45
let's just cold call him so we call him and we're on the conference room he answers and we're like hey it's the US
00:24:50
Marshals U my name is Mark and he goes I don't want any click just hangs up like
00:24:54
it's a like a telemarketer tarket a scam call yeah after three or four call attempts the
00:25:00
businessman finally stayed on the line to answer the Marshall's questions and we actually end up sending a picture of
00:25:08
Caitlyn while we're on the phone with him he looks at it and he goes yes but she doesn't look like that and she's not
00:25:14
using that name and did he tell you her new name he did it was be going by Beth and the businessman
00:25:23
said Armstrong no longer looked like this she had cut her hair and changed its color went brown brown instead of
00:25:30
red she dyed her hair the businessman told the marshals he had no idea that the woman who called herself Beth was
00:25:38
actually Caitlyn Armstrong but he did tell them where they might find her he's like well I met her at a yoga studio in
00:25:49
hako this is hako a popular tourist destination known for its nightlife and its beaches and the perfect place to
00:25:58
hide it was the Marshall's first real tip so they rushed out here they canvas the area comb through
00:26:07
hours of surveillance video but could not find a single sign of Caitlyn Armstrong anywhere it was a
00:26:16
bust but the marshals have one more solid lead and that takes them to a beautiful touristy Beach Town one street
00:26:24
town called Santa Teresa [Music] one month after Caitlyn Armstrong disappeared the US Marshals were in Hot
00:26:56
Pursuit of her and another area of Costa Rica a source had suggested she might have gone to a small village on the
00:27:04
Pacific coast the marshals took a fery like this one to reach a remote Peninsula once there they drove by car
00:27:12
through those mountains to the Tiny Town of Santa Teresa but when they finally arrived they ran into an unexpected
00:27:21
problem get to Santa Teresa was it easy to identify her there from the other people that were there I think from the
00:27:31
GetGo we were told you're going to be in for a surprise because a lot of the women in Santa Teresa look just like K A
00:27:38
lot of them and it turns out that advice was right the town was full of foreign tourists Deputy Marshals Fernandez and
00:27:47
Perez arrived in Santa Teresa after dark so we get there and he starts walking down a main strip that's there uh like
00:27:57
down the street there's only one road on on that town and he sees Main Road he sees a girl and he says you know that
00:28:03
looks just like her well couple of minutes later we see another one and it's late at night and we're like well
00:28:11
oh man that's too and then there's another one as the marshals tried to find Armstrong they even had one of their
00:28:18
female operatives start going to yoga classes to see if they could spot her she actually did three different
00:28:25
classes for us and they tapped into local contacts oh yeah we made friends with people there that would send us pictures
00:28:34
oh look I I think I saw her at this restaurant yesterday and she's in the back in the background of a photo that I
00:28:40
took stuff like that in fact people had seen Caitlyn Armstrong at local spots in Santa Teresa
00:28:48
but they didn't realize who she was Armstrong was hiding in plain sight using different
00:28:55
names she had like multiple names yeah um she came in um Beth it wasn't Beth Ari Ari Ari Ari right so she came
00:29:05
in as Ari Greg Haber is an American from the New York area who owns a restaurant
00:29:10
called Cook's smok house and bar here in Santa Teresa Ari what did Ari look like
00:29:16
did she stand out to you pretty came in introduced herself as a yoga teacher which is basically anybody else down
00:29:23
here hey I moved here teaching yoga down the street and that was it what was her
00:29:28
General Vibe like she definitely seemed like she was trying to establish Roots here like this was going to be her new
00:29:33
home and Haber says one day he noticed something different about her I saw her on the beach I walk my dog on the beach
00:29:40
every night for Sunset and you're walking through and you see the bandage on her face it's like ah what happened
00:29:45
she like a surfboard hit me in the face it's like well happens to everybody right at least once so you wouldn't even
00:29:52
question that story here like you see people all the time turns out that band would later prove to be an important
00:29:59
part of this story and one of the reasons the Marshalls say Armstrong was so hard to find so you're this close to
00:30:07
giving up finally they decided on one last tactic they turned to a local Facebook
00:30:14
page we decided we were going to put an ad out for a yoga instructor and see what would happen so this is the
00:30:20
equivalent of Craigslist yes correct pretty much and a little of a more lively but yes and just saying a we're
00:30:28
this hostel we're looking for a yoga instructor the soon as the possible please contact us at this number but
00:30:35
after almost a week of hunting even that didn't seem to be working Sunday we decided we haven't gotten any response
00:30:42
back from anything we're we're burned so Sunday are like okay we're done none of
00:30:47
them have panned out so we're going back to San Jose now back in San Jose the marshals were getting ready to head home
00:30:55
when suddenly we got a bite somebody that identified herself as a yoga instructor and said
00:31:02
that wanted to meet with us at a particular hostel and we said this is this is our chance Deputy Marshals Perez
00:31:11
and Fernandez rushed back to Santa Teresa just ahead of a tropical storm tourism police Lieutenant Juan
00:31:23
Carlos solano's team helped the marshals in their search for Caitlyn Armstrong they did surveillance on a hostel called
00:31:30
Don John's where the yoga instructor the one who answered the online ad was believed to be so there is this massive
00:31:37
International Manhunt and of all places in the world it ends in this very discret
00:31:48
hosle it was now time for the marshals to make their move so I walked up and I got in they decided that Deputy Marshall
00:31:58
perezz would approach the woman alone they didn't want to scare her off he would pretend to be a tourist and try to
00:32:04
get a really good look at her face and I saw two individuals sitting there at a table off to the left uh as soon as I
00:32:12
walked in he says one was a woman she looked like Caitlyn but not 100% so I thought well how can I approach her or
00:32:22
get close enough where I start asking questions where she doesn't suspect something so I decided that I was gonna
00:32:28
speak to her in Spanish so I spoke to her in nothing but Spanish so you're communicating she goes to use her phone
00:32:35
for Google translate and then so I got a little closer cuz I saw that she was trying to get to Google Translate on her
00:32:41
phone and she'd raise it up to me and I got even closer and I noticed that she had a bandage on her nose and possibly
00:32:48
her lips were swollen and I saw her eyes the eyes are the exact same ones that I
00:32:54
saw in the picture and this is is her 100% he gets in the car and he's like that's her she's in
00:33:01
there local police moved in to make the actual arrest and soon the Marshalls discovered
00:33:09
why Armstrong had been so hard to find she had been getting plastic surgery when they first arrived in Santa Teresa
00:33:17
at the hospital they found a receipt the receipt for surgery plastic surgery plastic surgery in these
00:33:26
sidebyside phot phot you can see that Armstrong changed the shape of her nose the deputy Marshall said their
00:33:32
female operative the woman they sent to yoga classes to try to find Armstrong told them Armstrong's New Look would
00:33:39
have tricked her and she told me I think if I would have run into her at the yoga
00:33:44
studio I don't think I would have recognized her wow it almost worked it almost worked the marshals took Armstrong back
00:33:54
to Texas where she was charged and held in jail but just weeks before she was due to stand trial for the murder of
00:34:02
Mori Wilson Caitlyn Armstrong escaped again what do you make of the investigators undercover operation chat
00:34:13
now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X almost 3 weeks before her trial former
00:34:28
fugitive Caitlyn Armstrong somehow managed to escape from custody she was at a doctor's appointment and tried to
00:34:36
escape as they were walking out parar Melendez from The Daily Beast says Armstrong didn't get far before deputies
00:34:43
caught her it was pretty astonishing that she did that given the fact that she had tried to escape prosecution
00:34:50
prior this was just more evidence of her guilt Jose Garza is Travis County's district attorney
00:34:57
he says his team of prosecutors Ricky Jones and guo Gonzalez were more than ready to try the case when we learned
00:35:05
that um she had tried to escape um it just added to our confidence level in the facts of this case that we would be
00:35:12
able to secure Justice for Mariah and her family on November 1st 2023 Armstrong's trial
00:35:21
began the Last Thing mo did on this Earth was frame and Terror in opening statements Jones told the jury about
00:35:32
chilling audio from a security camera that captured the last moments of Mariah's life those scams are followed
00:35:43
by two gunshots kayen Armstrong stood over Mo Wilson and put a third shot right in MO Wilson's
00:35:53
home prosecutors said Armstrong had had been tracking Mariah Wilson using a sports app Caitlyn prior to the murder
00:36:02
had been following Mo on a straa app which is basically an app that athletes used to track their miles running biking
00:36:08
and she knew exactly where she was and they said that Armstrong on the night of the murder was most likely
00:36:15
tracking Colin Strickland as well she did have the ability to monitor his Communications she had access to all of
00:36:24
his passwords so she had access ACC to um his Instagram account I believe that when Mo sent Colin a text letting him
00:36:35
know the address of where she was I believe that Caitlin Armstrong was at home on Colin strickman's laptop she saw
00:36:44
that message after murdering Mariah and before leaving the scene Jones told the jury that Armstrong took Mariah's bike
00:36:53
and discarded it in the bushes just yards away from where her Jeep was parked our belief is that she maybe
00:37:01
stays it to look like a robbery or something or another theory is Mo Wilson's bike is a tool of her
00:37:10
trade it might have been like the bullet shot in the heart I'm going to shoot you in the
00:37:16
heart I'm going to throw away your bike but they said Armstrong made one big mistake she left her DNA behind on
00:37:26
the hand hand lears and seat of Mariah's bike and that's on all the evidence prosecutors had against Armstrong there
00:37:33
was that receipt that showed Armstrong had received plastic surgery while hiding out in Costa
00:37:39
Rica everything she does it's all consistent with trying to evade the authorities but when it was the
00:37:45
defense's turn attorney Jeffrey puer told the jury there was no direct evidence including security footage that
00:37:52
actually showed Armstrong was at the scene of the crime not one one witness saw Caitlyn Armstrong allegedly Commit
00:38:02
This murder then why would Armstrong flee and hide from the authorities defense attorney Rick kofer pointed the
00:38:10
finger at Colin Strickland was she scared what do you think do you think that she may have
00:38:17
been concerned a little bit that her boyfriend had killed someone fear results in fight or
00:38:24
flight and it was flight but Janes said there was a big problem with this Theory because Strickland had
00:38:31
nothing to do with the murder of Mariah Wilson in fact at the time of the murder
00:38:37
he was actually on the phone speaking with someone it wasn't Colin Strickland Armstrong's defense team did
00:38:45
not respond to our request for an interview after a 2eek trial the defendant will please rise it took the
00:38:54
jury around 2 hours to decide Armstrong's Fe we the jury find the defendant Caitlyn Armstrong guilty of
00:39:02
the offense of murder as a prosecutor the first row right behind you is the family and you
00:39:12
began to feel their pain and their desire for a just outcome for their loved ones one day after her conviction
00:39:21
Armstrong was sentenced to 90 years behind bars you may be seated [Music] but before the case came to an end judge
00:39:31
Brenda Kennedy allowed Caitlyn cash Mariah's close friend whose apartment she'd been staying at and who had found
00:39:38
Mariah's body to take the stand and speak directly to Armstong so many people in this room
00:39:45
have lost so much I'm angry at you at the UT utter tragic nature at the senselessness at not being able to hear
00:39:59
Mo's voice again I feel deep sadness for the road ahead then it was Mariah's mother's turn
00:40:09
I hate what you did to my beautiful daughter it was very selfish and cowardly that violent act on May 11 it
00:40:20
was cowardly because you never chose to face her woman to woman in a civil conversation she would have
00:40:31
listened she was an amazing listener she would have cared about your feelings but despite the pain Karen
00:40:41
Wilson closed with words of love and optimism because she said that's how Mariah would have wanted it you killed
00:40:50
her Earthly body but her spirit is so very much alive and you can never change that today in Kingdom trails in Northern
00:41:03
Vermont a place that was sacred to Mariah a trail was built in her honor it's called Mariah's
00:41:11
Ascent Mariah was a vermonter she was giving she was hardworking she was honest she was caring and she came from
00:41:21
a wonderful family and that family really wants that Legacy and all of her good qualities to inspire
00:41:29
[Music] others a good family man disappears I knew something bad was happening to him
00:41:46
I felt it then a high-speed chase reveals Clues it was like the scene out of a movie and a powerful motive Revenge
00:41:54
I had no idea the type of evil we were dealing with 48 hours Saturday on CBS and screaming on Paramount Plus

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 90
    Biggest twist
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Best overall

Episode Highlights

  • The Rise of Mo Wilson
    Mariah 'Mo' Wilson was a promising cyclist with a bright future ahead.
    “Mo was a rising star she graduated from Dartmouth in engineering.”
    @ 00m 48s
    February 02, 2024
  • The Complicated Love Triangle
    Colin Strickland's relationships with both Mo and Caitlyn create a tangled web.
    “There had definitely been something romantic between them.”
    @ 02m 09s
    February 02, 2024
  • The Shocking Murder
    Mariah Wilson was found murdered just weeks after her big race debut.
    “I don't think anybody could really believe it at first.”
    @ 05m 32s
    February 02, 2024
  • The Investigation Unfolds
    Detectives uncover clues linking Caitlyn Armstrong to Mariah's murder.
    “A black SUV with a bike rack was seen near the crime scene.”
    @ 12m 55s
    February 02, 2024
  • Caitlyn Armstrong's Disappearance
    After Mariah's murder, Caitlyn Armstrong vanished, sparking an international manhunt.
    “Caitlyn Armstrong ran from a murder charge.”
    @ 20m 33s
    February 02, 2024
  • Caitlyn Armstrong's Disguise
    Armstrong changed her appearance and used multiple names to evade capture.
    “She had cut her hair and changed its color.”
    @ 25m 19s
    February 02, 2024
  • The Final Arrest
    After a long search, the marshals finally tracked down Caitlyn Armstrong in a hostel.
    “It was now time for the marshals to make their move.”
    @ 31m 51s
    February 02, 2024
  • Trial and Conviction
    Caitlyn Armstrong was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison.
    “We the jury find the defendant Caitlyn Armstrong guilty of the offense of murder.”
    @ 39m 09s
    February 02, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • It almost worked.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode
  • I think I want to be a professional cyclist.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode
  • I want to find meaning and purpose in cycling.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode
  • This weekend was strange for me.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode
  • Armstrong was hiding in plain sight.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode
  • You killed her Earthly body but her spirit is so very much alive.
    Capturing Moriah Wilson's Killer | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Exciting Race00:22
  • Romantic Complications02:09
  • International Manhunt03:32
  • Confusing Relationships16:16
  • Intense Hunt23:46
  • Cold Call24:45
  • Unexpected Problem27:17
  • Guilty Verdict39:09

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown