Date of birth discrepancy prevents earlier arrest of Kaitlin Armstrong in Moriah Wilson murder case
This article originally appeared on Velo News
The Austin police department revealed Wednesday that Kaitlin Armstrong -- the suspect wanted in the murder of Moriah “Mo” Wilson -- could already be in police custody except a birth date discrepancy prevented her from being arrested.
In a press conference Wednesday, police officials said that their “report management system” showed Armstrong to have a birth date in April that did not match the date of birth on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant that police used to bring her in for questioning.
The 34-year-old Armstrong, whose date of birth is November 21, 1987, was initially questioned by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force when the office discovered an outstanding class-B warrant for her arrest.
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Police investigators interviewed her on May 12, just one day after Wilson was found shot dead in a friend’s apartment in Austin.
“Because of the discrepancy, we couldn’t arrest her,” an officer said Wednesday.
Nearly two weeks after Wilson’s murder, Armstrong has since gone on the lam.
The officer said that if the dates of birth in the system and on the class-B warrant corresponded, Armstrong would have been arrested that day.
“She would have been able to be arrested on the class-B misdemeanor, but because it’s class-B, we wouldn’t have been able to hold her for long, she would have been offered bond like everyone else,” he said.
Police questioned Armstrong on the same day that her partner Colin Strickland also provided a voluntary interview to police.
According to an affidavit, police said that “during the interview it was relayed to Detective Conner that the class-B warrant was not valid and that Armstrong would be free to leave.”
The affidavit revealed that Armstrong did not leave immediately, and detectives continued to question her about Wilson’s murder and her knowledge of Strickland’s relationship with Wilson.
Police also showed her with video evidence of her car at the crime scene.
In the affidavit, Armstrong is said to have silently nodded her head in agreement when the detective said that seeing her vehicle in the area, coupled with earlier statements from Strickland detailing Armstrong’s jealousy of his relationship, “made things not look too good.”
Armstrong did not deny what was being said nor did she have an explanation for her vehicle at the crime scene. She then requested to leave, and the interview was ended.
Strickland, who is not implicated in the investigation, said he has not seen Armstrong since May 13. Police have yet to locate her or her vehicle, a black Grand Jeep Cherokee, also spotted on the crime scene.
Also Wednesday, federal officials revealed video showing someone believed to be Armstrong boarding flights to New York City on May 14.
During the press conference on Wednesday, the police said this error did not affect the timeline of issuing the current arrest warrant for first degree murder on May 17.
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