Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - GLAM YOGA TEACHER WANTED FOR 'LOVE-MURDER' BUSTED IN COSTA RICA

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

Kaitlin Armstrong, accused of murdering elite gravel cyclist Moriah Wilson, has been captured.  Armstrong was found with the help of Costa Rican authorities, who deported the yoga instructor after Armstrong entered the country on a fraudulent passport.  Armstrong was reportedly in possession of her sister's passport.  U.S. Marshals say Armstrong was staying at a Santa Teresa beachside hostel, an area where yoga enthusiasts and surfers frequent. Armstrong also reportedly had a receipt on her for plastic surgery.  Armstrong had also cut and dyed her hair.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Matthew Mangino - Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County), Former Parole Board Member, Author: "The Executioner's Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States"   Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, (Atlanta GA) www.angelaarnoldmd.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital Irv Brandt - Former U.S. Marshals Service International Investigations Branch, Author: "FLYING SOLO: Top of the World" available on Amazon IrvBrandt.com, Twitter: @JackSoloAuthor  Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadio Alexis Tereszcuk - CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker, Lead Stories dot Com, Twitter: @swimmie2009   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Cutting and dyeing her hair. Having plastic surgery to alter her nose, using a fake ID, living in a hostel up in a tree, in Costa Rica, sounds like a lot to elude authorities,

but it wasn't enough. Glam yoga instructor, Caitlin Armstrong, arrested. I'm Nancy Grace, and this is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to our friends at Fox 7. A first look at accused murderer Caitlin Armstrong in custody in Costa Rica.

After more than a month on the run, her long golden hair now shoulder length. And she also dyed her hair to a darker brown color early in the case Fox reported a Utah based investigator was looking at the possibility Armstrong was using the identity of her brunette New York based sister 34 year old Armstrong flew into New York on May 14th two days after being questioned about the murder of her romantic rival, professional cyclist Anna Mariah Wilson. Armstrong flew to Costa Rica from New Jersey four days after she landed in New York using a fraudulent passport. Around that same time, Fox reported her sister

registered for a New York State driver's license. At this time, marshals are not confirming that Armstrong used her sister's identity, only telling Fox 7 Austin. That fraudulent passport was very particular to her as far as physical descriptions that were closely matched. I mean, a total makeover to make herself look more like her sister. I mean, they can say what they want. Should I listen to them or believe my own lying eyes? Again, thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation Series XM 111. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. Matthew Mangino, high-profile lawyer and author of Executioner's Toll.

Dr. Angela Arnold, renowned psychiatrist out of the Atlanta jurisdiction at AngelaArnoldMD.com. Former U.S. Marshals with the Service International Investigations Branch and author of Flying Solo, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, Joe Scott Morgan at first, to crimeonline.com investigative reporter Alexis Tereschuk. Alexis, Costa Rica, dyeing her hair, cutting her hair, plastic surgery surgery I really don't even know where to start but let's start with where is Santa Teresa in Costa Rica I mean is it close to Liberia where the airport is is it near Tamarindo Arenal where the volcano is where can I find Santa Teresa it is a beach town it is not near Arenal the volcano it's hours away from there and It is a beach town. It is not near Arnall, the volcano.

It's hours away from there. And it is a beach town. And it is a very, while she was living in a kind of little hostel, which is, you know, where students stay because it's very inexpensive and you just stay like one or two nights while you're traveling through town. This is also a very fancy resort town because Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have a home there. And so they vacation there. So this is not a small town that's not on anyone's radar.

I knew that somehow, you being in L.A., you would work in some stars. Okay. You know who the star of this story is? Mo Mariah Wilson, a 25-year-old young girl who spent years of hard work, grit, determination, devotion to become one of the top mud and gravel cyclists in the world. 25 years old. You know 25 when you think nothing bad can happen to you when you're invincible, where you're pretty sure if you jumped off the roof you could fly?

That 25? That's the star of this. Not as, even though I love Tom and Giselle, I'm talking about Mariah Wilson and what this cunning yet beautiful witch did on impulse to hunt down and murder a defenseless girl. I don't care how glam she is or what yoga class she taught. She can rot in hell as far as I'm concerned. So, let's forget about the stars, Alexis Teresichuk.

You know, just try to transplant yourself out of L.A. and back into the regular people world for a minute. So, if it's not, I get she's near Tom Brady's home. But if Santa Teresa is not near Arenal, it's not near Liberia, a city in Costa Rica, it's not near Tamarindo, then where is it? It is on the beach. It is a very small beach town on the coast of Costa Rica. Okay. Well, you know, Costa Rica is in the middle of the ocean. So where?

I'm trying to figure out. I have a reason for this. Let me go to Irv Brandt with me, former U.S. Marshal Service. Irv, I'm trying to figure out what airport in Costa Rica let her slip through their fingers. I mean, she had to get to the airport, right? So did she use the main airport in Liberia, Costa Rica or what? No, I'm sure she flew into San Jose, Costa Rica, then took one of the shuttle buses. Why do you say that? The direct flights from the United States, almost all of them go directly into San Jose, whether you're coming from Houston, Dallas.

That's interesting because from Atlanta, you fly directly into Liberia if you want to. Well, no, there are some, but it's not a lot. You're right. So you think she flew into San Jose, Costa Rica. That's why I'm asking Alexis Tereschuk before I hear any more about Tom Brady's mansion, which we can discuss that another time. But how the heck did she do it? That's what I'm getting at. But you know what, Alexis?

She went to great efforts to change her identification. But you said something really interesting to me. You said she was staying in a hostel. Tell me. A lot of people don't know what a hostel is. But that's a great place to hide out. Explain. And this was like a treehouse hostel.

It is. it out explain and this was like a treehouse hostel it is so so the beach town the hostel is where usually students stay when they travel around the world they're very inexpensive it's not um a hotel you don't have usually a private room or even a private bathroom you have more like a dormitory style room and you might have like a locker to put your things in but you certainly wouldn't have your own room in a hotel and the hostel will probably have like coffee and you know but nothing else it's not a fancy hotel they're not gonna have room service and if you're staying in a hostel i advise you definitely wear flip-flops in the shower okay because it's all communal and i think in this case it's like didn't she share her room with like eight other people in bunk beds? She did. And the people that stayed in this hostel that saw her would observe that she really didn't have

a job when she got there. And so she would go out, she'd leave the hostel late at night. So out very, very, very late at night. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Alexis, slow down. Tell me that again now. People that were in the hostel with her. So she gets to Costa Rica, she stays in this little hostel, which is only about $50 a night. So a lot of money, but nothing, not a $5,000 a night resort. But she would go out late at night.

She would leave the hostel overnight. Most people don't hang out at the hostel all day. There's not like a big fancy swimming pool often. And she would stay out until very, very, very late at night. And then she would come in and she

would sleep because she didn't have a job she didn't have anywhere to be she wasn't apparently going out and seeing the sights or anything so she would just sleep super super late in the hospital and then she would wake up people noticed and then she would just drink a ton of coffee that's what they were noticing about her and she would there were a lot of chairs you know pretty view of the area and she would just sit in the chairs by herself and just drink tons of coffee. That's what they were noticing about her. And she would sit, there were a lot of chairs, you know, pretty view of the area. And she would just sit in the chairs by herself and just drink tons of coffee. And that was sort of her pattern. I thought she got into yoga while she was there. She did. Like surf yoga. What is that? I mean, I had to wrap my head around hot yoga, where you do yoga and like 100 degree temperatures inside a studio.

But that said, surf yoga, what's that? Surf yoga, you know, you surf and then you do, there's lots of things. You can do yoga on the beach, you can surf, and you could even do like paddleboard yoga, which I have seen people do. Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's paddleboard yoga? Do you actually do the yoga poses while you're paddleboarding? Yes, yes. I mean, I just try to stay on the board. do. What's paddleboard yoga? Do you actually do the yoga poses while you're paddleboarding? Yes. I just try to stay on the board.

I'd be holding on for dear life, much less trying to do a yoga pose or a downward facing dog or whatever. Surf yoga. Really think about this Irv Brandt and Dr. Angie Arnold Matthew Mangino, Joe Scott, jump in.

This is not high tea at Highgrove. We're not at Buckingham Palace with the Queen. So jump in. Irv Brandt. Really? That would be like me trying to go hide out and prosecuting felonies in Costa Rica. That's not hiding out. She's doing surfing yoga.

She's trying to advance her trade. She's going to start teaching yoga again. It's like taking out a billboard on 3rd Avenue going, hey, here I am. Come and get me. I'm sure the marshal service when they sent the lead down to the Costa Rican police, the first thing they asked was

check every yoga studio in the country. You're right. It wasn't very smart. She probably had her yoga mat with her when she was arrested. She did. Did you see her in the airport? She had her yoga mat on her back, carrying her yoga mat.

It's like wearing a neon sign saying, here I am. I'm a killer. I mean, what is wrong with her, Dr. Angela Arnold, besides she's a cold-blooded killer? But she goes to all these efforts, which, Alexis, I want you to jump into in a second. Dyeing her hair. She had the Band-Aid on her nose from nose surgery, I think, to make herself look more like her sister in that fake passport. But she went to all these efforts to go under an assumed name and change her looks. But she was still teaching yoga, still doing yoga classes.

So, Nancy, first of all, we call that a very incongruent behavior. Okay. The one versus the other. Okay. Right there. That didn't make sense. We call that incongruent. Oh, okay.

Wait. Now that I analyze what you're saying, incongruent means it doesn't fit together. It doesn't mesh. So going through all that effort to change her appearance and then teaching or taking yoga classes to give her away doesn't fit together. Okay, now I had to think that three or four minutes. So incongruent. And the next thing you were going to say is? People don't change their habits nancy so she did she did she performed

certain things to get herself out of the country and to hide and then it appears she sort of forgot about that and went right back into her habits of normal life assuming that people weren't going to weren't going to pick up on the fact that she's this big yoga person. So she only changed her appearance and things like that to get out of the country. Then once she was out of the country, she redid her habits. And that was her downfall. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You know, Matthew Mangino with me, a former prosecutor. Former prosecutor, and let me tell you something, when you prosecute case after case after case after case for years, you get the knack of figuring out the criminal mind.

Mangino, this woman, she may be glamorous, she may be beautiful, but she is just as evil and just as cunning as every other premeditated killer. I am not swayed by what was once her beautiful appearance, although she's tried to hide it. But one thing you can count on, a criminal cannot change their basic behavior. Right. And I think that her conduct with regard to teaching yoga and stuff is indicative that this wasn't well planned out. Certainly, it's premeditated. She went there with a weapon. But she went there in response to her boyfriend having gone swimming with Anna Wilson or at the dinner. Matthew, Matthew, please, you know, having gone swimming. That may have been all they did that day, but I guarantee you that's not all that the BF boyfriend had on his mind. Okay, because he went so far as to hide her name under a fake name in

his cell phone lie to the yoga instructor Caitlin Armstrong about where he was going he kept the lie up all day long even though Armstrong was following him around town watching him she knew what he was doing and getting his let me just say stupid text hey I'm delivering flowers I'm this and that. Oh, it's just so cliche. It's like, bad connection. Can't hear you. He's like, oh, my battery. Jackie, didn't he say his battery went dead on his cell phone?

I mean, really? Seriously? That's why they have phone chargers for your car. It's just a liar. But she's watching him as he's telling all these lies in his text. That is premeditation. She stalked these two all day long. I guarantee you, he had more on his mind than going for a dip in his swimsuit with Mo.

Okay? That was enough that night to set her off, to there with a gun to shoot her. And now she has to make plans how she's going to conceal what she did or change her. It's like a bad classic film noir. She gets a passport. She gets plastic surgery. She moves out of the country. I mean, this is classic indication of flight and consciousness of guilt. Yeah, Nancy, kind of dovetailing with Matt here, I've got to tell you, one of the things that was very interesting about the scene and what we've heard coming out is that they apparently recovered a suppressed weapon uh which means you know common parlance people use you know they'll say silencer there is no such thing as a silencer

it's a it's a suppressor and it's one thing to go out and buy a handgun but she apparently in her possession had a handgun that had a threaded external barrel which means that you would take the suppressor and place it on the end you have to screw it on wait a minute yeah warp speed you ever watch star trek because you're talking like going on right now you've got to break it down what do you mean a threaded what slow down man you got a threaded external barrel which means that there's threads on the outside of the barrel at the tip of it and the suppressor which you have to go through all kinds of paperwork to purchase one of these things has to be screwed on or locked in place on the end of this muzzle.

And so what that tells me, if you're looking at this from an investigative standpoint, that not only was she prepared, but she had prepared for some time, or they had prepared because these weapons were in the possession of their home. You know, they were found. There was evidence of the weapons in the home that she felt the need that she needed a suppressed weapon why why do you need a suppressed weapon exactly why i mean i'm calling it a silencer because that's the common vernacular to describe it when you say it's not a silencer you're right it still makes a sound but nothing compared to what it would make if you did not have, as you say, a suppressor on it. I'm just curious, did they find the suppressor still attached to the gun, or did they find

the gun with the threading on it, minus the suppressor? That's a great question, because they haven't really released a lot. You know, there was like a little... Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jackie's shaking her head what uh they have not released any information on that they did find the gun alone at the home yeah so no suppressor no silencer that we know of yet so why are you are you saying that to your knowledge the gun was tricked out to facilitate a silencer yeah yeah that that's precisely what i'm saying and they

had alluded to this in one of their previous reports how do you know that joe scott how do i know what that the gun was tricked out for a silencer hello how do you know that they stated in earlier reports that a suppressed weapon was at her disposal you're right they sure did joe scott you're right you just don't go out and buy a so-called, you know, if you want to call it a silencer and screw it onto a weapon. That's not how this works. You have to have a weapon that will actually marry up with a suppressor. I don't want to go too deep into it, but it's like when people trick out a car. You can trick out a gun. You can saw off the barrel. I mean, you can make a sawed-off shotgun. You can just all kind of things you

can do to a gun. But very simply put, Joe Scott Morgan, how would you trick a gun to facilitate a silencer? Just so that folks understand, you don't need to do this at home, even though there are people that have that expertise that are out there. You can purchase these directly. You can purchase the external threaded weapon from a gun store. They're out there. You can just walk down the aisle and see them. And in a separate case, they will have these suppressors that are there. And so you purchase that separately.

And from the Fed's perspective, that has got, there's a separate route you have to go when you're purchasing one of these suppressors. It's like a huge paper trail that will lead back to whoever purchased this thing and that she had access to it. At least that's what the media has been saying uh it's kind of interesting to me you know why would would this yoga instructor need a suppressed guys you're hearing joe scott morgan professor forensics jacksonville state university and author of blood beneath my feet on amazon uh guys take a listen now to our friends at Fox 7. How did they track her down? Listen. The murder happened May 11th. Fast forward to this week. Authorities are now confident that Armstrong is in Costa Rica and had used someone else's passport to get there. And because of that

immigration violation, Costa Rican law enforcement got on board, helping with surveillance, tracking the former yoga teacher from the plane to a bus to the town of Santa Teresa on the country's northern peninsula. We knew she was going to be associated with some at that yoga studio, they did find a handwritten login that was the same alias that she was going by when she traveled to Costa Rica. So once they developed that pattern, it really opened up things and really quickly closed in. Tracking her to a local hostel. She cut her hair. She dyed her hair. She claimed she had some type of injury from a surfboard where she was finally taken into custody on Wednesday. Claiming she had an injury from a surfboard. Alexis Tereschak described the band-aid that Caitlin Armstrong had over her nose. It was a like a bandage that would go across your nose as if you had a broken nose, right?

So it would kind of hold your nose together on your face. And she also had two black eyes. They said they were bruising under the eyes. Exactly. And isn't that normal, Dr. Angela? The band-aid, to my understanding, is up along the bridge of the nose, shortly beneath the eyebrow level, not toward the tip of your nose. And then you get bruising under the eyes because blood from the surgery on the nose disseminates.

It pulls in your sinuses. Yes, exactly. Could you explain that briefly? Joe Scott, I'm using the word briefly with Dr. Angela. See if she can do it. Go ahead. somewhere and the the outward expression of that blood is the bruising under the eyelids under excuse me under the eyes but the blood has pooled in her nasal sinuses and as that and and the blood will go away the bruising will go away but that's how it happened guys take a listen to our friends at fox 7 this is shannon ryan armstrong passport. Now, the real identity of the person who had that passport, we're told, was somebody who closely physically resembled her.

She continued using that alias while in Costa Rica, taking a bus, going to yoga studios. This enabled authorities to establish a paper trail and eventually close in on her. After hiding out for more than a month, law enforcement found fugitive caitlyn armstrong in a hostel on costa rica's santa teresa beach trying to build a new life she was getting really ready to establish that next part of her career armstrong a yoga instructor wanted for murdering her romantic rival professional cyclist anna mariah wilson in a fit of jealous rage, went to yoga studios on the island,

signing in by hand at at least one studio, using the same alias she used to travel to the country. This, U.S. Marshals say, was key. Once they developed that pattern, it really opened up things. So, to Irv Brandt, a former U.S. Marshal Service in the International Investigations Branch, I'm hung up on the theory of extradition here, when you bring somebody from wherever they are back to where they're going to be tried, in this case in Texas, because Costa Rica abolished the death penalty. And very often we see countries that don't have a death penalty refuse to extradite somebody back to the U.S. unless we waive the death penalty. That's correct, Nancy.

The extradition treaty, the U.S. government would have to give assurances that they wouldn't seek the death penalty in a formal extradition. But she wasn't extradited back to the United States. She was deported back to the United States. She was deported back to the United States. And a deportation is an action by the Costa Rican government, not the U.S. government. The U.S. Marshal Service sent people down there to escort her back. They flew her straight into Houston. And since she was deported, that's why she had to be booked into the Harris County Jail, because you have to be taken into custody at the first U.S. port. They couldn't take her all the way back to the charging jurisdiction like they would in the case of a formal extradition. So with a deportation, you're not necessarily taken to where you're going to be tried?

Correct. I mean, she could have went into Dallas. She could have went into Houston. She could have went into Miami. Wherever she landed in the United States at the first port of entry, she would have had to have been arrested on that charge because she wasn't being formally extradited. The Marshal Service didn't have a surrender order on her to bring her back into the country. The State Department would have issued what they call a travel document that was only good for one day, and it was just good enough to get her to the first port of entry. Well, I'm curious, why don't we always use that technique when we're trying to extradite someone back? Because it's an, like I said, it's an action by the government of costa rica not the not an action by the united states costa rica could have decided that the united states had the formerly

extraditer we have no say in that but since she illegally entered the country with somebody else's passport and or was she using a fake passport or was she using another person's passport, a real person that existed? I don't have the details. They said fraudulent and when they used the term fraudulent, that most likely means it was a valid passport. It just wasn't a passport that belonged to her. Gotcha. Guys, take a listen now to our cut 71. Our friends at KXAN, Maggie Glenn. Photos just into our newsroom show her Harris County booking photos on the right there on your screen. As we reported at the time of her arrest, she was described as having shoulder length hair that had been dyed dark brown with bruising on her nose from what she says is a reported surfboarding accident.

Which, as you can see, is much different from her appearance just weeks ago. You can see that picture on the left. These new photos come after she arrived in Houston last night. Photos here show at least five guards escorting her through the airport from Costa Rica. She'll appear before a judge in Houston before she's transferred to Travis County, where she faces a three and a half million dollar bond. Wow. So Travis County is where she'll ultimately end up. And also take a listen to our cut 63, our friends at Inside Edition. This witness showed us a passport in Caitlin Armstrong's name

that he says was left behind in a locker after her arrest. There was also this, a second passport bearing the name of her lookalike sister, Christine. And get this, a receipt for $6,350 for cosmetic surgery she apparently got in Costa Rica under another name. It's just a bandage on the nose and like blood for the, she had blood in her nostrils. Well, that's kind of a giveaway Alexis Tereshchuk. Who's gonna forget a woman learning

surf yoga to further her trade with a big bloody bandage on her nose and blood in her nostrils. I wouldn't forget that. No, I mean it's a pretty clear sign that it looks like she had plastic surgery and not an accident fromrils. I wouldn't forget that. No, I mean, it's a pretty clear sign that it looks like she had plastic surgery and not an accident from surfing.

It's especially there's a receipt. And then, you know, with this man who is speaking said, they also found two passports in her locker. They found her own passport and they found the passport of her sister. Now, while the authorities haven't said who the passport belonged to, the person running the hostel has said that in her locker was her sister's passport.

So that may be. And her sister, the image that they showed of her sister's passport, her sister has brown hair. And the new mug shots of Caitlin show that her nose, before it was sort of a pointier upturned nose, and now it's a much slimmer nose with a rounded tip. And the receipt for $6,350 for plastic surgery. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace you know this took a lot of cunning matthew mangino she's using sister christine if you are to believe the the employee at the hostel her sister Christine's passport. She also has her own passport with her and she gets plastic surgery under yet another name.

She's trying her best to cover her tracks. I think she did a pretty good job. Well, you know, we know that before she took off for Costa Rica that she visited her sister at a campsite in upstate New York. And, you know, frankly, if her sister gave her her passport to use, you know, she could be subject to federal prosecution under Title 18. A person is specifically prohibited from letting another person use their passport. So she could be in some legal jeopardy right now as well.

And of course, you know, this is a classic case of trying to hide your identity. Obviously, she didn't do a great job at it because of her activities that she continued. But, you know, she was doing her best to try to flee from authorities and change her identity man she really did and that's not all take a listen our cut 65 our friends at kprc2 investigators say the day after armstrong was questioned in the murder case she sold her car that was may 13th and received a twelve thousand dollar check the. The next day, May 14th, she left the Austin airport. On May 17th, Austin police issued a homicide arrest warrants for Armstrong. May 18th, investigators spoke with sources who said Armstrong was taken to a New Jersey international airport. On May 25th,

officials obtained an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution arrest warrants on Armstrong. The U.S. Marshal said Raisin Armstrong's investigation to quote major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43 day run. That was a key role in her capture, but she really, despite all of her planning and all of her scheming and all of her manipulating, she actually left a trail a mile wide. Take a listen to our cut 64, our friend Lisa Guerrero. U.S. Marshals say Armstrong was trying to build a new life in the remote beach town. It looks that, you know, she retreated back to her, you know, her hobby, her career, being in the yoga practice. We believe

that she was trying to learn some type of new yoga, possibly to instruct. Up these stairs here is the yoga deck where they do yoga here. What kinds of things did she do to her appearance? She cropped her hair about shoulder length and she dyed it dark brown. Back to the yoga. You know, sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog a new trick. And here she went right back to her usual practices. What else do we know? Take a listen now to our Cut 62 Inside Edition. it's the end of the line for caitlin armstrong even from behind the fugitive yoga instructor looks despondent after her apprehension in costa rica this is the laid-back spot where armstrong was staying when she was busted

don john's surf and yoga lodge it's in the town of Santa Teresa, population just 3,000. Giselle Bunchen and Tom Brady are often spotted nearby. Inside Edition was shown the room Armstrong lived in. She was at that bed there. It's on the bottom, the red one at the corner. Authorities tell me Armstrong was financing her new life in Costa Rica with $12,200 she got from selling her Jeep before she fled the U.S. They say she was staying in the inexpensive hostel type accommodation to make her money go further. She was just asking about how to get around cheaper and then the police came. A remote surf town, population 3,000, Santa Teresa in Costa Rica. Now, who would have thought she'd be going there on the run? But, I mean, could it be any more obvious?

Don John Surf and Yoga Lodge? What about it, Mangino? Yeah, well, you know, she thought she had a great plan, but she couldn't get away from the only thing she really knew how to do, and that was yoga. And she decided to flee, to change her identity, to change her looks, but she couldn't change her habits, and she couldn't change what she knew, and that was what gave her away.

You know, to you, Alexis Tereszczuk, joining us from CrimeOnline.com and joining us out of L.A., Alexis, if you're really into yoga, it becomes not just an exercise, it's a way of life. It really is, and she could not change that. Well, and she also really, I don't know if she speaks spanish or not but there's really not there they're not a lot of jobs that you could probably get as a foreigner coming into a new country i mean she probably if she doesn't speak spanish she couldn't wait tables she you know really limits what she could do but for yoga you you can really explain it and and

people can watch you and you maybe can learn, you know, you can use the traditional, you know, words for yoga. And that it, so her employment opportunities were very limited. I don't know if she sold her Jeep for $12,000, but she spent over $6,000 on plastic surgery. Half her money is already gone. And then how did she pay for these flights? She has, she probably picked the only job that she could have done to also fly under the radar. That's not going to be working for a big corporation that's paying her money and taking taxes out and submitting it to the government. Well, also, it's $12,000 that we knew of. We don't know how much else she took with her. One thing I don't want to lose sight of, Irv Brandt, which is so easy to do

in a case where you're on a manhunt, is lose sight of Mariah Wilson. This case is really about her. Nancy, that's correct. I mean, you get caught up in all the other things, but you've got to remember, first and foremost, who you're working for. And you're working for the victims and the victim's family. And that's always got to stay in the front of your mind. I just keep having Mariah Moe Wilson's image in front of me, and the one that really sticks with me is of her kind of looking up at the camera. She's got mud on her face because she's been mud and gravel biking. She's got this big smile. She's loving life. All that ended. All that ended

on an evil impulse by Caitlin Armstrong, who tracked Mariah down like a dog and shot her dead multiple times. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crime Story signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.