‘Killer’ yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong searched for ‘can PINEAPPLE burn your fingerprints’ and plastic surgery after ‘murder of friend’s ex-cyclist’, court hears

Yoga teacher Kaitlin Armstrong searched for ‘can pineapple burn your fingerprints’ and explored plastic surgery after allegedly killing her boyfriend’s ex, a court has heard.

Detective Richard Spitler testified during Armstrong’s murder trial that she investigated whether the fruit could be used to remove your fingerprint after the death of love rival Moriah “Mo” Wilson in May 2022.

The Austin police detective also said Armstrong had investigated plastic surgery, but did not elaborate further on her searches.

Armstrong is accused of shooting Wilson three times after discovering she was in constant contact with her boyfriend Colin Strickland.

Armstrong denies the allegations but has yet to provide an alibi. Her Jeep was filmed by neighborhood ring cameras arriving and leaving the scene at the time of the murder.

Spitler also told the lawsuit that they found the note on Armstrong’s cell phone with Wilson’s home address.

He said he found this particularly interesting because it doesn’t appear in official property documents.

Detective Spitler said he went to the Travis County Central Appraisal District to search the address, but no records were visible.

It wasn’t until it was Googled that they found it, as the property was actually a garage converted into an apartment – where Wilson was murdered.

Spitler also said he believes the gunman may have been injured by the gun’s recoil and injured his hand.

The detective also told the court that Armstrong sold her black Jeep Grand Cherokee less than 48 hours after Wilson was killed.

Police said they used GPS tracking to track Armstrong’s black Jeep and where it may have gone after the shooting.

The detective said the Jeep went to a dumpster behind an apartment building about a mile from Strickland and Armstrong’s home.

He said at the trial: “I don’t have a witness who actually says that Mrs. Armstrong was driving that vehicle because the only witness who knows that is deceased.”

Less than 48 hours after the killing, Kaitlin Armstrong sold her black Jeep Grand Cherokee at Carmax in Austin, police testified.

She created a brand new email account and received an offer of $12,200 for the vehicle from Carmax

Three days after the murder, Armstrong took an Uber to the Austin airport, where she caught a Southwest Airlines from Austin to New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Under her Google search history, police also said they found Armstrong had searched for a news story about Wilson’s murder.

The local news article was titled “Moriah Wilson murder: Colin Strickland in hiding until suspect Kaitlin Armstrong was found.”

While being cross-examined by the defense, Detective Spitler was questioned about whether he was qualified to investigate the murder, with this case being his first.

Spitler fired back, saying he had received necessary additional training in homicide investigations.

He also told the defense in the case that all the evidence he had collected pointed to Armstrong committing the murder.

According to the detective, he never had enough evidence to issue arrest warrants against an ex-boyfriend of Wilson’s and a male friend.

He told Armstrong’s lawyer, “What point would there actually be in charging someone who didn’t commit the crime?”

Spitler added that he didn’t want Wilson’s loved ones to suffer, or for the department to suffer if he wrongly accused anyone of the murder.

The defense also revealed that Wilson was tested for sexual assault, a so-called safe kit, at the time of her autopsy.

Despite this, the safe kit was not submitted as Spitler said there was no evidence she had been sexually assaulted.

Austin police also never applied for a search warrant for Colin Strickland’s laptop, with Spitler saying they didn’t have enough probable cause to apply for the laptop.

He added, “I can’t necessarily just come up with something to get into his (Strickland’s) laptop.”

The defense then attempted a mistrial after the district attorney failed to turn over a report of vandalism at Strickland’s home the night of the murder.

Attorneys for Armstrong said the vandalism was “central” to the case, but Spitler said the vandalism had nothing to do with the murder.

The court had previously heard Strickland testify that some stones had been toppled and flowers had been trodden on them. The judge ultimately denied the request for a mistrial, with the state preparing the report for the court.

Spitler subsequently testified that he only applied for an arrest warrant after officers received confirmation that the ballistics of the murder weapon matched the gun Armstrong had in his possession.

Last week, Strickland told the court he was afraid of entering into a long-term relationship with Armstrong.

Armstrong, he said, routinely blocked other women’s phone numbers in his phone behind his back. Wilson was one of them, he said.

On the day of the murder, while swimming with Wilson, Strickland told Armstrong that he had gone to drop off flowers at a friend’s house.

On May 13, two days after the murder, Strickland texted Armstrong’s iCloud email asking if she had a phone.

Last week, jurors were shown Ring surveillance camera footage from a neighbor in which Wilson could be heard screaming. Three gunshots were heard.

Prosecutors say Armstrong, using a gun Strickland bought for her, shot Wilson twice in the head and once in the heart.

She is then believed to have fled the apartment on Wilson’s bicycle, which was dumped in the bushes behind her apartment.

Armstrong fled Texas after an initial police interrogation. She then flew to Costa Rica, where she said she only taught yoga.

She was eventually arrested in July and returned to Austin. A few weeks before her trial began, she tried to flee again during a visit to a doctor’s office.