Detectives confronted her with the fact that her Jeep had been seen near the residence. Armstrong did not provide an explanation that resolved their suspicions, but police did not yet have a murder warrant that allowed them to keep her there.
The original video narration characterizes this as a simple police error that allowed a killer to walk out and suggests detectives unlawfully continued questioning after Armstrong mentioned an attorney. The later appellate record presents the legal issue more carefully.
The Texas Third Court of Appeals acknowledged that Armstrong was initially in custody while officers believed the theft warrant was valid. But it also noted that before questioning about Wilson’s death, Detective Conner told Armstrong she was free to leave and that further conversation was voluntary.
Armstrong later challenged the admission of statements from that encounter. On January 23, 2026, the appellate court rejected her claims and affirmed the conviction, concluding that any alleged error associated with the statements did not warrant reversal in light of the much stronger evidence admitted at trial.
THE GUN
Strickland told investigators that in December 2021 he had purchased two pistols, one for himself and one intended for Armstrong. Armstrong had expressed concern about situations such as road rage and riding alone in remote areas.
One of those firearms was a SIG Sauer P365 9mm pistol associated with Armstrong. Police recovered firearms from the home as the homicide investigation intensified.
The P365 was test-fired and compared with cartridge cases recovered from the Maple Avenue scene. The resulting firearms evidence became a major part of the prosecution’s case.
At trial, the state presented expert testimony linking the fired cartridge cases from the crime scene to the SIG Sauer associated with Armstrong. The early arrest affidavit had described a significant ballistic correlation; by trial, the firearms evidence was presented as a positive match.
The weapon therefore transformed the case. Investigators no longer had only a black Jeep, relationship tension and suspicious timing; they had a firearm from Armstrong’s home scientifically linked to the fired cases left beside Wilson.
THE BICYCLE DNA
Wilson’s bicycle also became part of the forensic case. Investigators processed the bike after finding it discarded near Cash’s apartment.
A forensic analyst testified that DNA recovered from the bicycle contained a mixture from which Armstrong could not be excluded as a contributor. That evidence was important, but its interpretation later became a major issue in Armstrong’s motion for a new trial and appeal.
The state presented expert testimony that direct transfer from Armstrong to the bicycle was more likely than complex indirect-transfer scenarios proposed by the defense. The expert nevertheless acknowledged that DNA analysis cannot by itself tell investigators exactly how or when a person’s DNA was deposited.
After conviction, Armstrong argued that the DNA-related testimony was flawed and that new information undermined the expert’s qualifications and conclusions. The Third Court of Appeals rejected the argument as a basis for overturning the judgment.
For a careful account of the case, the DNA therefore should not be described as if it independently proved Armstrong touched the bicycle during the murder. It was one part of a larger circumstantial and forensic picture that the jury evaluated alongside the vehicle data, ballistics, digital evidence, witness testimony and Armstrong’s later flight.
THE CASE TIGHTENS
By May 17, investigators had accumulated enough evidence to obtain a murder warrant. But by then Armstrong was already preparing to disappear.
The timeline of her flight became another major piece of the prosecution’s case. On May 18, she boarded United Airlines Flight 1222 at Newark International Airport using a passport that belonged to her sister.
The flight took her to San Jose, Costa Rica. From there she made her way to the Pacific coast and attempted to build a new life far from Austin.
U.S. Marshals later determined she was using the identity “Allison Paige.” The appellate court also noted evidence that she underwent cosmetic surgery while abroad, changing aspects of her appearance.
For 43 days, law enforcement agencies worked across borders to locate her. The U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service coordinated with Costa Rican authorities.
On June 29, 2022, Armstrong was located at a hostel in Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas. Costa Rican authorities arrested her, and she was returned to the United States to face the murder case.
The significance of the flight would later be argued fiercely at trial. The defense could point out that leaving the country does not logically prove a person committed a specific crime, while prosecutors argued that the false passport, alias and efforts to alter her appearance demonstrated consciousness of guilt.
ANOTHER ESCAPE ATTEMPT
Armstrong remained in custody while the case moved slowly toward trial. Then, only weeks before jury selection, she again tried to get away.
On October 11, 2023, while being transported for a medical appointment, Armstrong escaped from officers and ran through an Austin neighborhood. According to the appellate record, Officer Rosalba Johnson chased her for about half a mile before Armstrong was caught.
The attempt did not change the homicide evidence itself, but prosecutors were allowed to use flight and escape as part of the overall picture. The appellate court later noted that evidence of two separate efforts to evade law enforcement was stronger than the disputed statements Armstrong had made during the May 2022 interview.
THE TRIAL
Jury selection began on October 30, 2023, in Travis County. Testimony began November 1.
The prosecution built a largely circumstantial case reinforced by forensic evidence. There was no eyewitness who testified to seeing Armstrong pull the trigger, but the state argued that the pieces converged on one person.
Jurors heard the relationship history between Armstrong, Strickland and Wilson. They heard about Armstrong’s jealousy and the statements witnesses said she had previously made about Wilson.