Teal Akerson: who is she? Kaitlin Armstrong pretended to be “Ari” to date him
Before leaving the United States on May 14, Kaitlin Armstrong used the $12,200 from the sale of her SUV to fund her new life in Costa Rica.
In order to win over a man she met at a tattoo parlor in Costa Rica, Kaitlin Armstrong, 34, pretended to be a woman named Ari while she was running away from police there after she was arrested over the death of her love rival was sought. After they met in Costa Rica in June, Armstrong revealed to Teal Akerson, the man she was secretly dating, that she had gone through a “traumatizing breakup.” According to Akerson, she shared with him that she wasn’t “healed” from a recent relationship and was “not ready” to get close to him.
Additionally, Akerson revealed that the two had walked out on multiple occasions before Armstrong was arrested on June 29. After Armstrong was arrested and discovered she had allegedly undergone plastic surgery to change her appearance, he was shocked to see old photos of her, according to the DailyMail. Armstrong’s $6,350 plastic surgery receipt was found by Zachary Paulsen, a witness to the arrest, but under a different name. Akerson explained that he now understands why Armstrong “insisted” on spending time in isolation environments. ”
On June 29, Armstrong was arrested at Don Jon’s Surf and Yoga Lodge in the sleepy Costa Rican town of Santa Teresa. On July 2, he was released and sent back to the United States. Last month, on May 11, Armstrong was charged in Austin, Texas with the first-degree murder of professional cyclist Moriah Wilson, in jealous rage over an alleged affair between Wilson and Armstrong’s cycling lover Colin Strickland.
Though aware of the situation, Akerson told the Austin American Statesman that because of the woman’s changed appearance, he “didn’t put any of it together.” Before they used marijuana and spent time together and spoke to each other for up to three days before her arrest, he first spoke to her outside of a tattoo parlor and saved her as “Ari Tattoo.” Ari was a strange person, Akerson observed. She was sitting on a bench in front of the tattoo parlor while her buddies got ink and I met her while having a beer in the lounge.”
I started talking to her more and more as I could tell she was excited to get to know me and we ended up exchanging phone numbers,” he said. We’ve been on a lot of dates, but she told me she just went through a really traumatic breakup and wasn’t ready to start dating just yet, so we were just friends,” Akerson continued.
He continued: “We visited a variety of places as we wanted to go somewhere new, although most of the time she preferred quiet places. You wouldn’t believe it if I said I didn’t put any of this together. I could understand why she didn’t want to be seen after everything that had happened, and I had found out what she was actually doing on the run.” “Why she wanted to travel to remote places and it all made more sense somehow” , said the spokesman.
He added that he did not recognize the pictures police released and that Armstrong had a bandage on his nose which she claimed was the result of a surfing accident. Akerson admitted that it wasn’t until he saw Armstrong’s post-op pictures that he realized who “Ari” really was. Armstrong was deported to Houston after she admitted using the alias “Ari” after her arrest. She was taken to the Travis County jail on July 5 and remains there while her $3.5 million bail is processed. Other Costa Ricans claimed Armstrong “appeared normal” and spent most of her time teaching yoga and working part-time at the hostel where she stayed.
Armstrong reportedly used the $12,200 she received from the sale of her SUV before leaving the United States on May 14 to fund her new life in Costa Rica. According to Inside Edition, she lived in an expensive, hostel-style environment. At a news conference, US Deputy Marshal Brandon Filla said Armstrong was trying to open a yoga business in Costa Rica and authorities were able to find her by attending yoga classes under a false name.
Wilson had sustained numerous gunshot wounds. Investigators concluded that she had been shot multiple times with 9mm rounds, the same caliber that Strickland allegedly bought for herself and Armstrong. Armstrong was charged with first-degree murder on May 19, according to an affidavit.