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Families forced out of homes due to city’s property tax demand seek justice

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(DETROIT) — Sonja Bonnett and her family built their lives in a home a few blocks south of Eight Mile in northeastern Detroit. The family spent years dreaming of owning the property, but then a letter arrived that quickly tore that life apart.

“One day, I get a letter in the mail that says there’s a $5,000 tax debt,” said Bonnett.

In 2011, Bonnett and her family entered a contract to become full owners and made monthly payments that they thought were covering property tax. The Bonnett family soon discovered multiple years of unpaid property taxes.

Bonnett and her husband could not afford to pay those back taxes and, in 2017, the couple, along with their seven children, were forced out of their home.

“The trauma of losing the house, and the way I lost it, killed a lot of how I felt about the neighborhood and the house,” said Bonnett. “But I still care about the people.”

City records showed that the unpaid taxes owed on Bonnett’s home from 2012 and 2013 added up to less than $5,000. A 2020 investigation by the Detroit News estimated Detroit residents, like the Bonnetts, were overtaxed by $600 million from 2010 to 2016.

Based on estimates by the Detroit News investigation, Bonnett’s former home was overtaxed by more than $1,500 in 2012 and 2013.

For years the city of Detroit greatly over-assessed the value of Bonnett’s home and many others like it. From 2011 to 2015, one in four Detroit homes went into foreclosure because of failure to pay property tax, according to a 2018 study.

Alvin Horhn is the deputy CFO and assessor for the city of Detroit. According to city records, the assessed value of the Bonnetts’ home in 2011 was $22,838, but when the property was reassessed in 2017 – it fell to $10,4000 – less than half of what it was valued before.

“There is no question the city lost control of its assessment roll,” said Horhn.

At the time, Horhn said that the city didn’t have the resources for a citywide reappraisal. In 2013, the city filed for bankruptcy and reportedly $18 billion in debt.

“There’s 400,000 properties in the city of Detroit, over 200,000 houses. I would never tell anyone that every single one of them is valued correctly, but that’s why we have a review,” said Horhn.

According to Michigan’s state constitution, property cannot be assessed at more than 50% of its marketable value.

Bernadette Atuahene is a property law scholar who works with the Coalition for Property Tax Justice and is fighting to end over-assessments in Detroit and to get compensation for affected residents. She said her research found that 53% to 84% of Detroit homes were assessed in violation of that rule from 2009 to 2015.

“We find that the burden of these illegally inflated property taxes is being borne on the most vulnerable homeowners, the ones in the lowest valued homes,” said Atuahene.

While Detroit acknowledges the over-assessment problems in past years, the city told ABC News that the problem is no longer happening.

“There are no systemic over-assessments in this city. If I were to tell you that 95% of the assessment roll is correct, that’s still 5% [or] 20,000 houses that could possibly be overvalued,” said Horhn.

But Atuahene and other housing advocates would argue otherwise. A 2020 study from the University of Chicago found that while fewer Detroit homes were being assessed in violation of the constitution, the city’s lower-valued homes were still being over-assessed.

The problem is not unique to Detroit. A 2021 study found that property rates are 10%-13% higher for Black and Hispanic residents nationwide. In recent years, investigative reports have uncovered disproportionate assessments in Cook County, Illinois, and Philadelphia.

“Detroit is just ground zero for a national problem. We see these inflated property taxes. It’s a national racial justice issue that our country has yet to come to tackle with,” Atuahene said.

In 2020, Detroit proposed a plan offering benefits for homeowners affected between 2010 and 2013, including discounts for properties owned by the Detroit Land Bank, authority and priority access to affordable housing and city jobs. The plan was voted down by Detroit’s city council, with critics saying it didn’t go far enough.

“The city does not have the money to hand people cash. It’s against state law and the city is not going to do anything that could bring the FRC back in control of their finances,” said Horhn.

Residents like the Bonnetts said if the city can admit it was wrong, they have the obligation to make it right.

“I want the world to take a look at what’s going on here… When you talk to Detroiters who went through this, we want our money back,” she said. “Why am I just accepting whatever they can give me?”

Sustainable funding still needed for new 988 Lifeline number, advocates say

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline prepares for the launch of its new three-digit number, 988, on July 16, experts said Thursday they’re excited about the opportunity to reimagine crisis care in the U.S., but building out the system will take time.

“We know that the 16th is the start of a transition, and not an end,” Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon said during a press call hosted by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Delphin-Rittmon is the assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse at SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, we know, to strengthen and transform the crisis-care continuum,” she said.

The Lifeline has been in operation using a 10-digit number since 2005 and has been underfunded and understaffed since its inception, advocates say. Ahead of the launch of the new number, which experts anticipate will create a dramatic increase in call volume, workforce capacity issues continue to be a concern.

As of December 2021, the Lifeline was only able to answer about 85% of calls coming through nationwide, according to an appropriations report from SAMHSA.

Answer rates vary from state to state, but those calls are answered at the local level when possible. When a local call center isn’t able to answer a call, it gets forwarded to one of the national backup call centers.

The Biden administration has allocated $272 million in federal grant money for states, territories and the national backup centers to help fund the implementation of the new number. An additional $150 million was recently added to that effort as a part of the gun violence legislative package passed by Congress in late June.

That federal funding, hailed by advocates as an unprecedented investment, has already made a difference, Delphin-Rittmon said Thursday.

She explained that the Lifeline’s ability to respond has increased amid the wave of federal funding.

In May, Delphin-Rittmon said, the Lifeline was able to answer 27,000 more calls, 27,000 more chats and 3,000 more texts, compared to February.

Despite the increases in capacity, experts say more state-level investment is needed to ensure this system holds up long-term.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra echoed this sentiment last Friday while speaking with reporters, saying the new number, “will work, if the states are committed to it.”

“It is up to states to step up to the plate and create the funding [to increase capacity],” said Angela Kimball, senior vice president for advocacy and policy for the mental health policy coalition, Inseparable.

Four states have passed cell phone fees to help fund the call centers and crisis response at the state level, and some others have allocated funds from their yearly budget. But, Kimball said, “a lot of states have allocated insufficient resources to actually build a system that has the capacity to respond like people need.”

“That’s going to take people stepping up and demanding that elected officials invest,” she added. “It’s not going to happen for free.”

In addition to the federal funding, SAMHSA has developed a jobs portal for call center jobs across the country to try to help address the workforce issues in the states.

“Crisis care is a priority as it hasn’t been in the past,” said Colleen Carr, director of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

“988 is really a transformational moment in our nation’s response to mental health and suicide prevention,” Carr continued. “And to achieve its full promise, it’s going to require long-term commitment and resources to ensure that anyone in crisis has access to quality and compassionate crisis care, when and where they need it.”

The long-term goals for crisis care response, advocates say, includes not just call centers but mobile crisis response teams and crisis stabilization units for people experiencing issues that cannot be deescalated over the phone. Experts say this continuum, as it’s called, will take even longer to develop than a consistent call response.

These sorts of resources, when available, can provide a professional, compassionate response, Kimball said.

Her own son has struggled with his mental health, she explained, and once needed the help of a mobile crisis team, which was able to deescalate the situation and get him the help he needed.

“This, honestly, is the kind of respectful, humane recovery-oriented response that everyone in crisis needs and deserves,” she said.

988 is the first step in making that continuum a reality, she added, saying, “No one’s worst day should ruin their chance to live their best life.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What happens next after Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns amid scandal?

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — After more than 50 resignations from government ministers and aides, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday.

For a moment on Tuesday evening, it seemed as though the prime minister, who had vowed to carry on despite the collapse of his authority and allies deserting him on all sides, would remain in office, sparking a potential constitutional crisis. But outside Downing Street on Thursday, Johnson caved into the pressure.

Soon enough, from within their ranks, the Conservative Party, who still hold a sizeable majority in the U.K. Parliament, will elect a replacement, and that person will become the fourth prime minister in the six years since the Brexit referendum of 2016.

What happens next?

While he did not specifically use the word “resign,” Johnson said, “The process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.”

In the election process, Conservative MPs nominate their preferred candidate. There is then a run-off with the two most popular candidates, and then Conservative Party members (of the card-carrying, fee-paying kind), vote on who they want to be the next leader.

As the Conservatives have a majority in Parliament (thanks to Johnson’s big election win in 2019) — the winner of their leadership will become the next prime minister.

Reported polls in the U.K. have suggested Ben Wallace, the U.K.’s current secretary of state for defense who has been widely praised for his handling of support for Ukraine, as an early favorite in the race.

But the process is by no means instant. To put the transition into perspective, when Theresa May announced her resignation on the steps of Downing Street on May 24, 2019, Johnson, her successor, did not take office until July 24 — a gap of two months.

Johnson as caretaker?

Boris Johnson has already appointed new ministers to fill some of the gaps left by the dozens of resignations from his government, in a sign that he will attempt to hold true on his promise to stay in charge until a new leader is elected.

However, his resignation speech has not gone down well with embittered members of his party. He has already been accused of arrogance and blaming others for his own faults, instead of facing up to any of the mistakes that led to his departure.

And such is the nature of Johnson’s acrimonious departure, and his defiance in the face of so many calls to resign, that some lawmakers — both Conservative and in the opposition Labour Party — want him gone now.

The Conservative Party may feel that they need a clean slate, and, even on his way out, Johnson may hurt their chances of re-establishing trust with the country. There are indications already that the prime minister sees himself staying in office until the fall. A former Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, has already expressed that Johnson should be removed as soon as possible.

The opposition Labour Party have said they will call for a vote in Parliament to eject him from if Johnson’s removal does not happen.

In that event, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, would take over as prime minister interim until they appoint a new leader.

A divided legacy

Johnson will always be known at home and on the international stage as one of the main architects of Brexit. He was the face of the campaign to leave the EU in 2016, and as prime minister, secured Britain’s exit from the bloc by winning a huge majority in 2019.

His election victories and unconventional style resonated with the public on the campaign trail, exemplified by the two terms he served as Mayor of London before his time in parliament, surprising in a Labour city.

But controversy has always followed him. “Partygate” proved a further stain on his reputation, presiding, to many, over a culture of drinking and lawbreaking while the country was locked down and families were separated from their loved ones, even after he spent time in the ICU with COVID himself. When he was fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending one of those gatherings he became the only sitting British PM in history to have been censured for breaking the law while in office.

Johnson also denied that he had knowledge of a lawmaker’s alleged past misconduct, which he had been told about in 2019, and then promoted him anyway, only for that colleague to repeat his offence.

Johnson’s authority was wounded by “Partygate,” but the latest scandal proved to be the straw the broke the camel’s back.

US Marshals director says protecting Supreme Court justices ‘a top priority’

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis said protecting Supreme Court justices from threats has been a key part of his agency’s mission even before the leaked draft of the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in May, noting there were more than 4,500 threats to federal judges last year, including against those on the nation’s high court.

“It is something that is a top priority of the agency,” Davis told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an interview set to air on ABC News Live “Prime” on Thursday.

“To allow judges to be intimidated, to allow judges to be threatened with violence, to influence those kind of decisions is a threat to our very democracy,” he said. “So we have to make sure that the third branch of government can operate without the threat of violence and can do without fear.”

When a California man allegedly traveled to the Washington, D.C., area with the intent to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh, it “sent a chill” through him, Davis said, adding he was proud of the deputy U.S. Marshals who first spotted the man and dissuaded the man from carrying out his alleged attack attempt.

“And it would be horrific to think that we could have had a Supreme Court justice assassinated in his home,” he said.

That man has pleaded not guilty.

Amid demonstrations outside of Supreme Court justices’ homes before and after the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Republican governors and members of Congress have urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce a 1950s law prohibiting anyone “with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice,” near a judge’s residence.

Davis said enforcing the law prohibiting picketing outside federal judge’s homes is not a “priority” but rather the safety and security of the justices is the Marshals Service’s mission.

“If so, directed, as you know, we would enforce the laws if directed to do so,” he said. “As far as the enforcement of that, that’s not our priority. That’s not our role right now, because we’re focusing on the residents and the justices at home and in travel.”

Last weekend, Supreme Court marshal Gail Curley wrote to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Montgomery County, Maryland, executive Mark Erlich, Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin and Fairfax County, Virginia, Board chairman Jeff McKay asking them to enforce state and local laws that prohibit picketing outside justices’ homes.

“I am writing to request that the Virginia State Police, in conjunction with local authorities as appropriate, enforce state law that prohibits picketing outside of the homes of Supreme Court Justices who live in Virginia,” the letter to Youngkin said.

In her letter to Hogan, Curley cited threatening language and over 100 protesters who gathered outside the home of a Supreme Court justice in Maryland.

Highland Park mayor recalls being Cub Scout leader to alleged July 4 gunman

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Before Nancy Rotering was mayor of Highland Park, she served her suburban community in another way: as a Cub Scout leader. One of the members of her troop was Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, the alleged gunman accused of opening fire on a Fourth of July parade, killing seven residents and injuring at least 30 others.

“I hadn’t seen him in probably 15 years. But, you know, at the time I knew him he was a little boy,” the mayor said Thursday in an interview with ABC News Live. “I’m not sure what has happened in his life that brought him to this point.”

The mayor noted that despite Highland Park’s relatively strict gun laws, the suspect was able to travel outside his hometown to legally purchase firearms.

“He didn’t buy this gun in Highland Park,” she said. “We need better laws throughout, not just the state of Illinois, but throughout our nation.”

Rotering said she attended her first vigil on Wednesday evening, hours after Crimo appeared in court for the first time. Authorities say he confessed to the massacre and that he had contemplated another attack the same day in Madison, Wisconsin.

Authorities said he “had not done enough planning,” and decided not to go through with the Wisconsin attack.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, and Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said more charges are expected.

The mayor said that while she believes the suspect deserves a life behind bars, she’s “not sure there will ever be justice in this case.”

As the funerals will soon begin for the victims, and as many remain in the hospital being treated for serious gunshot wounds, she described her suburban neighborhood outside of Chicago as completely shattered.

Rotering said this massacre has severely affected the mental health of the entire city, especially those who witnessed the attack and are mourning loved ones.

“It’s any time I’m walking down the street, we are hugging, we’re crying. People are gathering around what is still an active investigation, saying it’s brought such an unbelievably deep wound into the heart of our community,” she said. “No city should have to go through this.”

The mayor, who led the parade, said the holiday will now always be remembered as a day of tragedy. She said that until there is change on a national level many more celebrations will be turned into violence.

“We are a small ship in an ocean of a lot of guns,” she said. “This country needs to have a true reckoning of: Is this how we really want to remember our Independence Day? As a day of massacre and gun violence? Because this will be brought up every Fourth of July from now on.”

About 300,000 kids under 5 have gotten at least 1 dose of COVID vaccine so far

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — By the end of Thursday, roughly 300,000 children under the age of 5 years old will have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a senior Biden administration official told ABC News.

The 300,000 shots in arms so far for kids under 5 is about 1.5% of the roughly 19.5 million U.S. children 4 years old and younger.

It’s a modest start to vaccinating this youngest yet age group — a drip-drip the White House says they are not surprised by.

“That number in and of itself is very much in line with our expectation, and we’re eager to continue working closely with partners to build on this start,” the senior administration official said.

This latest data also comes on the heels of a holiday weekend, with lots of families traveling and not thinking about a trip to the pediatrician while on vacation. Moreover, data takes time to flow in, and there could be an increase in the weeks ahead, especially ahead of the school year.

“Even before these vaccines officially became available, this was going to be a different rollout, it was going to take more time,” the senior administration official said, citing that parents in this younger age range “overwhelmingly prefer to get their kids vaccinated at a place that they know, with health care providers they know, in familiar settings,” and many may opt to get their kids the shots during a regular or annual wellness visit.

The White House is counting on those moments and opportunities for parents to speak with their child’s doctor and get answers to whatever outstanding questions they may have.

Even before COVID vaccines were authorized for children under 5, polling presaged the apprehension we’re seeing play out in the gradual immunization rate now.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from early May — before the vaccines were authorized, recommended and available — found that less than a fifth of parents with children under the age 5 — 18% — reported they were eager to get their child vaccinated right away.

More than a third of parents — 38% — said they planned to wait to see how the vaccine works for others, while 27% of parents reported that they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated, and 11% said that they will only do so if they are required. More than half of parents said that they feel they do not have enough information about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy for children under age 5.

With vaccination rates in kids under five starting out slow, the White House expects moments of acceleration spurred on by the academic calendar — or potential variant surges — including around back-to-school time and holidays.

This week, new infections among children are back on the rise for the first time in nearly two months — and surges can be “part of the conversation starter for a lot of parents about these vaccines,” the administration official said.

The senior administration noted there will always be holdouts no one can force to take the shot. However, the official said, “we have a really robust kind of engagement strategy” to “work through people’s concerns.”

“I think that it’s absolutely expected that once the school year starts, there will be unvaccinated children and vaccinated children,” the official said. “And I think that that’s going to be part of the dynamic that we’re working through.”

Even if young kids get their first shot this week, some may not be fully immunized by the academic year’s start, when vaccinated and unvaccinated children may commingle in the classroom.

The administration official noted that while increasing cases may be a “motivator,” it will vary by demographic.

The White House will continue to lean on “trusted messengers” within specific communities they see as having a great impact, like family doctors and pediatricians.

The White House is working with the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, to get the word out — including a PSA from Elmo — and have launched a partnership with the National Diaper Bank Network to distribute educational materials.

The question of vaccine mandates for school for this young age group will remain up to states.

ABC News’ Eric Strauss, Arielle Mitropoulos and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

NYPD says murders and shootings are down, despite recent high-profile incidents

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tim Drivas Photography/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The New York City Police Department said Thursday that murders and shootings are down in the city, despite three people being killed within an hour the night before.

In June, murders were down 12% compared to the same period last year and shootings decreased by 13% last month compared to June 2021, the department said.

“This is real, tangible progress against violence in this city,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a press conference.

Three homicides rocked the city in three different boroughs on Wednesday.

A 37-year-old man was killed by a suspect who rode up to his Jeep Grand Cherokee on a bicycle and opened fire in Brooklyn, authorities said. A 31-year-old female driver, believed to be a relative, attempted to drive away but blacked out and crashed the vehicle. She was not struck by the gunfire, according to police.

A 32-year-old man was also fatally shot in the backseat of his car outside his home in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, police say. A 28-year-old man later walked into Jamaica Medical Center, saying he was also shot. He is in stable condition, authorities say.

In the Bronx, a 30-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the Baychester section of the borough, according to police. He jumped into a livery vehicle and attempted to drive away but crashed into a pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.

The motive for the stabbing is unclear, according to police.

No arrests have been made in any of the killings, police say.

The NYPD said that overall crime in New York City increased over 31% last month compared to June 2021. Rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto were all up year-over-year.

From Monday night into Tuesday morning, 21 people were injured in shootings across the city, authorities reported.

Sewell admitted that the increase in crime and the recent spate of shootings may lead people to believe that New York City is very dangerous but said the “perception among criminals is that there are no consequences for their actions.”

In March, the department recruited specially trained police officers and deployed them in neighborhoods across the city as part of its new Neighborhood Safety Teams. According to the NYPD, NST has removed 150 illegal guns from neighborhoods around the city.

Police called to suspect’s home ‘a number’ of times before July 4 shooting

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Police have been called to the home of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter “a number of times” since 2002, Lake County Police Deputy Chief Chris Covelli tells ABC News.

Lake County police were called for various reasons, mostly domestic-related. Very few incidents involved the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, according to Covelli.

Documents released by the city Thursday show that in one instance, police conducted a well-being check on April 29, 2019, a week after Crimo “attempted to commit suicide by machette [sic].”

Crimo “has a history of attempts,” the police report stated while noting that the then-18-year-old did not make any threats against himself or others on the day of the visit.

Police returned to the home several months later, on Sept. 5, 2019, for another well-being check after Crimo “had made a threat in the household … that he was going to kill everyone,” according to the police report.

Officers seized a 24-inch “Samurai-type blade,” a 12-inch dagger and 16 hand knives belonging to Crimo’s father, according to the report.

Other records show that police responded to the home following reports of domestic disturbances, including verbal alteractions, on multiple occasions between 2009 and 2014.

Crimo is accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others. The suspect plotted another attack in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities said Wednesday, but did not follow through.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the wake of Monday morning’s mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. More charges are expected, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

According to prosecutors, Crimo confessed to the shooting.

State police said Wednesday there will be an investigation into the culpability of Crimo’s father, who signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership in 2019, in the massacre.

His father, Bobby Crimo Jr., told ABC News he is not culpable in the July 4 attack.

ABC News’ Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Michigan governor calls on Biden admin to ensure Americans can cross US-Canada border with abortion pills

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LANSING, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday called on the Biden administration to “pull out all the stops” to ensure Americans are legally allowed to cross the U.S.-Canada border with abortion pills.

Whitmer has been fighting a 1931 anti-abortion law in Michigan that was dormant under Roe v. Wade. But with Roe now overturned by the Supreme Court, the Democratic government said she wanted to see Biden’s cabinet to jump into the fight to protect access to abortion.

In a letter to the departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, Whitmer said the administration must make clear that Americans won’t be punished for seeking reproductive care in Canada or for bringing back medication abortion.

Medication abortion, which typically involves two pills and is available globally, is approved by U.S. regulators but only under a prescription from a certified clinician and obtained by certain manufacturers. States whose legislators oppose abortion have limited or banned access to the drugs entirely.

“In this perilous, precarious moment for women’s fundamental rights, we need to be creative and take bold action. We must lead,” Whitmer wrote in a statement.

In April, Whitmer sued over the 1931 Michigan law, which would ban abortion in the state. A similar lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan led to an injunction against the law, which the Republican Legislature is now fighting, according to the Detroit Free Press. Whitmer last week asked the state Supreme Court to immediately consider her lawsuit.

Meanwhile in Michigan, voters have circulated a petition to get a measure on the ballot in November to vote on protecting abortion rights in the state’s constitution.

In late June, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to abortion nationally. Now, the right to abortion is decided on a state-by-state level, and those in support of the right are scrambling to ramp up protections.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials have indicated Americans can access abortion care in Canada.

ABC News’ Alexandra Svokos contributed to this report.

US Marshals detail hunt for murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong in Costa Rica

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(AUSTIN, Texas) — Kaitlin Armstrong, a suspect in the murder of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson, changed her appearance and used several aliases after fleeing to Costa Rica, federal authorities said Thursday.

Armstrong, 34, was arrested on June 29 at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas after a 43-day search, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. She has since been deported and returned to the U.S., where she was booked on Tuesday in Travis County Jail by the Austin Police Department.

Armstrong was charged with felony first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Wilson, 25, in Austin on May 11. Wilson was romantically linked to Armstrong’s boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland, and was found shot hours after meeting up with him, police said.

Days after being questioned by police about the incident, Armstrong, a yoga instructor and realtor, fled Austin, authorities said.

During a press briefing Thursday, authorities detailed the hunt for the fugitive, which had been upgraded to “major case status” by the U.S. Marshals.

Investigators learned through a confidential source that the suspect was provided transportation to Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18, a day after Austin police officers issued a homicide warrant for her arrest, the U.S. Marshals said. She boarded a flight that day to San Jose, Costa Rica, using a fraudulent passport, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla.

Armstrong “presented a passport that did not belong to her but belonged to someone that was closely associated with her,” Filla told reporters during a briefing Thursday.

Upon arriving in Costa Rica, Armstrong used several different aliases, including the name Beth Martin, at various lodgings and yoga studios, according to Filla.

“She was really trying to build something where she could instruct yoga there in Costa Rica,” Filla said.

Investigators went door-to-door, tracking Armstrong “from yoga establishment to other yoga estalishments” and spoke to lodgings that she had “left behind” as they closed in on her, Filla said.

Authorities eventually detained Armstrong at the Don Jon’s hostel on Santa Teresa Beach on an immigration violation for the fraudulent use of a passport, and she was transported back to San Jose, Filla said. During the six-hour drive she “eventually confessed to her true identity,” Filla said.

Armstrong had altered her physical appearance — dying her long, light brown hair a darker shade of brown and cropping it to shoulder length — and had a bandage on her nose, according to Filla.

When asked if they believe that Armstrong may have obtained plastic surgery, Filla said they have been unable to confirm that at this time.

“I will say, she had a bandage on her nose with a little bit of discoloration under her eyes,” he said. “Her statement was that it came from a surfboard incident, and I think we’ll just leave it at that.”

Filla said authorities are investigating the use of the fraudulent passport and won’t be commenting further at this time on any assistance they believe she had.

Authorities were offering a combined $21,000 for any tips leading to Armstrong’s arrest and received over 80 tips nationwide, Filla said.

Armstrong is currently being held at Travis County Jail on a $3.5 million bond. A hearing in a Travis County criminal court has been scheduled for July 20, court records show.

Armstrong’s attorney, Rick Cofer, said in a statement Saturday that “neither Kaitlin nor her attorneys will be making any statements to the media at this time.”

Following Thursday’s briefing, Strickland said he was “grateful that investigators, including the U.S. Marshals, have pursued all leads and opened the path to justice for Moriah Wilson and her family.”

“I will continue to provide my full cooperation for the sake of the Wilson family as they, along with so many others who have been affected, endure the burden of this senseless tragedy,” he said in a statement.

ABC News’ Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.

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