Podbit · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Three weeks before her murder trial, Armstrong escaped a corrections escort by fashioning a homemade handcuff key from a thin piece of metal she'd stashed in her cell. She peeled off her jail uniform mid-sprint, climbed a tree, then a six-foot fence — and was caught at the top after a 10-minute chase.
Where this was said
At 1:06:00 · chapter starts 1:04:20
Deputy Marshals Amir Perez and Damian Fernandez landed in Costa Rica with photos of Armstrong and a theory: she would gravitate toward yoga communities. They hit every yoga studio in Santa Teresa, found her name in a sign-in book under one of her aliases, placed a female operative in multiple classes to scan the room, and built relationships with locals who sent photos from bars and restaurants. But Armstrong kept moving. Then the team tried something creative: they posted a fake yoga instructor job ad on a Santa Teresa Facebook community group and waited [1] — Host "After weeks of failed searches, US Marshals posted a bogus yoga instructor job ad on a Santa Teresa community Facebook group. Armstrong too…" 1:02:55 . Nearly a week passed. Then Ari Martin replied. She suggested meeting at Don John's Lodge — the very hostel where she'd been staying. Perez went in alone, made small talk in Spanish, and leaned close to verify: her nose was bandaged and her lips were swollen, but her eyes hadn't changed. He walked back to the car and told Fernandez: 'That's her.'
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