♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, deadly love triangle? the woman accused of shooting a suspected romantic rival, a promising young cyclist. >> a bright flame lost senselessly. >> 43 days on the run in paradise. >> when i first heard the story of kaitlin armstrong, the first thing that came to mind was "catch me if you can." >> caught but looking different. >> she dyed her hair brown, had a up and downage on her nose, she claimed from a surfboard incident. brunch with babs. >> did your mom ever tell you, if not, i'm here to tell you -- >> the grandma turned tiktok star who's become a mom to millions online. >> babs costello has millions of

followers. >> it's like your family. you don't want to let your kids down. >> now a star in her own right, popping up on talk shows. building a brand. a surprise second act. >> my daughter has said this, which touches my heart. she saw in me something maybe i didn't see in myself. and beyonce's milestone. ♪ the superstar running the music world. what exclusive club did she just join?

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♪ good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm gio benitez. a story with twists and turns that has captivated many for weeks. a promising pro psych lest gunned down. the woman accused of her murder on the run, using i'll yanses, changing her appearance. tonight we're learning new details about the the international manhunt to nab her. here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: from a surfside paradise to a jail cell. >> did you kill miss wilson? >> reporter: the woman accused of murdering the suspected romantic rival now finally in custody. kaitlin armstrong had been on the run, eluding authorities for more than six weeks. >> kaitlin armstrong, who is a fugitive from justice, fled not only austin, but the united states, and changed her physical

appearance. >> reporter: u.s. marshals issuing an arrest warrant for the murder of professional cyclist mariah wilson, alleging armstrong killed her after flying into a jealous rage. >> when i first heard the story of date lidge armstrong, the first thing that came to mind is "catch me if you can." >> reporter: how authorities say the yoga instructor managed to vanish, where she went to hide, how authorities tracked her down, why she looks so different new. nearly two months, the people who knew and loved mariah wilson have been stuck in limbo. >> when i found out she died, i didn't believe it. >> reporter: christopher had known her through his work as a professional sports photographer. >> i knew her as mo. everybody called her mflo. mo was really a rising star. she left a mark in her all too brief career. everybody was excited to see mo at the races. >> reporter: he called the 25-year-old quiet, at least until you got to know her. >> a bright flame was lost

senselessly because of this violent. >> reporter: court documents allege armstrong targeted wilson because she thought the pro cyclist was involved with her boyfriend. colin strickland. both wilson and stricklandcycli. they posted photos of themselves on instagram. >> i focus on a very large dinner -- >> reporter: that's him in a promotional video. >> i eat at leat every half hour if not every 20 minutes. wilson was considered one of the best in her sport. >> the winner of round one -- >> reporter: wilson's calm, confident nature on display. >> did you do a little bit of a preride earlier? >> reporter: she talked about her race strategy in this interview. >> i come from a mountain biking background. so i feel confident i'll be able to handle the big gravel sections on that bike. >> reporter: on the day she died, strickland was one of the last people to see wilson alive. he says his friendship with her was strictly platonic.

he said they'd had a brief romantic relationship last year while he and armstrong were broken up. he says that after he and armstrong reconciled, he and wilson remained friends. after her death, wilson's family issuing a statement saying, at the time of her death, those closest to her clearly understood, directly from mariah, that she was not in a romantic relationship with anyone. in may, wilson traveled from san francisco to austin to compete in an upcoming bike race, and there she met up with strickland. >> a lot of this case is not necessarily about the murder but the cover-up and the evidence found afterwards. >> reporter: may 11th, mariah wilson was discovered shot to death at a friend's home in austin, texas. the next day, may 12th, officers brought in armstrong for questioning. they confronted her with surveillance video of her vehicle, a jeep grand cherokee, outside the apartment where wilson was murdered. according to police when she was

told things did not look tootoo good, she nodded up and down as if in agreement. that's when investigators said armstrong asked to end the interview and they weren't allowed to detain her because of a telepchnicality. that's the camera that captured the jeep driving up this alley. we talked to neighbors who were shocked by the crime and that no one seemed to have heard the gunshots. >> i've been here about -- a couple years, almost two years. and maybe i've seen two police cars patrol here. >> it's that quiet, there's not much crime? >> right. >> reporter: a day later, may 13th, kaitlin armstrong sold her jeep to a dealership for over $12,000, then may 14th, hopped on a series of flights. captured on camera at the austin airport before flying to houston, then new york's laguardia airport. a may 17th, a warrant was issued in texas for armstrong's arrest.

but authorities were not even aware she had left the state. next day, may 18th, armstrong went to newark liberty airport in new jersey, then she seemingly vanished. >> we love you, katie, we are going to figure this out. >> reporter: in late may, armstrong's father speaking exclusively with abc news saying he couldn't believe his daughter was capable of murder. >> i know how she thinks, i know what she believes. and i know that she just would not do something like this. >> reporter: armstrong has not commented publicly since his daughter's arrest. in early june, the u.s. marshals upgraded the murder to a major case. towards the end of the month, a tip came in leading them to costa rica. now investigators revealing how armstrong got there undetected by using a real passport to board an international flight. it just wasn't her passport. >> the question becomes, how did she get that passport? she stole the passport from someone in the person she stole from is not going to be on the

hook for any criminal charges. but if a person gave her that passport that person could definitely face criminal charges. >> reporter: the passport seen in these photos obtained by abc news both found her locker at the hostel she was staying in. that hostel, located in the trendy beach town of santa teresa, advertises itself as a tropical paradise. white, sandy beaches. yoga classes. alonso is with the immigration police in costa rica. he says armstrong may have tried to disappear among the many tourists in costa rica. authorities say armstrong did manage to evade the marshals nor

a bit longer. >> it was discovered armstrong used different names, aliases. under the alias of beth martin, liz, and ari martin -- >> reporter: she changed her appearance, cutting her hair, coloring it brown. also found in her possession, a receipt for plastic surgery under an alias. >> i will say she had a bandage on her nose with discoloration under her eyes. her statement was it came from a surfboard incident. i think we'll leave it at that. >> reporter: june 29th, law enforcement finally catching up with her, costa rican police detaining armstrong. they drove her six hours back to san jose where authorities say she finally confessed to who she really was. prosecutors have many theories as to why someone is guilty. one of their favorite ones is consciousness of guilt. the actions that a defendant does after they've allegedly committed a crime. for kaitlin armstrong, that would go to fleeing texas, fleeing new york, and the biggest one that the jury's probably going to be seeing if this does go to trial, is her

face. her very face is going to be considered consciousness of guilt. >> a major break in a case making national headlines, a fugitive accused of murder in texas arrested in costa rica. >> we believe after this month and a half investigation, she really got comfortable. she felt she had gotten away. but i really was with the long arm of the law. >> reporter: colin strickland, armstrong's former boyfriend, releasing a statement saying, 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. >> you killed ms. wilson? >> reporter: last weekend, armstrong was deported back to the u.s. footage showing her at the houston airport. she now faces charges of first-degree murder and unlawful flight. but wilson's family has largely stayed quiet. the long-awaited arrest has meant a small amount of relief for her friend, christopher kaiser. >> i have photos of her all

around me. my most beautiful work. she's so beautiful on the bike. she exudes so much life on the bike. it's hard not to be in love with her. >> our thanks to matt. up next here, the new tiktok sensation with millions of followers. we're in the kitchen for brunch with babs. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred.

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her name is babs costello. to her fans she's the star of "brunch with babs." the 73-year-old is living a surprise second act with nearly 2 million followers on tiktok who just can't get enough of her.

abc's ashan singh found out why. >> where are we right now? >> oh, right now we actually are in my daughter's kitchen which is where we shoot. >> where the magic happens? >> this is where the magic happens at this counter. did your mom ever tell you -- did your many ever tell you -- >> reporter: babs costello serving up culinary content. >> lasagna soup. >> reporter: dishing out sage advice. >> when you appreciate someone, you need to tell them. "i appreciate you." >> reporter: at 73 years young, she's turned her treasured recipes into a booming brand. >> mm! >> reporter: "brunch with babs." >> tastes just like it. >> reporter: this grandma's social media pages are filled with tips and tricks. how to clean your of a convenient rakes. >> place your grates in the tub. they look brand-new. >> reporter: the perfect sheet pan dinner. >> add it to your weekly rerotation. >> reporter: she's got a lot of followers. 1.9 million on tiktok alone. when you say to yourself, babs

costello as millions of followers, what's that mean to you? >> it means that i have to -- >> you've got a million kids. >> not disappoint them, yeah. like your family, you don't want to let your kids down. >> reporter: babs is part of a growing trend of began-fluencors online. from nonas posting their sunday sunday, to grannies who can lift their own body weight. >> i think sometimes we have a tendency to put older people on a shelf. and i think older people have so much to offer. just their wisdom. >> people call you a began-fluencor. how do you react to that title? >> i'm a grandmother, right? you're older, right? i'm a grand influencer because i'm an older person who happens to be on the social media. and i hope i'm influencing people in a very good, positive way. >> reporter: babs has been a nurturer her whole life. she ran a preschool for decades. >> these are a lot of the

grandkids -- >> reporter: mom of four, grandma of eight. >> here are my parents. >> reporter: up until recently, she's been happily retired. spending her days alongside her husband of more than 50 years. becoming a social media star was something babs never expected. but that all changed at the start of the pandemic when she started helping her daughter, liz, care for her kids. >> a few years ago, i was not on my social media whatsoever. so one afternoon when the boys were napping, she said, "mom, i think you should try tiktok." >> at first, "absolutely not." i'm like," just film one, i'm not going to post it." >> elizabeth is a strong personality. all my kids, i have a strong personality -- >> i couldn't tell. >> okay. so i'm like, okay. all right, fine. i only agreed to one, tell you the truth. >> just grab this out of the fridge, let it marinade an hour or longer. >> people had time. they were at home. they could maybe venture into cooking they'd never tried before. not only that, people were separated from families.

here's this comforting, older lady who is being normal. you know? it's like, hey, life is going to be okay. >> bon appetit. i'm here with my daughter, elizabeth -- >> reporter: babs' daughter, also a content creator, saw her mom's potential and knew they had to keep posting. >> you're like your mom's full-time manager? >> yeah, everyone says i'm like that. because the mom-ager, i'm the daughter-ager. >> the roles have reversed? >> we've always spent time together. she's always going to be my mom and that is definitely not lost during shoot days. but i definitely give herneeded >> now, two years later, they've filmed hundreds of videos. how do you come up with the content? >> yeah have a recipe box of 50 years. a lot of those recipes are in that old box. this is before computers when we typed out our recipes. i'm a senior, so, you know, i have years of experience as well.

this came to me from a friend that i taught middle school with. i think i come to the table with tradition, family, history. we look at things, i think, through the eyes of an older person. >> babs what are we making today? >> reporter: back in the kitchen -- >> you're going to have to chop this pepper. get the seeds out. just clean out. >> reporter: it's my turn to brunch with babs. >> i gave you the better knife. >> reporter: today how to make curried rice, a cool dish that either be a side or a snack. do you have other tricks for cleaning out a pepper? >> you're doing great. anybody that does anything for me in the kitchen is fabulous. we're going to cut these into small pieces. this is going to give the salad a little crunch, a lot of color. add the raisins to that solid as well. pour that right over. let this sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. now the taste test, the best part of all. cheers. >> cheers. this is amazing.

this is really delicious. >> reporter: like any true influencer, babs' brand has expanded. >> to die for -- >> reporter: she has a newly released cookbook. >> hi, it's babs! >> reporter: it's popping up on talk shows. >> i would come over for brunch, lunch, or dinner any time. >> reporter: landed a partnership with talbot's. >> talbot's is now on tiktok. >> do you get recognized? >> i do. i've gotten recognized in so many different venues, i can't tell you. the streets of new york with my daughter, somebody comes around the corner with a stroller, "babs, is that you?" >> reporter: it's that connection with her fans that keeps her going. >> i've had so many followers say, "babs, will you adopt me?" i say, "do you do dishes?" >> reporter: tonight, babs is getting the chance to meet some of her followers face-to-face at a book signing in brooklyn. >> this is fabulous, this is huge. should we go in?

>> thank you so much. >> celebrate with babs. >> i found babs on instagram about six months ago. and i've just fallen in love with her. >> it feels like you're right in her kitchen, about to sit down at her table. it makes you feel like you're really welcome no matter where you are. >> if she can do it at 73, watch out, world, here i come. >> on social media, you get messages from people without faces. so to really meet the real people out there kind of blows me away. >> nice to meet you too! >> babs, from life-long educator to began-fluencer, are you in your second act? >> a surprise second act. like an encore, right? yes. my daughter has said this, which touches my heart. she saw in my something that maybe i didn't see in myself. so she encouraged me to take a

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>> with that song, beyonce is breaking records, not souls, becoming the first woman to have at least 20 top 10 records as a solo artist and 10 with a group. ♪ i'm a survivor ♪ ♪ i'm gonna work harder ♪ >> from hits like "survivor" to single ladies," the singer joining michael jackson and paul mccartney as the only entertainers to reach that milestone. what a feat. congratulations to queen bey. and that is "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. thanks so much for staying up with us. have a great weekend. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? have a great weekend. good night, america. no problem. the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing,

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