Armstrong, along with American Jack Hensley and British citizen Kenneth John Bigley, were kidnapped from their residence Thursday.

CNN: Video shows American hostage beheaded

An official at the U.S. embassy in Yangon said a U.S. consul was allowed to attend, presumably to observe proceedings involving the American citizen, John Yettaw, but the official said no further information was available.

WSJ: Suu Kyi Trial Begins, Inciting Opposition

When John Ashcroft announced the arrest of an American citizen in Chicago three years ago, the attorney general said Jose Padilla had been plotting to detonate a dirty bomb in the United States.

NPR: U.S. Indicts Padilla After Three Years in Custody

Authorities say they believe the letter was written by either John Allen Williams, 41 -- also known as John Allen Muhammad -- or John Lee Malvo, 17, a Jamaican citizen, each charged October 25 with six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County, Maryland.

CNN: Letter found at shooting scene

Michele Norris talks with John Boyle, a senior writer at The Asheville Citizen-Times.

NPR: Five Weeks Out: Here Come the Negative Ads