Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr., a Houston resident, has finally been convicted of the murder of his parents after seven years and two mistrials. The Harris County jury delivered a guilty verdict after 11 days of witness testimony and arguments from both the defense team and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. This high-profile case has been ongoing for years, with previous juries failing to reach a consensus on a verdict in 2019 and 2022.
At the time of the murders, Armstrong Jr. was 16 years old. The victims were his parents, Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Sr., who were shot to death in their Bellaire-area townhome on July 29, 2016. Armstrong Jr. used his father’s .22-caliber pistol to shoot them in the head. As a result of his conviction, he faces a life sentence and will be eligible for parole after 40 years.
The third capital murder trial in this case experienced a delay of nearly two months due to the discovery of previously undisclosed DNA evidence. An expert witness for the prosecution uncovered specks of blood matching Armstrong Sr.’s DNA under the adhesive name tag on Armstrong Jr.’s clothing. This evidence played a crucial role in discrediting the defense team’s theory that Armstrong Jr.’s older half-brother, who lived nearby at the time and had mental health issues, was the perpetrator.
Armstrong Jr.’s defense attorneys argued that the police did not thoroughly investigate his older brother, Josh, who suffered from paranoia and schizophrenia. They claimed that Josh’s condition could have driven him to commit the murders due to his delusional state. However, the prosecutors refuted this claim, stating that Josh’s condition developed after the death of his parents. Additionally, the prosecutors emphasized the significance of the alarm system in the Armstrong family’s home. The system’s motion sensors recorded timestamps of movements throughout the house, leading the prosecutors to conclude that the killer came from within the house, with the murder weapon being placed on the kitchen table 30 minutes before Armstrong Jr. called the police.
The first floor motion sensor in the house did not detect any movement from the killer, leading the prosecutors to argue that the killer must have come from the second or third floor. They also questioned Armstrong Jr.’s actions during the 31-minute interval between the murders and his call to 911. Armstrong Jr., who claimed to have been hiding in a closet in his third-floor bedroom, stated that he heard gunshots from his parents’ bedroom on the second floor. The responding officers found no signs of forced entry or any open entry or exit points in the house, suggesting that the murderer was already inside. Notably, Armstrong Jr.’s younger sister was also present in the home at the time.
The murder weapon, a .22-caliber pistol, was discovered on the kitchen table on the first floor, accompanied by a handwritten note that read, “I HAVE BEEN WATCHING FOR A LONG TIME. GET ME.” However, no fingerprints or DNA were found on the gun. Investigators additionally found a bullet hole on the ceiling of the second floor, corresponding to a hole on the floor of Armstrong Jr.’s bedroom, which was concealed by a pile of socks. A pillow and comforter riddled with .22-caliber bullet holes were discovered in Armstrong Jr.’s closet, indicating his prior practice with his father’s gun.
The third trial jury heard testimonies from 31 witnesses over the course of 40 hours before reaching a verdict on the second day of deliberation. The previous juries in 2019 and 2022 deliberated for 18 and 19 hours, respectively, but were unable to come to a consensus.
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