AJ Armstrong Murder Case: According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr. will face a third trial for the alleged 2016 murder of his parents while they slept in their townhouse in the Houston region.
When two different jury pools couldn’t agree on whether Armstrong Jr., now 23 years old, killed his parents on July 29, 2016, Judge Kelli Johnson declared mistrials earlier this autumn and in 2019. Antonio Armstrong Jr. could receive a life sentence if found guilty in Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Srdeaths. .’s
A spokesman for Harris County DA Kim Ogg, Dane Schiller, stated in a statement on Tuesday that “two people were killed in the night, each shot in the head as they slept in their bed; we will continue our quest for justice, and we look forward to presenting all the evidence before jurors.”
In late October, a second mistrial was proclaimed. According to Harris County court records, Armstrong Jr. is still accessible on bond, and the next court date for the matter is January 4, 2023.
Rick DeToto, Armstrong Jr.’s defense counsel, blasted the prosecution for pressing for a conviction after two hung juries. According to court documents, the initial jury in 2019 heard more than 38 hours of testimony and discussed for more than 19 hours before coming to a unanimous decision after hearing more than 33 hours of testimony and close to 18 hours of discussion.
“It has been six years, two trials, hundreds of investigative hours, countless witnesses, no evidence, and, more importantly, 12 jurors who believed A.J. was not guilty,” said DeSoto, referring to his client by his nickname. “The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has lost evidence, and the Houston Police Department has refused to fully and fairly investigate this case.
The district attorney has sent her best prosecutors with their best arguments, and they both failed to convince a jury. All of A.J.’s family supports him and believes in his innocence, yet the state continues persecuting A.J…..”
According to a probable cause affidavit submitted in court, Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Sr., the latter of whom was an All-American football player at Texas A&M University before having a brief career in the NFL, were both shot in the head on July 29, 2016, using a.22-caliber pistol owned by Armstrong Sr. On the morning they were shot, Armstrong Jr., their son, made a 911 call. According to court documents, he claimed to have heard gunshots coming from his parent’s bedroom on the second level of their Bellaire-area home while hiding in a closet in his third-floor bedroom.
According to court filings, the murder weapon was left on a kitchen table on the first floor and was accompanied by a handwritten note that said, “I HAVE BEEN WATCHING FOR A LONG TIME.” Responding authorities found no indications of forced entry or other open access or exit points at the property. GET ME.” According to court papers, neither DNA nor fingerprints were on the gun.
According to the probable cause document, investigators also discovered a gunshot hole on the second-floor ceiling that matched a hole in Armstrong Jr.’s bedroom floor hidden by a heap of socks. According to court documents, Armstrong Jr.’s closet also contained a pillow and blanket with.22-caliber bullet holes. Prosecutors claimed that these discoveries proved that Armstrong Jr. had practiced shooting his father’s firearm.
Defense attorneys in court suggested that Armstrong Jr.’s estranged older brother might have committed the murders, among other things, to raise a reasonable doubt.
“While we are disappointed in the decision (to try the case again), we look forward to presenting the evidence to a third jury, proving that A.J. is innocent of this crime,” DeSoto said. “We will not stop fighting for A.J.” Keep yourself updated with all the latest news from our website Newswatchlist.com and get all the recent updates.
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