The son of former NFL star Antonio Armstrong was found guilty of murdering his parents when he was 16 years old.
Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr. was sentenced by a Texas grand jury to life in prison without parole for capital murder.
A.J. was originally charged with the crime in 2016.
According to prosecutors. A.J. fatally shot his parents, Antonio and Dawn Armstrong, while they were in their house in Bellaire. When first responders arrived at the home, they found the couple shot while sleeping in their bed. They pronounced Dawn dead at the scene, and Antonio was rushed to the hospital where he later died due to the gunshot wound he sustained to the head.
During the investigation, officials suspected A.J. immediately. Prosecutors asserted that Antonio and Dawn had scolded him recently for having poor grades, acting dishonestly and lacking discipline. After searching the home, they located a .22-caliber pistol and a note on the kitchen counter.
A.J. attempted to shift the blame onto a burglary he made up, telling officers that a masked intruder shot his parents. Officials found no evidence that there was a forced entry into the home.
Before the conviction, there were two mistrials due to the jury not being able to agree and in a deadlock in 2022 and 2019.
In his 2019 trial, prosecutors focused on the 911 call made by A.J. where he stated, “It’s all my fault.” In the same trial, it was argued that A.J. put a pillow over his parents’ faces before he shot them, which he denied. They also believed that he fired a practice shot before the shooting into his bedroom floor, tried to light the house on fire and googled how to make a vehicle explode when it is turned on.
The third trial focused on the alarm system in their home. The representatives of the home security service used in the house testified the exact times that each of the motion sensors went off and how this was linked to both murders. At 1:09 a.m., one of the sensors near the parents’ room went off. A second rang at 1:25 a.m. next to where the murder weapon was located by authorities. At 1:56 a.m., the alarm was disarmed after A.J. called 911.
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In addition to the alarm system, this trial focused on blood found on A.J.’s shirt when he was arrested. According to the district attorney for Harris County, two drops of blood were located on A.J.’s shirt that belonged to Antonio.
Forensic officials initially stated that there was no DNA evidence found. As a result, A.J. filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston over the DNA results.
