A Texas jury on Wednesday found AJ Armstrong guilty of capital murder in the deaths of his parents in their Houston homewhen he was a 16-year-old seven years ago.
The verdict came after two previous mistrials. Armstrong, now 23 and married with a child, was charged with shooting his father, retired NFL player Antonio Armstrong Sr., and mother, Dawn Armstrong, while they were sleeping on July 29, 2016, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Dawn Armstrong was pronounced dead on the scene; Antonio Sr. died shortly after he was brought to a hospital. Both were shot in the head.
Prosecutors said that the teen was kicked out of a private school he attended shortly before the murders and was enrolled in public school, where he began to dabble in drugs. A month before the killings, his parents reportedly caught him smoking marijuana in his room and took away his cellphone and car.
Detectives later found a crack pipe in his room and his fingerprints on the murder weapon.
The jury deliberated for about 10 hours before returning a guilty verdict, according to KTRK, which said the jurors heard more than 40 hours of testimony from 31 witnesses over 11 days.
Armstrong was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. The sentence was automatic: Because of his age at the time of the murders, he was not eligible for the death penalty.
Armstrong maintained his innocence throughout from the time of his parents’ deaths. Defense attorneys intimated during the trial that his older brother, Josh, should be considered a suspect.
The prosecution presented three key points that happened before the Armstrongs were shot dead, beginning about a week before the shootings when Armstrong Jr. fired his father’s gun through the floor of his bedroom, muffled with a pillow and a blanket, according to KHOU.
“He shot the murder weapon in his room. Who does that?” prosecutor John Jordan asked. “Purely coincidental? It’s ridiculous. Ridiculous.”
At first, Armstrong Jr. told detectives he did it so his friend could hear a gun go off, but later he admitted he was alone when he fired the gun.
Two days before the shootings, Armstrong Jr. poured gasoline into a bottle of rubbing alcohol and lit it, setting it outside his parents’ bedroom. He searched how to make a car bomb on his iPad, Jordan told the jurors.
Third was Armstrong Jr.’s claim that he saw a 6-foot tall, masked intruder in the house after hearing gunshots. That claim didn’t come until hours after he called 911 and was being interviewed by detectives.
Still, multiple members of Armstrong Jr.’s family were in the courtroom to support him, some of whom testified for the defense.
“He’s devastated. He’s one of the strongest young men I’ve ever known,” defense attorney Rick Detoto told KTRK. “His family is amazing, and obviously they are devastated right now. This is a difficult time for them, but they will rally, and they will help A.J. and his young son and his wife get through this.”
Detoto said the conviction will be appealed, KHOU reported.
Armstrong Sr. played linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams between 1995 and 1996. He also spent four season in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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[Featured image: AJ Armstrong listens to the verdict read in the courtroom with his lawyers/KTRK screenshot]
