'Made-up story' | High drama on both sides in AJ Armstrong trial with mannequins, the murder weapon, key forensics witness
Prosecutors recreated Antonio and Dawn Armstrong's bedroom where they were shot and killed in 2016. Defense attorneys brought in AJ's clothes and the murder weapon.
There was high drama Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr. with a makeshift mattress, mannequins and the murder weapon in the courtroom.
Armstrong is accused of killing his sleeping parents in their Bellaire-area home in southwest Houston in 2016 when he was 16 years old.
Prosecutors recreated Antonio Sr. and Dawn Armstrong's bedroom where they were shot and killed with mannequins to represent them.
Celestina Rossi, a nationally-recognized blood stain analysis expert, took the stand and testified that she recently discovered two blood stains under an HPD visitors sticker placed on Armstrong Jr.'s shirt by police hours after the murder. Tests showed the blood came from Antonio Armstrong Sr.
Rossi testified that one of the stains could be a flake from another piece of evidence, like someone touching an item with blood and then touching the shirt, noting the stain was near the edge of the sticker.
For Stain #2, Rossi said there’s no way the blood could have been transferred.
“I forcefully had to pull that sticker back to expose that stain," she told the court.
Defense lawyer Rick Detoto argued if that was true, blood should have also been found on Armstrong Jr.’s shirt, pants, cell phone and the murder weapon.
Detoto brought out the murder weapon, Antonio Sr's .22 pistol, and had his co-counsel position themselves near the life-size mannequins that were laying on their sides. Then he sprayed Rossi a few times with water to illustrate that blood would have spattered on the shooter.
Later during cross-examination, the defense harped on the idea that there was cross-contamination within the evidence.
“I think that this evidence is probably the most important new evidence in this trial, and I think both sides are doing everything they can to convince this jury that it turns the tide or that it’s the most important evidence that they’re going to present," KHOU legal analyst Carmen Roe said. "Why? Because this DNA evidence places AJ Armstrong in the room where his parents were killed that night.”
Roe believes this new blood evidence will be a key part of closing arguments.
Also built in the courtroom on Tuesday was a recreation of the stairs in the Armstrong home. The defense illustrated how hard it would have been for Armstong Jr. to see and identify an intruder, something he didn't mention on the 911 call but did say during an interview hours after the shootings.
The prosecution reiterated the fact that it would have been hard for Armstrong Jr. to identify an intruder, but he was still able to provide a description. He said the intruder was a Black man wearing a mask that only showed his eyes and mouth who was about 6 feet tall.
"I think it's a made-up story," Rossi said.
Two more witnesses took the stand before the day came to a close. Two employees of the Houston Forensic Science Center testified about the process of testing evidence that was found shortly after the murders as well as when the new blood stain was discovered on the shirt.
During the testimony, the witnesses said that Josh Armstrong's DNA was not found on anything. Josh is Armstrong Jr.'s brother whom the defense has previously implied could have committed the murders.
If convicted this time around, Armstrong, now 23, would face a sentence of life in prison and would be eligible for parole after 40 years.
Below is the background of the case and reports from the first two mistrials.
2016 killings Antonio Armstrong, Sr. and Dawn Armstrong found dead
On July 29, 2016, investigators said they believe Antonio Armstrong Jr. shot his parents at close range while they slept inside the Bellaire-area home.
Armstrong Jr. called 911 at 1:40 a.m. and told dispatchers he heard gunshots coming from his parent's room. He said his 12-year-old sister was sleeping downstairs.
Armstrong Jr. blamed a masked intruder, but investigators said they found no evidence of forced entry into the house.
According to authorities, Dawn Armstrong was shot twice in her head and Armstrong Sr. was shot once. They said both had pillows over their heads. Dawn Armstrong was pronounced dead at the scene while Armstrong Sr. was taken to a hospital where he later died. Both were 42.
Houston Police Sgt. J.P. Horelica said after discovering there was no forced entry and a bullet hole in the ceiling of the Armstrongs' bedroom, the focus shifted to Armstrong Jr. as a suspect.
Prosecutors said a .22-caliber pistol was found on the kitchen counter along with a note. Also, Brewer said an upstairs motion detector caught movement at 1:09 a.m. Brewer said police found three shell casings in the master bedroom.
“The alarm tells us more than just the killer came from inside the house. The alarm tells us that the killer came from upstairs,” Brewer said when KHOU 11 News covered the story in 2019.
Armstrong Sr. was a motivational speaker. He and his wife owned 1st Class Training in Bellaire. Armstrong Sr. played football for Texas A&M and the Miami Dolphins and coached both of his sons when they were younger. Antonio Sr. was also an associate pastor, according to police. Dawn Armstrong's Facebook page said they "serve in ministry together."
The defense Questions about older brother
Armstrong Jr.'s lawyers said there was no blood, DNA, fingerprints or gunshot residue linking their client to the shootings.
“Where are the wet towels, the wet sinks, the wet showers, anything that would show that somebody cleaned themselves off or tried to hide evidence? It’s not there,” defense attorney Chris Collings said.
They also accused police of failing to consider other possible suspects.
“Within 11 minutes of going into that house, before any evidence was processed, before they knew anything about the crime scene as far as forensics, before anything, they made up their mind he did it," defense attorney Rick Detoto said.
Armstrong Jr.'s defense also cast suspicion on his older brother, who lived nearby, had access codes to the home and suffered from mental illness.
Second trial Deadlocked jury leads to another mistrial
A judge declared a mistrial in the second capital murder trial of Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr. in October 2022 after jurors deliberated for nearly 18 hours but couldn't agree on a unanimous verdict.
Defense attorneys said then that eight jurors believed Armstrong Jr. was innocent and four thought he was guilty. In his first trial, it was the other way around with eight jurors believing he was guilty.
"It's been six years, it's been two trials, it's been 40 to 50 witnesses, it's been probably millions of dollars in expenses by the district attorney's office. It's time to let this young man go," Collings said at the time.
"We followed the evidence and stood up for Antonio Armstrong Sr. and Dawn Armstrong, who were murdered in their bed,” Harris County DA Kim Ogg said. “We appreciate the time, effort and diligence of jurors as they were presented all the evidence in this brutal attack.”
KHOU 11 spoke with a juror in the second trial who didn't want to be identified. They said doubt created by the defense led to a hung jury.
“It just got to the point where I couldn’t even talk anymore," the juror said. "Everyone kind of had their mind made up, but it was very frustrating to hear everyone say, and I mean everyone, say, 'We know he’s not innocent but we still have doubt.'”
First trial Deadlocked jury leads to mistrial
Armstrong Jr.'s first murder trial began on April 2, 2019. He was tried as an adult and faced life in prison if found guilty. Due to Armstrong Jr.'s age at the time of the crime, a conviction would mean automatic life in prison with a minimum of 40 years to be eligible for parole.
During the first trial, Armstrong Jr. entered a not-guilty plea before opening statements. The initial trial ended in a mistrial on April 26, 2019, when jurors weren't able to reach a unanimous decision in the case.
Armstrong Jr.'s second trial was supposed to begin in October 2019 but was postponed to January 2020. Days before it was set to begin, it was postponed yet again after more than 30 motions were filed in the case.