Antonio Armstrong Jr., is taken into custody after a guilty verdict in his capital murder trial on Aug. 16, 2023, at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston.Photo:Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Antonio “AJ” Armstrong Jr., the son of former NFL linebacker Antonio Armstrong, was convicted of capital murder on Wednesday for shooting his parents in 2016.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Mark Moeller was the last witness for the defense, who analyzed the medical records of Josh Armstrong from December 2016, according toKHOU. Josh is the older brother of the convicted killer, whom the defense portrayed as an “alternate suspect,” per the outlet.
Attorneys argued that Josh’s mental-health problems preceded the murders in an attempt to sway the jurors, KHOU reported.
“We looked at multiple records throughout all different types of institutions relating to Josh and his delusional states believing he was either God or the Devil,” defense attorney Chris Collings said during closing arguments Tuesday,Houston Public Mediareported. “We know that he had command voices in his head that told him to harm himself or others.”
Dawn and Antonio Armstrong.Facebook
However, prosecutors presented DNA evidence that linked Armstrong to the crime, per the latter outlet. After two mistrials in the course of seven years, Armstrong was taken into custody after 31 witnesses testified for more than 40 hours in over 11 days.
Armstrong bonded out of jail in 2017 and has been wearing a GPS ankle monitor since, according toABC 7 Chicago. He also married Kate Ober, his high-school girlfriend and the mother of his son, who spoke in his defense at the first trial.
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In January,Armstrong spoke out for the first timesince his arrest in a two-hour20/20episode, which aired on ABC.
“I was in complete shock,” Armstrong said. “It was a mix of shock, it was a mix of anger, it was a lot of different things — like, why me? There’s no way possible,” he added. “I couldn’t even fathom the idea of killing my parents.”
Antonio and Dawn Armstrong.
Armstrong’s parents were found shot to death in bed while they slept inside their home in Houston on July 29, 2016.
The then-teenager became the main focus of the police investigation, and prosecutors claimed that his parents had been scolding him for poor academic performance, dishonesty, and lack of discipline before they were killed.
His defense attorney, Rick Detoto, previously told PEOPLE that Armstrong “adamantly [denies] that he has committed these murders.”
source: people.com
