Jago Times "English Edition" Best Online Newspaper
The state and defense finished delivering their closing arguments at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. Now, the jury is left to deliberate a verdict.
Evidence requested
Shortly after 3 p.m., jurors requested to see the evidence in the case. The ask is not more specific, so all the physical evidence is provided to them, with the exception of the murder weapon. Among items provided to the jury room are AJ’s clothes, bloody pillows that were found over the victims’ heads, alarm records and more than 19,000 pages of text messages.
Judge Kelli Johnson already told jurors to pack a bag for the closing arguments.
Should AJ be found guilty of capital murder, he’ll be immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Due to his age at the time of the murders, AJ would not face the death penalty.
What got us to today
It’s been more than seven years since Armstrong was charged with killing his parents.
In July 2016, Dawn and Antonio Sr. were each shot in the head, pillows placed over their faces, while asleep in their southwest Houston home. Armstrong was arrested hours later. He was 16 years old, entering his junior year of high school at the time.
Now, Armstrong is a 23-year-old man who has worn a GPS ankle monitor all of his adult life, since bonding out of jail in 2017.
Since his last trial, Armstrong has married the mother of his son, his high school girlfriend, Kate Ober, who testified on his behalf during his first trial. These are big milestones for anyone, but Armstrong has yet to move on with his life, as investigators maintain he is the only person who could have killed his parents, which prosecutors are attempting to prove to a third jury.
Defense attorneys have tried to cast doubt on that, even pointing a finger at Armstrong’s older brother, Josh, as a possible suspect.
The state had text messages between Antonio Sr., Dawn, and their son, Josh, introduced into evidence. Prosecutors worked to show that those messages made it appear Josh was a normal and loving son.
However, the defense claims Josh had mental health issues and was suffering from paranoia and schizophrenia. The state says Josh was diagnosed with mental health issues, but that happened months after the murders.
There have been several delays in what seems like the never-ending saga that is the Armstrong case thanks to Hurricane Harvey, COVID-19, dozens of rescheduled hearings, even lost evidence.