AJ Armstrong trial: Both sides rest after testimony from forensics psychiatrists; closing arguments to be heard Tuesday
The defense spent Day 11 of the capital murder trial casting Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr.'s older brother -- Josh Armstrong -- as an alternate suspect.
Both sides rested Monday on day 11 of Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr.'s third capital murder trial. He's accused of killing his parents, Antonio Sr. and Dawn Armstrong, in 2016 when he was 16. His first two trials ended in mistrials.
The defense's final witness was forensic psychiatrist Dr. Mark Moeller. They spent much of the day dissecting the December 2016 medical records of Josh Armstrong -- A.J. Armstrong's older brother. The defense has painted him as an "alternate suspect" as they tried to convince jurors that his mental health issues started before the killings.
Six months after the shotings, Josh Armstrong voluntarily checked himself into Ben Taub Hospital and described feelings of depression and paranoia.
"I looked at my girlfriend and told her I think she's trying to kill me," he told staff members. "My grandparents are out to get me and that's not right."
Moeller described Josh Armstrong as “untethered from reality” adding “he’s misinterpreting everything” and self-medicating with alcohol and marijuana, the latter of which is like "throwing gasoline on a fire" for people with schizophrenia.
“Combining the two is terrible," Moeller said. "It just makes everything worse.”
He said he believes Josh Armstrong harbored anger toward his parents because he felt like the “black sheep” in the family after finding out Antonio Armstrong Sr. was not his biological dad when he was 13.
“I think that it was a sort of underlying grudge that reportedly he held,” Moeller said.
Josh Armstrong was given a single dose of a powerful anti-psychotic drug and released after three days because he'd shown improvement. He returned on Christmas Eve and said the paranoia had returned.
"I felt myself starting to slip," he said. "It was hard seeing everyone being fake and pretending that everything was OK."
The night Armstrong Sr. and his wife, Dawn Armstrong, were killed, there was a note left in the kitchen that read, "I have been watching you for a long time. Come get me.”
“The manner of writing on it is consistent with someone who is angry,” Moeller testified. He believes Josh Armstrong was still angry with his parents because they told him several years earlier that Antonio Armstrong Sr. wasn't his biological father.
He also referred to medical records that showed Josh Armstrong believed he was God and the devil at times and said he "had already saved the world once."
Moeller told the court that he believes Josh Armstrong was in "full-blown schizophrenia before the murders."
During cross-examination, prosecutor John Jordan got very fiery at times, raising his voice and going back and forth to the witness stand to show Moeller Josh Armstrong's medical documents. Jordan disputed that Josh Armstrong showed signs of schizophrenia before his parents' deaths.
He asked Moeller how he came up with his opinion. The psychiatrist admitted he interviewed only two defense witnesses, sister Kayra Armstrong and paternal grandmother Kay Winston. He didn't review testimony from law enforcement or any other state witnesses, including Josh Armstrong's longtime girlfriend who testified that his mental health issues started after the shootings.
Moeller also didn't see text messages between Josh Armstrong and Dawn Armstrong, which the state's forensics psychologist said indicated a loving relationship. In messages shown again Tuesday, Dawn Armstrong confided in her oldest son about her frustrations with A.J. Armstrong after he got kicked out of Kinkaid High School.
"I love you, mom. Be strong. We will succeed," Josh Armstrong replied.
After the defense rested Monday, the state called a rebuttal witness -- Dr. Ian Lamoureux -- to the stand. Lamoureux is a forensic psychiatrist who also took the stand last week.
Jordan noted A.J. Armstrong's actions in the days leading up to the shootings, “test firing” the murder weapon into a pillow in his room.
"A rational defendant tends to plan, practice, familiarize themselves with the murder weapon," Lamourex testified.
Jordan pointed out that Armstrong Jr. also searched “how to detonate a car bomb” on an iPad and set a fire outside his parents' bedroom 48 hours before the murders.
“I saw absolutely no indication of religious delusion at this crime scene,” Lamoureux said.
He said people with religious delusions feel the need to cover their tracks and don’t leave survivors.
“In my practice, it has always been complete family annihilation or attempted annihilation," Lamoureux said.
The defense accused Lamoureux of "flip-flopping" on his testimony in the second trial.
Both sides will deliver closing arguments Tuesday morning before the jury begins deliberations.
“Generally, closing arguments are something of a formality, but in a case like this where they have so much testimony, so much evidence to go through, I think that they are going to be the game changer as these two fantastic trial lawyers summarize what should be the focal point in deciding whether this defendant is guilty or not guilty," KHOU legal expert Carmen Roe said.
2016 killings Antonio Armstrong, Sr. and Dawn Armstrong found dead
On July 29, 2016, investigators said they believe 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. Armstrong 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 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.