Forensic psychiatrist evaluates text messages from both A.J. and Josh Armstrong to their parents
Dr. Ian Lamoureux said messages from Josh to his parents were sympathetic and showed he loved them. He called AJ Armstrong Jr.'s messages consistently manipulative.
The prosecution in the Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr. capital murder retrial called its final witness Thursday morning.
Armstrong Jr. is on trial for a third time after the first two ended in mistrials. He's accused of killing Antonio Sr. and Dawn Armstrong in their Bellaire-area home in southwest Houston in 2016 when he was 16.
The state started Thursday by calling Dr. Ian Lamoureux, a Phoenix-based forensic psychiatrist, to the stand to review case records, including text messages.
“I do think that text messages are kind of the modern insight into people’s souls,” Lamoureux said.
He looked at text messages between Armstrong Jr.’s older brother, Josh, and their parents. The text messages were from the spring of 2016 to the summer when the killings happened.
“Josh was clearly not psychotic in these text messages,” Lamoureux testified.
Lamoureux said the text messages appeared to be “empathetic,” offering emotional support to his mother, Dawn, as she was working through issues with Armstrong Jr. He testified that Josh was “clearly not psychotic” and said he could tell that he loved his mother.
“He’s really trying to build her back up when she’s feeling low,” he said.
Lamoureux was then asked about texts between Armstrong Jr. and his mother.
“AJ’s text messages were almost always consistently manipulative,” he testified, noting the messages were devoid of any empathy.
He testified that she would send him lengthy messages and receive back very short ‘yes ma’am, no ma’am’ answers.
Lamoureux then was asked about Josh’s medical records. He testified that there were a lot of them after the killings, but none before. He said that six months after his parents’ deaths, Josh checked himself into Ben Taub at his grandparents’ urging.
At the time, Josh told staff that he hadn’t been able to process the deaths of his parents, saying that they still hadn’t caught the suspects and he’s paranoid that whoever did it may come after him. He accused family members, friends, and even strangers as possible suspects.
“This is actually quite tragic because it shows a young man who is just grief-stricken and unable to cope with the death of his parents,” Lamoureux said.
Lamoureux testified that later records indicated that Josh would experience a “more hopeful outlook on life.”
“This is really not how someone who feels guilt for their actions would present,” he testified, saying this didn’t hint at schizophrenia at all, but rather PTSD related to his parents’ deaths.
Armstrong Jr.’s defense had previously indicated Josh could have been behind the killings.
Thursday's testimony comes a day after Josh Armstrong's girlfriend gave tearful testimony on the stand.
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.