Antonio Armstrong Sr. was a star football player who made a good life for himself.
He had a nice family and seemed happy.
But things weren't as perfect as they looked.
One terrible night, everything changed.
Antonio Sr. and his wife were killed in their own home by their own son.
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| Antonio Armstrong Sr, his wife, and their son AJ Armstrong |
Background
Antonio Armstrong Sr. was the perfect example of the American Dream.
He became a football star in high school and got a scholarship to Texas A&M University.
His skills caught the eye of the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him immediately after college.
Although it was a dream come true, it didn't last long.
Armstrong Sr. played for three teams during his two NFL seasons before moving to the Canadian Football League.
He spent a few seasons in the CFL before his football career ended.
After returning to Houston, TX, Armstrong Sr. opened several personal gyms.
He also took on roles as a motivational speaker and an associate pastor at his church.
It was at the church he met his wife, Dawn, along with her son, Josh, from a previous relationship.
They all settled into a comfortable home where they could build their family.
Armstrong Sr. adopted Josh, and the couple had another son, Antonio Jr., who they called AJ.
They also had a daughter together and they named her Kayra.
Both boys played football and were frequently coached by their dad.
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| Antonio Armstrong Sr and his family ( Source ABC news) |
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| Antonio Armstrong Sr and his son AJ Armstrong |
The three children went to expensive private schools.
Unfortunately for AJ, he was expelled from high school due to his bad grades.
Dawn confronted her son and discovered that he was using drugs and drinking instead of concentrating on his studies.
Josh was in college at the time, but he ended up facing the same outcome as his younger brother.
He was expelled for partying excessively and smoking weed all day.
His parents let him move back home, hoping it would help him get his life back on track.
However, things didn't go as his parents planned.
Whenever they were out of town, Josh threw parties at their house, which they later discovered.
As a result, Josh was kicked out of the house.
Text messages showed that Josh remained close to his mother even after he was kicked out.
Eventually, Josh got a job at the family gym and returned to school.
While he worked to improve his own life, his younger brother's situation continued to worsen.
AJ's actions could only be described as scary and unpredictable.
One day, he filled a rubbing alcohol bottle with gasoline and used it to start a fire in front of his parents' room.
His father, Armstrong Sr., was able to put out the fire.
His scary behaviour didn't end there.
AJ fired a gun through blankets and pillows in his room, making a hole in the wall and lodging a bullet into his parents' bedroom ceiling.
He used socks to fill the damage to his wall and acted like nothing happened.
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| Antonio Armstrong Sr and his son |
The Murder of Antonio Armstrong Sr and The Investigation
On July 29, 2016, at 1:40 a.m., AJ called 911.
He sounded scared, and said he had heard gunshots coming from his parents' room.
During the 911 call, he told dispatchers that his father kept a gun on his nightstand.
Interestingly, he also whispered, "It's all my fault."
The police were immediately dispatched to their home after the call.
When the police arrived, they went to his parents' room and found both parents with pillows over their heads.
They removed the pillows and discovered that Dawn had been shot twice in the head and was already dead.
Armstrong Sr. had on gunshot wound in the head and was barely alive.
After being rushed to the hospital, he was pronounced dead.
While observing the crime scene, the police discovered a note in the kitchen that said, “I’ve been watching you for a long time. Come find me.”
AJ called Josh to inform him of the situation.
Josh then grabbed a shotgun from his apartment and rushed to the scene.
The Houston police stopped him from going inside and calmed him down.
After the police had collected all the necessary evidence, they brought AJ in for questioning at the station.
They interrogated him for hours before accusing him of capital murder.
He explained that he saw a masked intruder shoot his parents but investigators didn't believe him.
Trial
In 2017, AJ's family posted bail, leading to his house arrest.
The initial trial started in 2019 but ended in a mistrial.
AJ returned to house arrest until his second trial in 2022.
During this time, he had a child with his girlfriend before returning to court.
Once more, the jury was unable to reach a verdict in his second trial, resulting in a mistrial.
He was to stay on house arrest while awaiting a third trial.
During this period, he married his girlfriend.
AJ pleaded not guilty again in his third trial.
However, he was found guilty of capital murder this time.
On August 16, 2023, AJ Armstrong was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
He escaped the death penalty because he was a minor when the crime occurred.
AJ has consistently denied any involvement in his parents' murder and has appealed the sentence.
His family has supported him, including his grandmother, who is the mother of Antonio Armstrong Sr.
AJ's defense claims that his brother Josh committed the crimes.
Josh's ex-girlfriend testified that he showed no mental health issues before the murders.
However, after the killings, Josh became extremely paranoid.
He made a list of potential killers including his ex-girlfriend.
He checked into a mental health facility six months later and he was diagnosed with depression, paranoia, and later schizophrenia.
Josh's mental health worsened after his parent's death, but he has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
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