Accused killer AJ Armstrong breaks down during testimony that his mom died quickly

ByCourtney Fischer KTRK logo

Friday, August 4, 2023

AJ's mom died quickly, but dad fought for his life, ME says

In the fifth day of AJ Armstrong's third capital murder trial, it was presented as to how the suspect's parents were killed in July 2016.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Dawn Armstrong died quickly, while her husband, Antonio Sr., died fighting for his life. That's what Anna Lopez with the Harris County Medical Examiner's office told jurors as she walked them through the final moments of the couple's life.

It was the first time during his third capital murder trial that A.J. Armstrong got emotional, burying his head in his arms as attorney Chris Collings rubbed his back. It happened as prosecutor John Jordan showed only jurors the autopsy photos.

Lopez says Dawn was shot twice behind her right ear. Two "successive" bullets then went through her brain. Antonio Sr., she says, was shot once through the top of his head. Lopez testified the killer was standing at least two and a half to three feet away from them.

Friday, the fifth day of the trial, was about the science and the physical evidence in this case.

HPD Sgt. Jimmy James, formerly a crime scene unit investigator, told jurors he spent nearly five hours in the Armstrong home on July 29, 2016, taking photos and bagging evidence.

James collected the .22 caliber pistol left on the kitchen counter beside the note that read: "I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR A LONG TIME. COME GET ME."

The investigator took the bloody pillows placed over Dawn's and Antonio Sr.'s heads after they were shot. He described photos he took of the bullet hole in Armstrong's third-floor bedroom, under a pile of socks, and the corresponding bullet on the second floor.

When it was defense attorney Rick DeToto's turn to question James about his job, he ripped into the officer. And everyone could feel the tension.

DeToto attacked James' decision not to swab the doorknobs or collect a sample from the blood stain found on the hall wall next to the door into the Armstrongs' garage.

"You chose not to test that blood in a double-murder homicide investigation!" DeToto said, raising his voice.

"We were told it was transfer blood," James replied.

"So this jury will never, ever know, whose blood it is," DeToto responded.

Two fingerprint experts with Houston Forensic Science Center testified next, saying they tried to lift prints off 30 items from the crime scene, including the gun, comparing them to A.J., Josh, Armstrong's older half-brother, Dawn, and Antonio Sr.'s fingerprints.

Latent print expert Rebecca Green told the jury results were inconclusive, but, she noted that doesn't mean these people have never touched the items.

Arson analysis expert Debora Lind, also with HFSC, was put on the stand to explain how the burned carpet, found outside the parents' bedroom, was tested.

"I am 100% confident gasoline was found on the burn mark," Lind told the jury.

Prosecutors have argued Armstrong tried to set the house on fire days before the murder and previously used the defendant's text messages to show how his mother caught him and put the fire out.

But Lind also testified she had "grave concerns" about how the carpet evidence was packaged and stored because there could be "cross-contamination."

Prosecutors and defense attorneys still have no comment on the case, as Judge Kelli Johnson has issued a strict media order, warning both parties not speak publicly.

But a long-term talking point from the defense, over the past seven years of this case, has been: no gunshot residue was found on A.J. Armstrong.

Which was true, the state said on Friday. They had Chandler Bassett, a firearms examiner with HFSC, explain why "the absence of it doesn't mean someone didn't shoot a gun."

"The misconception is: GSR is all over the place," Bassett said. He told the jury that to have a positive GSR test, three scientific elements must show up in a test. "Most .22 calibers, in my experience, don't contain one of the three components."

In his more than 20 years of experience testing dozens of .22 calibers, Bassett said he has never come across any that yield positive GSR results-but, he said he has read about it happening.

"You aren't willing to test the actual gun and compare it for GSR?" DeToto asked Bassett. "All you had to do was test the ammunition!"

Bassett told the jury that there are "scientific standards" set by the GSR expert community, which keep them from testing the murder weapon.

By the end of week one, 17 witnesses have taken the stand, with nearly 40 hours of testimony.

In trial two, the state had 19 witnesses testify over seven days before resting their case. Armstrong's team will likely start to present their case mid to end of next week.

The trial could take up to three weeks. If convicted, Armstrong would be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

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