3rd capital murder trial for AJ Armstrong after 2 hung juries to begin in February, judge says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The grandparents of A.J. Armstrong spoke out after a pretrial hearing for the 23-year-old who's facing a third capital murder trial for the deaths of his parents in 2016.

A.J.'s previous two trials ended in a hung jury.

He showed up to a pretrial hearing on Wednesday with his grandparents and attorney.

SEE ALSO: Houston man will be tried 3rd time after mistrial in October over parents' murders when he was 16

A.J. Armstrong, now 23 years old and now a father himself, will go to trial again next year, prosecutors say. This comes after a jury of six men and six women disagreed on a verdic

The hearing was pretty quick -- mostly back and forth about picking a date of when to begin. The judge said jury selection for the trial will begin Feb. 24.

AJ's defense team said they're ready to go. His attorney said he knows every detail about the case and maintains AJ's innocence.

This will be the third time A.J. will be tried for a capital murder charge in the shooting deaths of his mother and father. They were both found shot to death in bed in their southwest Houston home nearly seven years ago.

Investigators on the case have argued from the very beginning -- it was A.J. who carried out the brutal murders. They claim he used his father's gun and left it on the kitchen counter next to a note that read, "I've been watching you." He was just 16 years old at the time.

A.J. has always maintained his innocence -- even now as a 23-year-old man and a father.

In the last two trials, both juries were unable to come to an unanimous verdict.

RELATED: Mistrial declared in AJ Armstrong retrial after nearly 18 hours of deliberation

A mistrial has been declared in the second murder trial of A.J. Armstrong, who is accused of killing his parents, Dawn and Antonio, in 2016.

Here is a breakdown of the last two juries:

• 2019: Eight said A.J. was guilty, and four said he was not guilty

• 2022: Four said A.J. was guilty, and eight said he was not guilty

Prosecutors on the case declined to give any comment after Wednesday's hearing, but AJ's grandparents from both sides of his family did speak out.

The father of Dawn Armstrong and the mother of Antonio Armstrong Sr. were both emotional. They say their family has been through enough and they cannot move on with their lives because of the retrials.

"We lost our beautiful daughter and our son. Our family has been through so much hell behind all of this. We relive their deaths every time we come back to trial. We've watched the Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney's Office hide evidence, lose evidence, and mishandle the investigation into this case through two trials," Kay Winston said. "What evidence are they going to bring to this trial the third time? Or is the district attorney's office attempting to bankrupt our family? And will they just keep on trying this case until they get the results that they are looking for?"

While his grandparents were speaking, A.J. got visibly emotional with tears streaming down his face.

The judge mentioned that testimony will likely not begin until March 20 -- after spring break in order to accommodate the jurors.

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SEE ALSO: 'I didn't do it:' Accused killer A.J. Armstrong tells his story

A.J. Armstrong talks for the first time about what it's liked to be called a killer who destroyed his family.