Defense attorneys for Antonio Armstrong, Jr. say the prosecution deliberately withheld evidence that could clear the teen of double murder charges.
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TIMELINE: The AJ Armstrong murder case
Antonio's attorneys allege the prosecution knew about a recording between HPD and a potential witness in the case that talked about death threats against Antonio Armstrong, Sr. and his wife in the days before they were murdered in their Bellaire home, but that information was not shared for several months.
According to the defense, those threats caused Armstrong, Sr. to make changes to his life insurance policy before the murders.
Now defense attorneys say they need time to find the witness in that audio recording who has since disappeared.
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Does Antonio's lawyer believe this information could exonerate his client?
"Abso-freaking-lutely. It has always been our defense and what happened was another person was in the house. This information goes straight to that. It leads directly to that situation," said defense attorney Rick DeToto.
According to the defense, the evidence also contains allegations that Armstrong, Sr. may have had a link to a prostitution ring.
Antonio is out on bond while waiting for the start of his trial. It's scheduled to begin Sept. 14.
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The judge has not delayed the start of the trial yet but said she is concerned that it's set for just over a month from now.
As for the district attorney's office, the prosecutor handling this part of the case did not want to talk to Eyewitness News on his way out of the courtroom.
A hearing has been reset for Tuesday.
A.J. Armstrong trial
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