Lawyer of 20-year-old accused in parents' murders says evidence was lost

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Wednesday, December 11, 2019
A.J. Armstrong's lawyer asking for dismissal of capital murder charges
Armstrong's attorney claims evidence was lost right before closing arguments in the last trial.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The attorney for the 20-year-old accused of killing his parents has asked a judge to stop future jurors from seeing text messages extracted from his iPhone.

A motion was filed to suppress all of A.J. Armstrong's cell phone records. Paperwork filed by the defense Friday claims evidence was lost during the first trial back in April. A judge is expected to review that request next week.

A.J. Armstrong is scheduled to go back on trial next month following a mistrial earlier this year.

RELATED: A.J. Armstrong: 19-year-old's retrial for parents' murders pushed back to 2020

Armstrong's parents were found shot to death in their bed in 2016. He was 16 at the time and eventually tried on murder charges.

A mistrial was declared in April after the jury could not agree on a verdict.

FAMILY SHATTERED: The murder trial of A.J. Armstrong

RELATED: Mistrial declared in AJ Armstrong double murder trial