HOUSTON – On Aug. 16, 2023, Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr. was found guilty of killing his parents while they slept in their Bellaire home in 2016.
This was A.J.’s third time on trial for capital murder. The first two ended in a mistrial, but this time things were different and A.J. was found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
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“Since the trial, the day of the verdict. It’s like we relived what happened seven years ago. This time just worse. The family is devastated,” said Kay Winston, the mother of Antonio Sr., who talked exclusively with KPRC 2 Investigates after the verdict.
Winston, who has supported her grandson from the very beginning, says there is no doubt in her mind that A.J. is innocent.
“Had I had just a thought that A.J. killed my son, I wouldn’t be here. I would have never supported him or stood by him, ever! Ever,” Winston said.
Now, KPRC 2 Investigates takes you inside the trial of Antonio ‘A.J.’ Armstrong Jr. with a special episode of our award-winning true crime docuseries ‘The Evidence Room,’ featuring our exclusive interview with the Armstrong family.
Watch ‘The Evidence Room’ Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the KPRC 2+ livestream player below:
The grandmother says she talks with A.J. every day as he awaits to be transferred to prison.
“He has his good days. He has his low days. We’ve all cried. I know. I don’t recall. Been as devastated as I was that day,” said Winston. “I, we feel like we’ve been prosecuted by our city that we live in. We are law-abiding citizens and we support our grandson.”
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Armstrong is appealing the verdict.
He has also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Houston alleging police officers conspired to plant evidence to secure a conviction.