TX - Former NFL Antonio Armstrong & wife Dawn, both 42, fatally shot, Houston, *son charged* 29 Jul 2016 *Mistrials, 3rd trial in 2023 Guilty*

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Jamais said:
It is my opinion, and solely mine, that the families religious beliefs promote forgiveness. That doesn't mean they justify the murders, only that they forgive. Does this make sense?
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Makes perfect sense. Just about a year ago, I had a conversation with my Pastor about forgiveness. He said God tells us we should always forgive people, because He always forgives us. No matter how many times somebody hurts us we should forgive them. Even if we choose to no longer be their friend, that's OK, but we need to forgive them, no matter how much water is under that bridge!
 
so there is still no motive in this case. I can't imagine how he could do such an awful thing.
 
atm9533 said:
so there is still no motive in this case. I can't imagine how he could do such an awful thing.
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They might never find a motive. They (prosecutors) will look at the entire picture. As well as a motive, they will weigh any physical evidence and the validity of his alibi.
There were no signs of forced entry, the kid had to turn off the alarm to let the police in, he admitted to practicing how to silence the gun...unless there has been some very incorrect news reporting....I'd say he's screwed.
 
nrdsb4 said:
BBM.

Wow. I don't think I could be so forgiving this quickly.
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They're still in shock. Once the investigators present more facts and the family has time for this all to sink in..they might change their tune.
 
ABC News Channel 13 Houston

"He is staying active, he is apparently trying to stay healthy, playing some basketball, whatever he can do to keep his mind as strong as possible under the circumstances," Collings [defense attorney] said.
 
glf said:
His family all seem to be supporting him. There's got to be alot more behind this than what we have heard. I hope with all my heart the son is not responsible. But then, you have to wonder who and why.
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I am sure LE has evidence this teen murdered both of his parents. Sadly, I am not even shocked anymore when children wipe out their loving and supportive parents. It seems to be happening more and more.

I still think the motive to get rid of both of his parents will be linked to something he was doing or wanted to do where he knew his parents wouldn't approve or they may have caught him and they may have put him on restriction.

However; with teens who murder their parents the motive could be anything foolish from not wanting any responsibilities at home, wanting to hang around someone the parents didn't approve of or being placed on restriction for some type of wrongdoing on the murderer's part or not wanting to follow the guidelines the parents wanted their children to follow. We are even seeing teens wipe out their parents when some materialistic possession has been taken away as a part of grounding them. Of course it could be another tragic case of a teen who felt entitled to do as they wish to do even if it meant murdering both parents. Motives for teens both sons and daughters have become more and more bizarre in the recent years. In some degree or another the motives more often seen now seem to stem from the "ME,ME, ME" attitude where the child believes they are the only ones who matter and everyone else around them is expendable especially if they stand in the way of something they want to do.

Not too long ago a teen murdered both of his parents who were very devoted and supportive of their son. His friends all said his parents were great to him and to all of his friends too. It was very premeditated. He had put up an open invitation on FB announcing he was having a big party at his house inviting his friends to come over. They were hindering him from doing as he felt entitled to do so he killed them to get rid of what he saw as the obstacles and partied for two days with his dead parents' bloody bodies there in the home in another room. He even videoed their dead bodies on his phone and showed his best friend. Thank God the teen friend contacted the police. The double murderer showed absolutely no remorse. In many of these situations getting to do whatever they want or the material possessions they have ...mean far more to them than their parents' love.

I don't think there is any hidden story in this case nor do I believe this teen was abused by his parents either. There isn't even anything to suggest that is the case. I think they were very caring loving parents to their children but even the best parents can produce some of the most gosh awful cold remorseless murderers.

Just because his family is supporting him doesn't mean his parents were abusive parents. I have seen several cases over the years where religious families have lost their loved ones due to being murdered by another family member and they continue to support the family murderer. In those cases the victims hadn't done anything wrong to their perpetrator and the murderer was the total evil one. Yet the religious families did not turn away from the murderers and instead either continued to pray for their soul and forgave them as God tells us we all must do.

Forgiveness isn't really that much about forgiving the murderer but it is more about refusing to let that negative baggage change them from who they are and it helps people to move on in their life after a traumatic event such as this one. It doesn't mean ever forgetting what the murderer did though.
 
My parents were pretty strict, and I can't even begin to count all the times I thought they were being unfair. But I never once ever thought about killing them! Several times I thought about leaving and never coming back, but hurting either one of them would never be anything I would have ever done!
 
Teens carrying out callous, premeditated murders and attempting to conceal their crime is not unheard of. I've been thinking of Nicholas Browning, the 15yo who murdered his parents and two young brothers. He was angry at his parents for not allowing him to go to a friend's house. After shooting each family member in the head, he went over to the friend's house where he spent the night. When he returned home the following day, he pretended to discover the bodies. It was later revealed he had talked months in advance about murdering his family to kids on the school bus, saying he was tired of his father telling him what to do, and that he planned on killing his brothers too so he wouldn't have to share the inheritance. :what:

His thread is here:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-parents-two-brothers&p=12745778#post12745778
 
lmr said:
"For the first time, the teen's attorneys revealed details about what the defense believes happened that night, saying someone else killed the Armstrongs."
http://abc13.com/news/teen-accused-of-killing-his-parents-expected-in-court/1466939/

So how long could it possibly take to review this evidence? If substantial, they need to let that poor kid out of prison and focus on finding the real murderer!
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The defense has to come up with some kind of defense so this is what they have chosen. I have seen other teen killers also pretend it was SODDI. After all they want to get away with their crimes. They certainly don't want to admit that it was them who did these horrific murders.

What he says really makes no sense. If the man was masked then why put a pillow over the heads of the victims since they wouldn't be able to see who the masked man was anyway? "Prosecutors say the son shot his parents in their bed and put pillows over their faces. The gun was found on the kitchen counter next to a note." Then he said he hid in a closet and called 911 yet the alarm system was still activated. Imo, the victims were inside the home with the one who lived there and did this. What masked man leaves his gun behind? They are going to check the alarm system for any activation times and deactivation times. They are also going to gather evidence on how the gun came to be inside of the home. It could even turnout that the gun belonged to his father.

The only good thing about teen killers they aren't nearly as smart as they think they are and simply think LE will believe their 'story.'

In most of the cases I have seen where pillows were put over the face of the victims it was done by a close family member and they didn't want to see the face of the one they were about to cold bloodedly murder and they didn't want the victims to see who their murderer was.

I don't think anyone else came into the home and did this horrendous thing against his parents. However; other teen murderers have elicited the help of other friends to help them murder their parents or entire family. If that happens to be the case, which I really don't believe, then he would be just as guilty by law as the other party participant.

He really didn't have to have help since it seems they both were sound asleep when he cowardly went into their bedroom to shoot them both in the head.

Imo, he did this alone.

The defense attorneys job is to cast doubt even if they know LE does have evidence to prove otherwise. They know what they say publicly cant get them in trouble even if it is a mistruth since they aren't inside the well of the court in a courtroom. Many defense attorneys over the years have strutted out to give a PC or talked to the media saying their client was 100% innocent yet when the cases came to trial there was an overwhelming amount of evidence they were certainly guilty as charged.

Imo, what this teen killer has said is not going to line up with the actual evidence LE already has and will continue to gather more evidence against him.
 
oceanblueeyes said:
The defense has to come up with some kind of defense so this is what they have chosen. I have seen other teen killers also pretend it was SODDI. After all they want to get away with their crimes. They certainly don't want to admit that it was them who did these horrific murders.

What he says really makes no sense. If the man was masked then why put a pillow over the heads of the victims since they wouldn't be able to see who the masked man was anyway? "Prosecutors say the son shot his parents in their bed and put pillows over their faces. The gun was found on the kitchen counter next to a note." Then he said he hid in a closet and called 911 yet the alarm system was still activated. Imo, the victims were inside the home with the one who lived there and did this. What masked man leaves his gun behind? They are going to check the alarm system for any activation times and deactivation times. They are also going to gather evidence on how the gun came to be inside of the home. It could even turnout that the gun belonged to his father.

The only good thing about teen killers they aren't nearly as smart as they think they are and simply think LE will believe their 'story.'

In most of the cases I have seen where pillows were put over the face of the victims it was done by a close family member and they didn't want to see the face of the one they were about to cold bloodedly murder and they didn't want the victims to see who their murderer was.

I don't think anyone else came into the home and did this horrendous thing against his parents. However; other teen murderers have elicited the help of other friends to help them murder their parents or entire family. If that happens to be the case, which I really don't believe, then he would be just as guilty by law as the other party participant.

He really didn't have to have help since it seems they both were sound asleep when he cowardly went into their bedroom to shoot them both in the head.

Imo, he did this alone.

The defense attorneys job is to cast doubt even if they know LE does have evidence to prove otherwise. They know what they say publicly cant get them in trouble even if it is a mistruth since they aren't inside the well of the court in a courtroom. Many defense attorneys over the years have strutted out to give a PC or talked to the media saying their client was 100% innocent yet when the cases came to trial there was an overwhelming amount of evidence they were certainly guilty as charged.

Imo, what this teen killer has said is not going to line up with the actual evidence LE already has and will continue to gather more evidence against him.
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Just wanted to add that the pillows were placed over the victims to muffle the sound of the gun shot. Gun is shot through the pillow. Also, that night, the son admitted to having previously practiced masking the sound of the gun. That is a good point...what shooter leaves the gun behind with a note?! It does seem that this was the son's inept attempt at staging his alibi. Right now, assuming that the facts have all been reported correctly, this kid is in deep doo doo.
 
With all respect this kid is no scientist. IF he did do it, there is evidence, fingerprints or whatever. I don't know I am not an investigator. IF he did do it, he is caught, and there is loads of money to try to get him off. IMO the defense (being paid well) is going to try to throw prospective jurors a curve ball called reasonable doubt.
 
From Aug 18:

http://www.click2houston.com/news/t...-ex-nfl-player-father-mother-appears-in-court


Defense attorneys said Thursday they’re conducting an independent investigation into the killings. That includes looking into a recent break-in at the family’s gym on Woodway.

Read more at ... http://www.khou.com/news/crime/teen-charged-in-parents-murder-appears-in-court/301681068


We are in the process of getting the video of the break-in at the gym. We would say there's a lot of stuff going on in the background of this case, and we're just trying to figure out how it's all connected," said Rick DeToto, another defense attorney.

Read more at ... https://news.google.com/news/story?...ved=0ahUKEwif3-q38I_PAhWLNj4KHSJmBxQQqgIIIDAA

_______________________________________________________________________

His next court appearance was to be Sept 1, but this is the most recent I could find.
 
There has not been much about this case. This is from Nov 8, 2016:

JUDGE REFUSES TO RELEASE TEEN ACCUSED OF KILLING PARENTS

http://abc13.com/news/judge-refuses-to-release-teen-accused-of-killing-parents/1595805/

From article:
Meanwhile, the prosecutor says he's awaiting DNA test results from the crime scene.

Those results should be in in the next 30 days.
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It's been more than 30 days, but still nothing about the DNA results.


The Armstrong teen is mentioned here:

Sharp rise in juveniles facing trial in adult court
Decision where to place youths is life-changing

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...-juveniles-facing-trial-in-adult-10807299.php


This article was posted on another WS thread:

Why Kids Kill Parents
Tragedy in the family: When kids murder their parents
(from Psychology Today)
There are three types of individuals who commit parricide. One is the severely abused child who is pushed beyond his or her limits. Another is the severely mentally ill child. And the third is the darling of the tabloids, the dangerously antisocial child.
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https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199209/why-kids-kill-parents
 
A Harris County judge decided Wednesday that Armstrong, who was originally charged in the crime as a juvenile, would stand trial as an adult. He now faces life in prison with a possibility of parole after 40 years.

The judge's decision came during a certification hearing held Wednesday at the downtown Juvenile Justice Center, where evidence was presented by the prosecutors to show probable cause that Armstrong committed capital murder and to provide evidence of past delinquent conduct.

[...]

In an interview, Longoria said evidence was presented of the teen's delinquency but it wouldn't necessarily be admissible in a trial. In one instance, she said, the teen's parents apparently caught their son smoking marijuana in his room, and last June they took away his car and cell phone. Longoria said that a crack pipe also was found inside the young man's room after police searched the house. Identification cards of other Kinkaid students, which can be used as debit cards at the school, also were found in his room.
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more at ... http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...illing-his-parents-teen-will-now-10988134.php

Poor Antonio and Dawn. They had their hand full. And it appears their lives ended at the hands of their own son. :(

MOO
 
Another piece of evidence of past delinquent behavior showing probable cause:

Longoria said AJ was removed last spring from his private school because of poor academic performance and enrolled in a public school.
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AJ Armstrong has been lodged at the Harris County juvenile detention center from the time of his arrest, but now he will be transferred to the Harris County jail.
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read more at ... http://theweeklychallenger.com/teen...mother-as-they-slept-to-stand-trial-as-adult/

I pity this family, especially the 12-yo girl who was home at the time. Must have been frightening and I can't imagine losing both parents so violently at such a young age. I hope the other children have a strong network of support to get them through this.

I've known wonderful families in which one child suddenly goes through a rebellious/delinquent phase in their teens, with no previous indicators. However, they usually grow out of that phase, grow close to their parents and become upstanding citizens. Why do the few become so violent?
 
Just adding some local color.... I work in live in Houston around Dawn and AJ. I have friends that have kids that went to school with their kids. I also have friends that worked out at their gym. The private school he went to is one of the most affluent in Houston. I hadn't seen anything before saying he had been moved from Kincaid. Such a sad story.... everything I have heard from friends is that mom and Dad were wonderful people raising great kids. Sad on all accounts.
 
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