Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - NFL STAR & WIFE SHOT DEAD IN BED AT LUX CONDO: SHOCK SUSPECT

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

Dawn and Antonio Armstrong, married for 18 years, seem to have it all: thriving businesses, a happy marriage, three successful children, and a beautiful home. The home, however, became the place where the Armstrongs died, shot in their beds in the middle of the night. Their middle son, AJ, calls 911saying he heard gunshots coming from his parents' room on the floor below him. Dawn and Antonio Armstrong die after being shot. Hours later, 16-year-old AJ is arrested and charged with the murders.  Two mistrials have been declared in the case, and now Texas prosecutors say they will try AJ Armstrong a third time.    Joining Nancy Grace today: James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective; Former S.W.A.T. officer; Attorney (Gadsden, AL), The Shelnutt Law Firm, P.C.; Twitter: @ShelnuttLawFirm  Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist; Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark"  Lisa M. Dadio - Former Police Lieutenant, New Haven Police Department, Annie Le Lead Detective, Professor of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigations at University New Haven    Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet,: Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan"  Jonathan T Gilliam, Former FBI Special Agent, Former Navy SEAL and Author of the best selling Book, SHEEP NO MORE: The Art of Awareness and Attack Survival; Twitter: @JGilliam_SEAL  Dave Mack  CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. An NFL star and his wife found dead, shot to death, in their own bed, in their own home. What happened? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to this. 5314 Palmetto Street.

Timestamp 1.40 a.m. the morning of July 29th, 2016. Inside a seemingly scared Antonio Armstrong Jr. on the phone with a 911 dispatcher claiming minutes earlier he heard gunfire. Any medical attention needed, asked the dispatcher. Yes, replied the then 16-year-old. Video recorded later that morning by a crime scene unit investigator for the Houston Police Department traces the trail to the second floor master bedroom, the place where Antonio Armstrong Sr. and wife Dawn were shot. Both died. He played football for Texas A&M before joining the Miami Dolphins as a linebacker. We featured his wife Dawn in a news story a few years ago talking about a quilt she was making for her son

going off to college. Since the news of the double shooting broke this morning, Antonio's Facebook page is filling up with comments from friends saying they just can't believe what has happened to this family. And we also know Antonio coached the Southwest Football League here for more than a decade. We will certainly keep you updated on his condition right now. He is fighting to stay alive. You are hearing our friends at KPRC and KTRK covering the shootings at the time they happened. Antonio Armstrong, a superstar. Did fame have anything to do with the murder of him and his wife?

Joining me in All-Star panel, but first to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. For those people that don't know who antonio armstrong was fill us in antonio armstrong nancy was he was the all-american guy he played football at texas a&m he was good enough to be drafted into the nfl and spent time with the san francisco 49ers and then a number of years with the miami dolphins this was a guy that people said, what a good man. But on top of the athletics, Nancy, he was into fitness, healthy eating, a healthy lifestyle. He also was the pastor, associate pastor at his mother's home church. So all week long, he worked with youth coaching football. He gave motivational speeches and put things on YouTube

about living a healthy life, being healthy inside and out. And then on the weekend, he's over at church and he's, again, in a leadership position there. So all-American, good guy, and a natural-born leader.

And a happy family. You know, Karen Stark joining me, renowned psychologist joining us out of Manhattan at karenstark.com. That's Karen with a C. Karen, you and I talked about this so many times. I've investigated and prosecuted, put plenty of dope dealers away, drug lords, child molesters, you name it.

But it always especially hurts when you see a great person, just good-natured, innocent, hardworking, dedicated, this guy devoted to his family. It hurts when you see a really great person. You know, the good people in the world. Just cut down, mowed down. And that's exactly where that comes from, Nancy. This idea of only the good die young.

It's this idea that this guy, everybody talks about what a great family, how wonderful he was. And that makes it just devastating to think that he's killed like that. And another thing, did you hear what the mother was doing?

The mother was hand quilting a quilt for her son to take away to college. It reminds me of my little niece when her, I think when her little brother was going to college, his favorite team is the Braves. And she hand quilted him a quilt made out of all the Braves logos and the team member numbers and just anything to do with the Braves. It took her forever to do that. And here is the mom, just out of love, quilting a quilt for the son to take away to college. I mean, they're dedicated parents, and he's also a football star. What more do we

know about the family? Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. Don and Antonio Armstrong, their 18-year marriage was the all-American dream. The couple was raising three bright, outgoing, and accomplished children. They were savvy entrepreneurs owning a small chain of local gyms. At one time, Antonio Armstrong was a respected football player. He played for Texas A&M in college and went on to play for the Miami Dolphins. Alongside running the gyms, Armstrong was a motivational speaker and an assistant pastor at his mother's church. Dawn, in addition to help running the businesses, spends a lot of time volunteering or driving her children to their various sports practices.

Dawn Armstrong's family always came first, and it showed on her Facebook page, which was filled with beach vacations, cars, and exclusive private school life for her kids. A lot of their family life, the motivational speaking, their community service, just a really loving family is featured even on YouTube. Take a listen to our friends at KTRK. Everyone we've spoken to has described this family as all-American, a loving family. I want to show you Antonio Armstrong. He ran this gym in Bel Air.

It's called First Class Training. He ran it with his wife, Dawn. She was a business partner of his. Now, according to sources, she died in this morning's shooting. Hello, everyone. Antonio is known for advocating health and fitness. He is also a motivational speaker. These are videos he made on YouTube.

The latest one was posted just this last week. Straight out to Dave Mack joining us from CrimeOnline.com. Dave, tell me about the neighborhood and tell me about the shootings. Were they both in the same bed? Were they in the master bedroom? How many times were they shot? Anything you can tell me in the head. Again, it's a quite upscale neighborhood. I don't know how much you know about Houston, but Houston in this particular area is a well-to-do section of town. It's not a townhome like an apartment

complex that you would see near a university. This is one of those expensive upscale townhomes. And again, it's three stories. Their bedroom was on the second floor, as was their daughter's. You know, another thing about the townhomes, they're connected. Now, I'm saying that, I mean, like his unit is actually connected to another unit. And that is significant to me. And I'm going to go to you, James Shelnut, joining me. 27 years on Metro, major case, including SWAT, now lawyer at the Shelnut firm. When you have a crime like this double murder go down in a home, second floor, and connected condos, that greatly reduces your points of entry.

Two whole sides of the dwelling are unattainable. So you've really only got the bottom door and the bottom back door. Nobody is scaling up the side of the condos to break into a window. That reduces your points of entry, and that's significant. Oh, I agree 100%. And that reduces the possibilities of people who might have access to that apartment also or that townhome. Also joining me, Jonathan T. Gilliam, former FBI special agent, former Navy SEAL, author of Sheep No More, The Art of Awareness and Attack Survival on Amazon. Jonathan Gilliam, thank you for being with us.

You got it. Both of them shot in the head. Shot in the head. That tells me both of them were asleep. And that's the mark of a hitman. It's an execution style killing. Well, shot in the head in their bed. So next to actually stabbing someone

i would say that this is uh potentially a sign of a more personal attack somebody that was actually in their room um while they were sleeping and took the time to to shoot each one in the head and in their life in such a personal manner. There were other people in that house that were not targeted. So we know that these two people, you know, that word targeted gets used so much. But I think in this case, because, you know, we know that the son was awake because he's the one who called 911, nobody else was touched in that house. So to me, when I hear that somebody shot in their head, in their bed while they sleep,

that's a very personal targeted attack. Guys, take a listen to our friends at KPRC. On the phone with 911, the couple's son, Junior, or AJ, appeared confused, panicked while answering questions. The dispatcher asks if medical attention was needed in AJ's parents' bedroom. AJ responded, yes, and their door is cracked open. Later, the dispatcher asks if gunshots AJ heard sound like a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. I'm not good with guns, AJ replies, but I guess like a, I don't know, 15 or something like that.

I know my dad has a gun underneath the, God, where does he keep his gun? AJ asks aloud, eventually saying, I think he keeps it in the drawer right next to his bed. Dave Mack, how many times were they shot? Nancy, Don was shot twice in the head and Antonio was shot once. Okay, Lisa daddio joining me former police lieutenant new haven pd jump in lisa i agree with what's been said so far you know we have something so personal in someone's home twice to the mom's head um which is obviously a little concerning i wonder why that was it only once you know, the husband's father's head.

And, you know, when you see something so personal and so violent happen to the face, the head, you have to agree that it's more of a personal in nature type of crime perpetrated by someone that knows the victims. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. For those of you just joining us, an NFL star and his wife murdered in their own bed, seemingly execution style.

Joining me, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, Joe Scott Morgan. What do you make of the fact the mom was shot twice and the dad shot once? Well, the individual that did the attack was aware of the fact that this gentleman uh the father is in bed uh and he is a former nfl player he's a fitness guy uh he would be the first target i would think because that's the biggest threat and so once that weapon is initiated once that round goes off and puts him down the mother may have awoken at that point in time. And in the confusion or in the attempt to end her life, she was shot twice, Nancy, to take her down in that moment because she was aware that there was gunfire going on. Even if she's in a deep sleep, she's

going to wake up and she's finished off at that moment listen to more from crime online at 9 40 a.m antonio armstrong jr aj calls 9-1-1 he tells the operator that he is hiding in a closet in his room on the third floor after hearing gunshots in his parents room armstrong is on the phone with police for 16 minutes until 1 56 he tells the operator that the only people in the home are himself his parents and his younger sister his parents and the sister are on the second floor armstrong says no one is on the first floor armstrong is heard on the 9-1-1 call waking up his sister they go downstairs and aj armstrong turns off the security alarm as the police enter the front door. Dawn and Antonio were shot in the head while they slept. Okay, wait a minute. I think that I'm just hearing that he turned off

the security alarm to allow police in. So this double murder goes down while the security system is intact. Take a listen to our friends at KTRK. Her father was carried out of the family's townhome on a stretcher. Kara was in the house asleep in her second floor bedroom when her parents were shot in their room on the same floor a few feet away. The night before the murders, she went to bed around 11 p.m. after hugging her mom and dad and setting the house alarm. The next thing she remembers was A.J. waking her up, telling her to come with him downstairs. A.J. says she was half asleep, could barely process what was happening. She was separated from A.J., put in a cop car,

her hands bagged and tested for gunshot residue. Okay, what does that mean to test for gunshot residue? James Shelnut, weigh in. Well, you know, when a weapon is fired, when a gun is fired, the way that it fires is some type of firing pin strikes a shell or casing that has powder in it, black powder. It ignites that powder and it pushes the bullet called the projectile out the end of the gun. Well, from that powder igniting, it leaves residue. Just like if you were to hold your hand over smoke outside over the fire pit, it would leave residue. And there are wipes that contain certain chemicals that will detect the presence of that gunshot powder residue on fingers, hands, and even objects. Okay, joining me, Joe Scott Morgan from Jacksonville State University, forensic expert.

Explain how close you have to be to the weapon at the time of firing to get the gunshot residue on your hands or arms. The outer limit for a pistol in particular is about 18 inches. And so just imagine this big puff goes up in the air and contained within that puff is going to be unburned powder. And then the residue that's given off as this ignition takes place. You've got two types of powder here. You've got the primer strike, which is more unstable. And then you have the

propellant, which is driving that projectile down the barrel. So there are two unique chemical structures here. If an individual is holding the weapon, one of the places that you target in order to swab the hands, if people will just look at kind of the U-shape that your hand makes between your thumb and your index finger. You'll go in there. You'll swab that particular area to see if anybody was holding the weapon. Now, on the other end of it, you might have propellant that comes out on a victim. Say, for instance, if on the contact surface of them, it'll give you an idea that that's the direction in which the projectile was actually fired in.

And it's very curious. A lot has been made in the last days of the Idaho students, four of them, slain, we believe, at least in their beds, if not in their sleep. Much has been made of the fact that their bottom floor roommates, the two girls that sleep downstairs, heard nothing. I don't find that unusual at all. And I hearken back to the Ted Bundy case where many of the girls in the Chi Omega sorority house at FSU heard nothing. And Bundy had gotten in and was bludgeoning people, trying to kill them, people he had never even met. In this case, you have the sister,

Kira, who heard nothing. And in her sleep, after she hugs her mom and dad goodnight, her parents are executed, shot dead, just down the hallway, there in the family home, and she heard nothing. Is that suspicious? Maybe. I find it completely believable. But let's listen to more. Take a listen to Courtney Fisher. Kara says AJ and her parents had a great relationship, that he was acting like his normal, happy, goofy, playful self the day of the murders. But her older brother Josh, he was different when he came home from college in May.

Quote, Josh was distant. He acted like the black sheep of the family. He acted like our parents loved us more because we were biologically theirs, Kira said. She and AJ were both Dawn and Antonio Sr.'s kids. Josh was just Dawn's son. Kira says Josh was doing more drugs more often when he came home from school. Quote, he started talking to himself a lot. He stayed in the restroom for hours and hours.

He'd sit there and talk to himself. He stopped caring about his appearance. Okay, I see a lot of problems right there. Dave Mack joining me. Dave Mack, who is Josh? I know about AJ, the boy there in the home that called 911. I know about the sister Kara. Who is Josh? I know about AJ, the boy there in the home that called 911. I know about the sister, Kara. Who is Josh? All right. Josh is actually Don's son from a previous relationship.

He is not biologically the son of Antonio. And that's the friction of which they speak. Now, Josh is three years older than AJ. And he was 19 at the time of the murders okay uh to you karen stark new york psychologist you heard the description of josh's behavior what does that mean well that means that something's off psychologically nancy um he comes back he's behaving in a strange way I don't know if he was like that before, but clearly he could be bipolar, schizophrenic. I'm not sure what the diagnosis would be. Or he could just be doing

drugs, Karen Stark. It may be just that simple. Well, I'm a psychologist, so immediately I start thinking about what kind of mental disorder it might be. Yeah, you're right. Go ahead. But something is wrong, clearly. And the fact that he feels like a black sheep or believes he's treated that way, resentment is building and his own identity is not confirmed for himself. He's not sure about where he sits. You know, another thing about sibling jealousy, you know, it can start at a very young age, and it goes on all the way through adulthood. I mean, you'll have adults 40, 50, 60 years old still talking about you were mom's favorite. I mean, really get over it.

But it festers, and it sticks with people their whole life. And they don't get over it. They really don't. It's constantly, you were, no, I was my favorite. No, you were. I hear people say that all the time, the people that I work with. I was not the favorite or I was always the favorite. I mean, we even see it playing out in national headlines.

I'm not even going to say Prince Harry and William. I mean, if I have to read one more headline about how this one is mad at that one and this one is mistreated, blah, blah. They're millionaires and they're still talking about it. OK, let me let me focus on something that I really understand. And that is hard science. Take a listen to our friend Damali Keith at Fox 26. All evidence points to one person. Prosecutors say every door and window were closed and locked at the Armstrongs-Beller home

on July 29, 2016, when Antonio Sr. and Don Armstrong were shot to death with their own gun as they slept, and prosecutors point to the alarm that was set at 9.52 p.m. and was never triggered, and alarm records show motion sensors set off in the house, but no exterior doors opening or closing. Okay, isn't it true Jonathan Gilliam, former FBI special agent, it's not just a matter of the fact being that all of the alarms were on, no alarm went off, there was a motion detector, it didn't go off. But isn't it true that alarm companies that are monitoring your alarm system can tell if you turn the alarm off and

turn the alarm on. Last night, 2.30 a.m., the alarm goes off. My husband and I jump out of bed and start running. I don't even know what's happening. And he immediately, before he could even turn the alarm off, said, you cracked a window. I did not even know what he was talking about. As it turns out, my mom was up, who lives with us, 91 years old, and dropped a cake pan in the kitchen. I didn't hear any of that, but I sure heard the alarm going off. And of course, they immediately call the house to find out if everything's okay, because the alarm thinks somebody is breaking the window my point is long story i just unfolded short the alarm company knows when you disable and then restart the alarm so it's not just a matter of um the alarm being on and not tripping but nobody cut it off and cut it back on either. Right.

You know, and also this is the family, they own another business. So these are people that, you know, it sounds like they go out of their way, that the business had been robbed or was robbed sometime around that. And so these are people who take their security seriously, it appears. So, you know, once these alarms are set, that is the whole gist of the sales of these alarms, is that if they go off, you always, and every alarm I've ever had in any house I've ever lived where the alarm's gone off, within a matter of minutes, you have a phone call from the alarm company. And then they're going to check to see if everything's okay um i don't know if that phone call occurred in this circumstance well no

because the alarm was never tripped the alarm never went off but when uh the police came to the door that is when the alarm uh was shut off so um it the only way somebody could have been in there to do that, most likely, if the technology of these alarms worked, was if they were already in the house. And there have been cases, there was a guy, I don't remember what state it was in, but he was notorious. He robbed over $20 million because he figured out that a lot of these motion sensors are not put in the bedrooms of where people live because in big homes that's where they primarily move around at night so they'll set the alarm they'll be in the room and if there's any movement other places the alarm will go off i don't think that's the case here because they had two other kids in the house

which means that these were just perimeter alarms. Yeah. And you know what else? James Shelnut, Gilliam is right. There could have been somebody hiding under the bed the whole night or hiding somewhere. They creep out, commit the murder. Then they go back in hiding and they wait for the cops to come and then they sneak out. And little green men from Mars could have beamed down and killed both the mom and the dad and then be beam back up. That didn't happen. All right. That is not what happened. Someone in that home murdered mom and dad. Nobody snuck out when the alarm system got turned off. Now we got to figure out who, who, but also, also, as Gilliam just pointed out correctly, their

business had also just been robbed. Is that a coincidence? There's a robbery at the business and now suddenly they're dead. But what do you think about the alarm situation, Shelnut? Well, I think exactly what you think. I think that what the alarm did is it limited, of course, access. It identified who was in the proximity when mom and dad were killed. And it limits your possible suspects.

I do agree. There have been times where people have come in and waited. I don't think that was the case here. No one heard anything. There was no evidence of robbery at the home. There was no evidence of burglary at the home. There was no other evidence of struggle at the home. There was no evidence of burglary at the home. There was no other evidence of struggle at the home. The only

evidence there was, was that someone was inside that house, walked into those parents' bedrooms and put a bullet in their head without anyone stopping them. And I don't believe it was anyone that did it that was outside of that apartment. Guys, the cops are

stymied until they notice somebody has got a very odd demeanor. Now, I've had defense attorneys attack me and I understand why they do it. They're not totally wrong. When I say, well, this just ain't right. They're not acting the way I would expect them to act. But I'm telling you, demeanor matters to cops and it matters to jurors.

Take a listen to Damali Keith, Fox 26. Prosecutors also played a portion of Antonio Jr.'s interview with police as he talked about his mother after learning she was shot dead. Me and my brother and my sister had our little issue. Even in the moment that he realizes his mother is dead, he has so much disdain for her, he can't even say anything positive. And more from Fox 26. A Houston police investigator gave testimony saying then 16-year-old Antonio Armstrong Jr. did not appear to be scared nervous

or in shock while being interviewed by two homicide detectives the morning his parents former nfl player antonio armstrong senior and don armstrong were murdered as they slept in their belair area home back in 2016 the detective also says aj never mentioned seeing an intruder in the 16 minute 911 call but later told investigators he saw a masked man. So Antonio Armstrong did not appear to be afraid or nervous or in shock following the murder of his parents. He could not conjure up one good word about his mother. I mean, Joe Scott Morgan, professor of forensics and death investigator, you've been at plenty of death scenes

and usually the victim's families are distraught. They're absolutely crushed because this is an event that, first off, no one expects it to happen. And then when death visits these individuals, I've seen people that are in almost a catatonic state. But then I've seen people that are essentially falling apart emotionally. It runs the gamut.

But, you know, I always take issue many times when I go out to scenes and I see people that are showing little or no emotion or maybe an inappropriate level of emotion. And certainly from an investigative standpoint, it's going to make you look harder at that individual to see why they're not reacting in what would be deemed a normal manner under these abnormal circumstances. And there is the issue of him changing his story. That's the biggest tale in my mind of almost anything. Unless you catch somebody red handed. He now tells investigators he saw a masked man.

Where? Wasn't he Dave Mack in the closet, hiding in the closet when he called 911? Yeah. AJ said that he was on the third story and in the closet and he was hiding in the closet when he called 911? Yeah, AJ said that he was on the third story and in the closet, and he was hiding in fear. He heard the gunshot, and boom, he's hiding. So, yeah, I don't know how he could see anybody in the closet.

So, he doesn't mention that at first. You know, it kind of reminds me of somebody we have all analyzed to bits, and that is Miss Jodi Arias, who changed her story so many times, from not being at the scene of Travis Alexander's murder, to two ninjas with masks on, their faces covered, sneaking in and murdering Travis, and she managed to get away, to self-defense. This is right up there with the ninjas. Would you agree or disagree, Joe Scott Morgan? It is right up there with the ninjas. How preposterous is this?

You begin to think about who has access to this environment. When one thing that really stands out to me is who would know, who would actually know that this weapon was kept in a specific area and it's apparently the same weapon that was used to perpetrate these homicides it's an individual that has intimate knowledge of this environment can move through this environment and understands where people are oriented and i'm talking about this man and his wife who are peacefully sleeping in their bed and they are essentially executed. Not only that, we now learn of a throwaway comment made later on during the 911 call made by the son, A.J. Armstrong.

Take a listen to KPRC. Houston police were on their way at this point and A.J. not a suspect. Then the dispatcher then directs him to wake up his 12 year old sister. Later during that 911 call, A.J., who today stands trial accused of killing his parents, can be heard saying something unthinkable, possibly self-incriminating. Quote, it's all my fault. Wow. All my fault. He thought to say that on the 911 call. But why?

What could possible motivation be? Take a listen to ABC 13. Texts from October through May, up to two months before the murders. It shows a frustrated, exhausted pair of parents, Dawn and Antonio, telling AJ over and over he's a, quote, disappointment. That they're tired of his lying, his spending money, his bad grades. In April, Antonio Sr. texted, AJ, I'm sick of getting reports about silly crap you are doing. Keep screwing up and doing silly things like speed through the park.

I'm trading your car in for one that matches your maturity. Last morning. This text from mom in June, we gave you all and the best we had. We wanted the best for you. We provided the best education, brought you a great car to celebrate you. We tried to be open with you and what was important to you and all you do is lie to us. Scheme behind our backs. Okay, you're hearing the inner thoughts and feelings of the mom and dad, and they're threatening to change out his new car. Remember, at the time, he's 16 years old. What more do we know about the disagreements between the son, AJ, and the mom and dad, Dave Mack? Well, what we know, Nancy, is that AJ was not the golden child that he portends to be.

He had been kicked out of an exclusive school called Kincaid, and that was over pot dealing, pot smoking. We know that this was a major friction between A.J. and his parents, to the point where his mom wrote in a text message in April, we know, I know you were sneaking out because the alarm doesn't lie. The alarm caught AJ leaving the house. You know how we talked about that a minute ago, how that marks, yeah, they used that alarm to prove that AJ was lying to them. He was sneaking out at night. In addition to the angst between mom and dad and 16-year-old son, which could be true of any American family.

James Shelnut, we also learn that the teen boy, and I quote, practiced killing his NFL dad and mom for months before shooting them dead. Now, what do I mean by that? He practiced how to silence a gun with blankets and pillows in the run-up to his parents' murders. Also in his room was a crack pipe. I'm not talking about an Adderall here and there smoking a joint. Crack is a whole nother thing, Shelnut., I got to tell you that police found the.22 caliber pistol on a counter along with a note that says, I've been watching you for a long time.

Really? That's a fake note. Why? What killer? I mean, it sounds like, and I've used this phrase before when I'm talking about the JonBenet Ramsey case and the ransom note, it sounds like a fifth grade girl wrote a mystery novel. I've been watching you. That's total BS. It stinks right here in the studio, just saying it and practicing with pillows and blankets. He knew he was going to have access to pillows and blankets and he was going to shoot them in their sleep.

And he practiced for months leading up to their murders. Absolutely. You know, as soon as you said that about the ransom note, and I read that in preparation for the story, I will tell you that's the first thing that came to mind is the JonBenet Ramsey case.

How ridiculously corny, how absurd, and it's just nothing a person would actually write if they ever left a note. And by the way, I've never seen a killer leave a note at a scene. Total BS! It's not murder, she wrote. You know, forget about the hokey note the teen boy

wrote. In A.J. Armstrong's bedroom, cops find not only a crack pipe, but a pillow and a comforter set with bullet holes through them. So here are their choices. You got A.J. Armstrong, the teen boy who's angry about his car being snatched, and a 12-year-old girl who comes down rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Those are the choices. It's not a murder-suicide

because the weapon would have been dropped by the killer right there when he committed suicide after murdering the spouse. So it's not murder-suicide. Please, let's get real. The little girl did not kill her parents. She's asleep. In fact, A.J. Armstrong

says to 911, let me go wake up my sister. She's asleep in bed. That leaves him. And how would he even know she was asleep if he wasn't already up? Nancy. Jump in. When it comes to the 9-1-1 calls, I keep pointing this out over and over again, and people are always blown away by this.

20% of the time, the person who committed a homicide is the person who makes the 911 call. And when they do, and I'm sure you're familiar with this term minimization, they minimize the circumstances and they minimize their role in the circumstances. So everything that you're saying and the way that he's describing where he is, the way he's describing that he has knowledge that his sister's awake, but yet he's in a closet, that he doesn't know where the gun is. But I think it might be here and that he has ringing in his ears. But yet it happened in another room. You're right, Gilliam. Listen to our cut 20.

Our friends at ABC Houston. Police say there were no signs of a break-in. Investigators found bullet holes on the floor of AJ's room in a pillow and comforter in his closet. But AJ's fingerprints and DNA were not on the gun that was found on the kitchen counter along with a note that read, I have been watching for a long time. Get me. So with all of this evidence, why has this happened? Take a listen to our cut 28 KPRC Houston. When you look at this case by the numbers, two missed trials. In the most recent trial, the jury deliberating some 17 hours, 58 minutes, sending several notes of concern to Judge Johnson, ultimately split 8-4 not guilty here.

But whether A.J. Armstrong did it isn't the question at hand tonight. Rather, why is it that prosecutors weren't able to successfully unanimously sway jurors is? At this time on the court's own motion, I am declaring a mistrial in this case. Straight from Judge Kelly Johnson's mouth, a hung jury in the case of A.J. Armstrong Jr. They brought their best prosecutors. They tried to bring their best case. And the split, as far as we know, when they broke was 8-4, not guilty. And last but not least, we find after both of his parents are shot dead, A.J armstrong starts a fire right there in the home just got morgan what is happening why did he start a fire how did he start a fire most people that

are involved with a fire setting like this as as a result of a homicide perhaps are trying to just you know to destroy evidence and apparently it didn't work very well. What was burned? The carpet. They went in and took a big sample of the carpet in this particular case. And that's been used in court in these other two trials. And what would happen is that they would clip this out and examine it to see what the origin of the fire was. How was it initiated?

Now, I doubt that this individual is going to be a professional fire starter, but was there accelerant there? And that's hard to do with carpet. You know why? Because carpet itself, if it's synthetic, it is actually petroleum-based. A lot of people don't realize that, so they have to separate this out and be very careful about it. But, you know, this wasn't very sophisticated. But why would he start a fire and where in the home? And when would he have the opportunity to start a fire? I think, I think that this goes to no DNA was found on the weapon. I think that he had a block of time here that's unaccounted for,

where he went and probably cleaned the weapon, washed his hands, perhaps. And in addition to that, in addition to that, he's going to try to start a fire in proximity to the bodies to burn them up, to give this idea that there's not going to be any evidence. And of course, it didn't work. It just it collapsed in on itself. And so, again, that goes back to this idea. Who would have had access to that particular area? Who would have had the ability to start a fire approximating where his parents were actually found murdered? So, Dave Mack, two mistrials.

What's going to happen now? Actually, it's going to be a third trial now, Nancy. In February of 2023, they're going to try one more time to get 12 people to say guilty. Wow. With this evidence, I mean, you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to see that this guy, then 16 years old and angry about his car getting taken away, murdered his parents. It's it's I don't understand what's happening. We'll keep you updated as trial nears. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off.

Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.