On August 16, 2023, AJ Armstrong was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his parents, Antonio and Dawn Armstrong. Antonio was an American football linebacker who played in the NFL and CFL.
According to KHOU, on July 29, 2016, 16-year-old AJ Armstrong dialed 911 and informed the dispatcher that he heard two gunshots from his parent’s bedroom. When the police arrived, they discovered that both Dawn and Antonio had been shot. Furthermore, they found pillows placed on their heads. Dawn had already died, and Antonio was rushed to the hospital
Unfortunately, doctors could not save him. Soon, AJ Armstrong became a suspect in the murder of his parents. He was charged with capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The 23-year-old will be eligible for parole 40 years from now. He is currently held in the Robertson Unit, a maximum-security prison in Abilene, Texas.
AJ Armstrong was recently interviewed by KPRC 2 reporter Rilwan Balogun and investigative producer Jason Nguyen. Furthermore, when Balogun asked Armstrong why he killed his parents, he said that he was innocent.
Armstrong said, “I didn’t kill my parents. I would say falsely convicted because I don’t believe the conviction was the result that should have happened. It should have been either another hung jury or a not-guilty verdict. There’s no way ever I would have in a million years imagined being here.”
This tragic case will be discussed on the ABC show ABC 20/20 on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET. The episode is titled “All American Murder”.
How was AJ Armstrong’s relationship with his parents?
In the KPRC 2 interview with AJ Armstrong, the convicted murderer got candid about his relationship with his parents. This interview took place with a glass partition and on a telephone.
Armstrong said, “I mean, I thought I had a great relationship with my parents despite, you know, I was a 16-year-old kid. It’s hard to look back because, after going through those three trials and hearing all the things that they’ve said, it’s kind of just caused my mind to almost kind of forget some of the good things because it’s been pushed on me –nothing but negative.”
He further said, “And I, you know, it’s just it sucks. It really does. But at the end of the day, I know how my parents felt about me and I know how I felt about them. And that’s what I just choose to hold on to regardless.”
Armstrong even spoke about his life in prison and how, most of the time, he was busy in the kitchen.
He said, “I work in the kitchen, so I’m just busy. You have to work four days and you’re off three. But, you know, I just keep myself busy. I do like to. I feel like I spend a lot of time, you know, keeping up to date on my sports because that’s my, that’s my love right there. But, you know, outside of that, just keeping my mind occupied, you know, because it’s a process.”
The 23-year-old has strongly maintained his innocence since the very beginning. Even his wife, friends, and family strongly believe that he has been wrongfully convicted.
