JAILHOUSE EXCLUSIVE: The AJ Armstrong Interview

Antonio yes sir how are you I'm doing good I'm doing good you know considering the circumstances as good as I can be but I'm doing well how have things been here the last few weeks uh it's been definitely an adjustment you know coming to a new facility moving again and all that getting you know comfortable as possible here meeting new people and finally moving to population and not being isolated like I have been pretty much this whole time so it's just been another adjustment but it's going well so far how was that the just kind of being by yourself until you moved in gen pop uh honestly even from juvenile days till now I've always been in a Cale for practically 23 hours a day really 24 hours a day so being by myself is something I've kind of become used to it doesn't really bother me but um you know getting a s for the first time and that whole experience it was a little nerve-wracking at first cuz you have no idea what to expect but I God put me in a good situation sitation good guy so things are things are going well why why did you want to talk to us today um I just feel like it's important for me to finally be able to really speak you know for the last seven years with us being in trial and stuff like that and fighting the case my attorneys felt it was best for me not to really speak out so I went with their lead and now where we're at uh you know I felt it was time for me to be able to just able to speak my truth so let's talk about that your truth it's there's been three trials first two are hung juries the most recent third one you convicted for killing both of your parents the questions everyone want to know is why did you kill your parents I didn't kill my parents I would say falsely convicted cuz I don't believe the conviction that took place 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 but here I am and you know it's just about taking it one day at a time the appeal process is can be a slow process but at the end of the day I know I'm going to walk out of here this isn't how my story ends this isn't how things things go for me you know it's just continuing to keep my trust in God regardless of what comes my way but yeah absolutely not that's it's a false conviction then if it's not you then who I can't give you that answer if I knew that answer I wouldn't be in here if my family knew that answer we would have given that over to the authorities as quick as possible but it's just due to their lack of investigation and them not pursuing anything outside of me from that night like they've said on the stand it's put us in a situation to where we don't have anything and we're probably going to have to live the rest of our lives not knowing what happened to my parents and that's unfortunate but it's the situation the Houston Police Department and the DA's offic has put us in talk to me about how was it for you during these last three trials just sitting and listening to everything I don't it's I wouldn't wish it on anybody it's horrible to have to sit there and hear the things that I had to listen to to be able to have really me and my parents relationship dissected and broken down in a way that the da felt it was when in reality it wasn't like that sure my parents got on me everyone read the text messages everyone saw what was being said but at the end of the day my parents loved me and I loved them more than anything that's that was the relationship they had they were strict on me they wanted they knew the potential that I had they knew where I could go in my life and that's how they were but it was never anything more than that so having to sit there and especially listen to the DA you know try and say they're speaking for my parents or they're doing what my parents would have wanted and just things like that is just I just felt was really out of place and just disrespectful to my grandparents in general because those were their kids and they're sitting in court and we all know if either one of my parents would have made it or if both of my parents would have made it this would have never been a situation we would have been in they would have made it very clear that they didn't believe in what the da was trying to do and what they were trying to say about our relationship just wasn't true you you mentioned the part when the prosecutors said that they were speaking through your mom specifically how did that make you feel very frustrated cuz it's just like I said I just it was really disrespectful my I mean my grandparents are sitting right there and to say that you're speaking for their daughter and their daughter-in-law when you don't know you never never knew their daughter daughter-in-law you're just reading text messages and assuming hey this fits our narrative so let's say Don felt this way when in actuality Don didn't feel that way my mom was hard on me she was hard on my sister she was hard on my brother she was hard on everyone that's just how my mom was but she was she loved even bigger and that never changed just because I was doing things I shouldn't have so just to have that narrative push that my mom felt that way about me or anything like that it was it was hard talk to us about your relationship with your parents I mean I felt like I had a great relationship with my parents despite you know I was a 16-year-old kid I snuck out to be with my girlfriend who's not my wife I was smoking weed I was I was getting bad grades like I was I wasn't doing well in school my sophomore year but at the end of the day it was still a normal relationship I was with my dad all the time going to the gym working out 5 days a week we still laughed we still joked we did things we had family events like everything was normal I just made some goofy kid mistakes at that age and it was taken and blown into something that it really wasn't and you know 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 and I you know it's just it sucks it 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 does looking back at your relationship with your parents changed things for you now because you're a father yourself with your own son definitely I see I tell I told my family all the time like with having Hendrick for just a for just two years now he three it's like I see so much of understanding what parenting is like from my parents perspective I see how the things my Dad tried to instill in me at a very young age why it was so important I just and I see a lot of myself in my son so it's like I can see why my parents were the way they were with me and things like that but it's it's being a parent a blessing i i absolutely love it you know and I'm grateful that I had the time with my parents and they were the great parents that they were and they instilled so much in me in those 16 years that I I feel like I've prepared to be a father even at a young age but you know it's just I definitely see why my parents were the way they were but I'm grateful for it you know when's the last time you saw Kate like face to face here um the last time we were face to face Cas would have been probably about somewh early September something like that so it's been it's been a while while you were still in Harris County yes I was while I was still in Harris County she came every Wednesday and Saturday to come see me while I was there so since I moved I haven't seen anyone except well I got to see Brandon but outside of that I haven't seen her or my grandparents I told him it's a far drive out here and then flights and things like that they can be expensive so I was like you guys just hold off we'll figure this out and hopefully we can get me moved back closer so we'll see how that plays out let let's go back to the day you were convicted um what was going through your mind once you heard that the jurors rang that Bell that they either had a question or they're ready for verdict what were you and the team of attorneys talking about and your family um I knew they had a verdict uh so once that bill was rang I knew the verdict came came in cuz I believe they said they rang it twice and that meant they had a verdict so I went in there and I was with JL and she kind of let me know that was that it was a verdict she heard the Two Bells so for me it was just a matter of I was excited honestly I was like we finally are at a place we've got a jury that has heard all the evidence and they see the truth and I was believing that that was my chance to finally be done with all of this to not have to ever be in a courtroom again have to ever sit through another trial or have to worry about with another hung jury with the J with the da come back 5 years later or 10 years later and try and charge me again I just felt that I was finally at that point of being able to move on with my life but um it was also nerve-wracking cuz there's also the flip side to it which is what we ended up getting and um you know it was it was a whole bunch of emotions but there was a little bit of excitement there hoping that that it was that time to be able to finally move on with my life do you recall hearing katees or any of your family members after the verdict came down hearing them oh I turned around immediately when I was walking out to look at her because I just wanted her to know it's going to be okay like I love you and I wanted them to see me be strong right in that moment because I knew that what was coming it was going to be it was going to be tough but but I wanted them to know that I'm going to be okay that we're going to get through this we're going to figure it out I'm going to be okay and that's what I tried to do but I could see everyone as they walked out and it was obviously emotional and it was emotional back there for me and my attorneys you know we've we we really are a family you know I've been with Rick and Chris for seven years I've known Chris for as long as I can remember and JL came in right before the first trial and she's been amazing so it's like this wasn't just attorney and client this was a family that had been built over the last seven years they saw me grow up from a 16y old kid to a 23-year-old father and a husband now so things have completely changed and um they've been supportive every step of the way and I couldn't thank them enough for everything they've done for me I love the three of them with everything I have in me and I would pick them to be my attorneys anything life would ever throw my way they're that great to me I want to um ask some questions about the trial itself what was going through your head leading up to the trial when you hear that there's been new evidence with the blood underneath the name tag um well you saw the lawsuit that we filed that was my immediate reaction they say it again I said the lawsuit that was filed was my immediate reaction there was very clear to me my family my attorneys that evidence was planted because I don't understand how after seven years in a case of this magnitude the day before trial you come out and say there's been new evidence that we've now discovered I don't even know how that's possible but that's what the DA's office did and it's unfortunate and I feel that being the newest piece of evidence to the case the only thing that really changed from the first trial to the second trial to the third trial I felt that that evidence was probably the reason what got me in here unfortunately and it sucks because it's planted it's not there's no other way around it in my eyes see well the jurors that prosecutor spoke to afterwards and then they relayed that back to us said that it was the 911 call and the interrogation of that night they said after they heard that they already said you did it does that make sense to you MH so you understood why they would think you did it after the 911 call and the interrogation I would understand but it's also for me that night you're dealing with at that time I was 16 years old I was sitting in the back of a cop car for 6 seven hours no sleep no idea of what's going on with my parents I'm asking these officers what's going on with my parents I'm not getting any information I'm taken downtown now I'm invest now I'm being questioned by these detectives and for me yes there were things that were said that might have looked like I was trying to lie or cover something up but at the end of the day I was a 16-year-old kid at the time I'm not not have any experience with being investigated by police officers or know what to say what's wrong or what's right in the moment and if I went back and could do it all over again I would have immediately just asked for my lawyer cuz that probably would have put us in a different situation but I don't understand it at all how the statement or the 911 call led to a guilty verdict but that's what the jurors decided and I can't I don't hold any ill will towards them that's what they felt after reading the case that's how these things work so you said if you could redo it again after or while being interrogated you would have immediately just stopped talking asking for your attorney why didn't you do that I was trying to help in my eyes at that time I thought I was helping giving the information that I felt would be able to best help the I mean just answering the questions that they had for me honestly and part of me I didn't really understand that I was being accused until certain they started to really press me and things like that over like gunshot residue and all those different kinds of things so for me it was like okay you guys don't believe me and I'm now being accused of this so that at that point I always think back like dang okay at that point I probably should have been like look I don't even know if I have a lawyer but I would like to have a lawyer now because it's I felt the the pressure of okay this is flipped from hey let's get to know you and help me figure out what happened to we're saying you did this type deal there was something during the interrogation call it comes out to us that days or or days leading up to the murders that you shot a gun through the floor just talk to us through that what happened there and you told investigators that you were doing it for a friend to show off to a friend um the whole gun incident I with that being shot through the floor I believe they said it was days before but but it was week or two before that wasn't something that was done like the day before the incident and I believe we uh I don't know if my sister testified to that or one of the two but my parents were aware of it and they also continued to say that there was like fresh sheetrock on the ground but there was never any fresh sheetrock on the ground there was in any of the pictures that they showed there was the bullet obviously but that was kind of blended into the carpet but again it was just with the way things went with my parents passing it was able to be blown into something big that oh my gosh he was test firing and that's what he was doing and that was his whole plan when in reality it was just a 16-year-old kid playing around with a gun like it's we hear those stories a lot nowadays and a lot of them have unfortunate outcomes but for me it was just me being a kid I didn't really think anything into it just playing with a gun so who was the friend that you were there with I'm not going to tell you that r on but it do you think that friend could help you say yes I was there with them at that day we did this not days before but weeks beforehand um I don't think it would have helped only because like they had their mind made up about what they uh felt about me you know so I don't know if I disclosing that information would have been beneficial to me or not it could have been could not but I don't I don't really know honestly do you want that person to come forward and say hey I was with him that day no not really just because I don't feel it's necessary to bring someone else into this bring that person into this when it's already at this magnitude this late in the case and things like that so you know I just that's really why I never spoke on who the friend was at that time time because it just wasn't I didn't think it would be beneficial or to want to bring them into it either cuz obviously with how things are and how big this case has become it wasn't necessary to bring someone else into it that was really just an innocent bystander at the time but you're still saying someone there someone else was there with you oh yeah that that was never a lie I don't I will the things that were lies were very clear throughout the statement that they felt was a lie but that was never were a lie what were those things that you think were clearly lies um about how the I hadn't touched the gun you know that was clearly at one point I said that I did touch I mean I hadn't touched the gun in forever and that's goes back to my whole point of At first I felt the interview was going one way and then at that point when I realized oh snap they are really trying to accuse me of this the nerves hit and I just made up I mean I lied for no reason and I hate that I did that because it put me in a situation of look we have this pattern of him continuing to lie but I don't feel that um yeah I just yeah that's the thing that I I hate that I just wasn't forthcoming about cuz it wasn't that big of a deal but I went about it the wrong way there was another incident that prosecutors kind of leaned on this was the the fire set in front of the door mhm what happened there I don't the gasoline story I don't really understand how there was gasoline on the carpet that was has always been something that was really confusing and a little suspect to our family me my family and my lawyers just about how gasoline was there cuz there's no gasoline in the house so where did are they trying to say that I took alcohol bottle to a gas station and filled it up or something I I don't understand how that even came to be but um again playing with matches like I said and on the cam on the pictures I believe if you zoom in there's actual there's actual match on the ground that's there so that one was again just like the story that I told them it's not something that I made up it's not something that I lied about it's the truth there was I was playing with matches being a goofy kid and started a fire and it was put out my parents dealt with me obviously and we moved on from it so you're you're saying suggesting that that was blown out of proportion I believe that the gunshot and the fire were both blown out of proportion solely because of what happened and them it fits their narrative to be able to say hey look he test fired hey look he tried to burn the house down and and then he ended up killing his parents it just fit their narrative so that's why it was so important to them to be able to push that out and it sucks because there's things that didn't fit their narrative that they never really disclosed or shared or put out there so it's like it wasn't it's not really a fair Shake that's given you know so I don't know why that's the way it is but I've come to find out in this Judicial System that's kind of how things work what would you say were some of those things that didn't fit the prosecutor's narrative um I would say the first thing that we always brought up was if why did they never check the surveillance footage from the business right across literally a house over you know there's businesses when you come out and you make that left there's businesses all down that street there's businesses on the back street if they were so confident and knew for certain that it was me they could have easily just checked that security footage and then boom it would have either proved our case which we know it would have proved our case or it would have prove their case but they never cared to look because they felt it wasn't pertinent to the investigation as they said many times throughout trial um I think another thing is they which I believe it came out in the first trial was the copycat note that was left how is a note that's not even disclosed to the public that is left at the crime scene how does that a copycat note be left on a vehicle of someone who's close to the family at the time how does that happen how does the person who left that note leave a copycat note that's almost identical to the note that was left at the scene like how does that happen and I'm in jail at the time so it obviously isn't me so how does that note left you know um that didn't really make any sense and I didn't understand why that wasn't allowed in and obviously the prosecutors fought to keep that out um again the they continued to say that I never mentioned the mass man that was completely made up the I didn't mention that until I believe they said I didn't mention it until the statement well I told officer Reed as soon as I came out he heard me say that there was a mass man in the house but then after meeting with prosecutors all of a sudden he doesn't remember or he thinks someone else told him that so it's just like how does that how is one at one moment you hear it you report that you hear it and then when it's time to testify to it oh I don't really remember saying that anymore it's like it's how is that it's not really giving me a fair shake and telling the truth because that was something they really hit at during the trial that hey he didn't mention this mask man until his statement so that's another thing that was kind of frustrating and then yeah there's there's a few things that I uh oh the death threats that was never brought into any Tri any trial why was it not allowed to be heard that my father was receiving death threats why is that something that would that had to be kept out the da felt it was irrelevant but to us it was very relevant my father was receiving death threat that was known information that was given to the police and the DA's office and when they got that information instead of investigating it they re sending messages back and forth to each other about hey should we put it under a different case number should we put it somewhere else should we I believe one prosecutor said that it's burning a hole in my pocket since I've been since I've received this information why are you trying to put it under a different case number why are you trying to do something different than investigating why why wasn't it investigated because it didn't fit the narrative that they felt 11 minutes didn't like the officer testified to they made that decision and nothing was going to change their mind no matter what they had so the fact that my father was receiving death threats made no difference to them they just burst it to the side like oh okay at the time were you aware your D dad was getting threats I wasn't aware at the time but when that information was disclosed and you know we dug into it it became aware that wow okay this was happening and they're not going to do anything about it so it again sucks because it's not fair to us like how does two juries not hear that I mean how do three juries not hear that my father was receiving death threats that's something that should be disclosed that's something that should have been investigated cuz if that investigation happens who knows what information comes out that would have been beneficial to our case that we could have presented before the jury but there was never any investigation into it and they didn't tell us about it till quite a while later I would say months but it was quite a while later were you aware of any of the other things that came out during trial about your parents their finances or some of the relationships they had with some folks when you say relationship they have with some folks what do you mean by that there's uh the allegation that your dad was involved in something I heard those things for the first time in trial that was nothing that um obviously I'm a 16y old kid I was not aware of anything like that so um I I can't speak on whether it's I really can't speak on that all I can say is that I know my father I love that I love that man to this day never met a man like him and I I couldn't imagine it but at the end of the day if they would have investigated it and something like that came out it would have been a really really hard pill to swallow and see that but it wouldn't have changed how I viewed my father because I just know the man he was cuz there's something I believe if if I recall said during the interrogation that maybe it was you just spitballing here but you said I don't know if my dad or if someone had a hit out against my mom do you remember that or something of of that variation I said during the um the interrogation call I believe um believe a hit how did I say it again you said something like I don't know if there was a hit out against my mom something to that effect is what I remember um again I like I said during that interview there were things that I spoke on that just looking back on I could barely even remember that interview if it wasn't for the statement itself I that whole night was a blur and um you know just again it's probably one of those things that I said in the moment that didn't really just trying to make sense of all of it cuz I don't I still to this day don't understand how my parents are murdered it doesn't make sense to me how we are where we are you know my father was loved by everyone I felt my mother was loved by every they were great people in the community so for me it just it's never really made sense and I guess at that point it was 16y old me trying to make sense of it but you know it was obviously that's another thing that they took and they blew it out of proportion again and made it to seem like hey he's lying or he's doing this when I don't think any 16-year-old kid who loses their parents is going to be interrogated by police officers 7 hours later and is going to make sense of what they're saying they're probably going to be all over the place like I feel like that was really lost in all of it is no one knows how a 16-year-old is going to react but everyone's telling me how a 16-year-old should react I should have been more emotional I should have been doing this or doing that when you don't really know what you're going to do in that moment cuz no not many people I don't know many people who have been in that situation before but it's um yeah I just yeah that was that was always tough them you know kind of really judging the way my my character was and how I should have acted or shouldn't have acted how did you feel when Pro when the your attorneys were suggesting that your brother might have committed these crimes um I love my brother more than anything best big brother you could ever ask for uh but from the time he came back from college till about two years ago there was genuine fear of him because of how bad he had gotten with his issues and I had never I I didn't even allow my son to be around my brother because there was that level of not knowing what he would do how he would act or what was going on so for me I had no idea I as much as I never wanted to I didn't believe it could be that I was also like that's not Josh the Josh from when he came back from college till about two or three years ago is not the guy that I grew up with is not the guy that I knew um that I know today that wasn't Josh so for me it wasn't looking at him the person it was looking at okay that disease that he was dealing with the things that he said the things that he did at that time it was it was scary so to take the leap to say okay maybe when he was really going through it and the things that were going on with my parents she it could have been it could have been Josh but you know I know my brother and I separate the two I I really do separate what he is now and before college versus that I guess that like 5ye period those are two completely different people but I know how like I said I know I know my brother I know how great of a person he is we talk throughout this entire process he's been supportive throughout the entire process we talk to this day he checks up on me you know um it's not what the prosecutors and some of their Witnesses tried to make it out to be with with my brother as a matter of fact Josh is doing great today he's for the last I'd say two going on three years he's been amazing he has been doing well taking it with his medicine and everything that he needs to do working going to school social like he's Josh again so for me it was that's what I care about most is having my big brother back and not being in that situation of not knowing cuz it sucked having to keep my son away from him like that's his uncle you know they should have a relationship they should know each other but I just wanted to being a father I have to protect mine I have to protect my wife my son and they they obviously come first so I had to separate my emotions of my love for my brother with knowing that okay he's not really himself right now what what what do you want to say to your family oh I love them I have the best family in the world there's there's nobody like my family um they've supported me without question without doubt through it all and to me that's all that matters I don't I don't need um you know to be told that I didn't kill my parents because I know I didn't my family knows I didn't and they support me and that's all that matters to me I have the best wife in the world the best in-laws the fact that you know at 15 16 years old I'm hit with the case that I'm hit with and they didn't even blink eye they've supported me every day they've been at every hearing been at every trial I have people that love me and I know how genuine their love is and a lot of people don't have that and I've learned that through being through this process there's a lot of people that don't have that family support that don't have the people that look after them and care for them the way my family does and I'm forever grateful for it you know and we're not going to stop fighting you know like I said earlier this isn't how this story ends and whatever however long it takes whatever the process that we have to go through to get me back home we're going to do that and we're going to make it happen and it's as simple as that cuz you all are still appealing like that's still the fact you're still moving forward with everything you need to do there yes sir um people will say if you didn't kill your parents then who did do you have an idea who might have I feel that answer probably lied within those death threats that my father was receiving and and whatever was going on the answer was probably behind that door but the da shut it I just to this day I don't understand how they did that like I was saying earlier how are you when we when we found out and we went um before the judge and she said they had to come over come off of their messages and things like that how are you guys messaging back and forth about hiding this like you didn't want this to come out you didn't tell us till much later so it's like you knew something was there but you chose to ignore it essentially you chose to not tell the public you chose to not bring this before a jury and they fought before every single trial that was something that came up about how they did not want that to come in because they felt it wasn't relevant I don't understand to this day how it's not relevant that my father was receiving death threats why can't a jury hear that why I was no jury allowed to sit there and listen to those facts and but why was it never investigated I just feel that shows even more they made up their mind and they refused to change their mind no matter what came before them no matter what was presented the things I mentioned earlier I didn't even mention the the burglary at the gym someone matching the exact description that I gave to the police mask over the face everything matching the exact same description breaks into my father's gym theyve never had a Breakin before never had issues but now there's a Breakin afterwards walking around searching for things it's not like they broke in and like hey let's just go grab the cash register and run out of here no they're walking throughout the gym they're looking for things so again why is that not relevant why is that not shown to a jury there's multiple things that we feel was just kept from juries because because they felt hey it's not relevant but why there's there's no answer for why it's not relevant how did you feel during the third trial when prosecutors brought in the mannequins the props to create the bed the props to create the stairs cuz that was also different from the first two trials um I'll start with the stairs anyone that's been to my house uh their description of the stairs and how you have to come down a certain ways to be able to see it's just not accurate you don't have to walk all the way down from my third story you probably could have walked down two or three steps and Peak your head and been able to see the door it's not hard at all but again they have to make The Narrative of hey no you have to do this this and you got to walk all he had to come all the way down cuz they wanted to make it seem like hey he had to walk all the way down and see this person and that person saw him so therefore he has to be lying when that's not the case you only had to walk a few steps down so I didn't agree with the way they presented the stairs so you're saying in that case if you are coming down the stairs of the home there's a way for you to see the person you said who did this without them seeing you back yeah that there's a wall like they they showed that wall that they were trying to present throughout trial if I'm walking I don't want to be too specific with the number of steps and you know but I'll just say like three or four steps I believe they said I can't I had to come down more than that if I come down just quite a few steps and I peep my head over you can see out the creek of that I mean you can see right past that wall right to where the door is so there's a way to see and not be seen so I felt the fact that they presented that as if there was no way I could have seen them and they didn't see me it was just false and with the mannequins in the [Music] bed I just felt that was their way of trying to explain the planed evidence CU it doesn't make sense that Miss Rossy would say that one I was in the room which is false I never went in the room secondly to say that I went and put pillows over their heads and in putting the pillows over their head I believe I don't I believe it was called expiration she was saying was taking place and somehow some way during that two tiny spots of blood hit in those exact spots where the sticker was but somehow The Blood also dried in the process of that happening and from that moment till 7 hours later those two tiny spots that were dried in that exact same spot where the sticker would be put never fell off never flaked off despite the fact that I was touched by officers they even said that they grabbed me and pulled me out of the door and if I'm coming out of the door they would grab and pull exactly where that sticker was at or the where the sticker was placed so how would that even I just don't I I to this day I don't understand their argument for the the blood it just never made sense to me I feel planted evidence is the only way around it you know that you can't you can't make that make sense and then I believe Rick even brought up a great point during trial if you with how big this case is and how that was a big thing for them how do you only pull the sticker back and see blood there and then pull the sticker back and see blood there and stop why don't you continue peeling because now if there's there could be a bunch of blood right there but they just stop and like Rick said it's like she knew it was already there so she just stopped she's like oh we got it we found it there it is it just it doesn't make any sense to me and I'll refuse to ever accept that that evidence wasn't planted because I know for a fact it was and the fact that it was allowed in the trial and you know it it sucks because um like I said there's no other way around it rather than it was planted evidence you you strongly believe that that this was planted somehow who do you think would have planted it I can't give you an exact person but it will come out one day is this someone you know you believe did it um we have our strong suspicions but I you know with the civil case obviously right now it's being put on hold with while this is worked out but um when that time comes it it will it will come out what what we believe took place that day why not share it now get you out of here you say you know who might have either planted it or committed the crimes why not share it now well I can't say I know who committed the crimes because if I knew who committed the crimes I would have came off that information a very long time ago but with the planted evidence you know I don't want to the Civil process is a lot different than the criminal and the last thing I would want to do is interfere with what's going on you know so I'm I'm going to take the advisement of my lawyers and not really go into that but I can share that I strongly believe and know that that's that's planted evidence the I'm thinking of the 911 call I'm trying to think of things that people have brought up or asked MH the 911 call when you're trying to get your sister and prosecutor said you went straight to your sister's room you didn't check in your parents room why didn't you open the door to your parents room I did not want to see my parents in the state that I feared they might be and I don't know um that's also why throughout trial whenever things were showed I always look down I don't I never want to see my parents in that state I don't that's a yeah it's not I want to remember my parents I remember my parents and hearing how my mom was found and where my dad was and things like that that's not something I have any interest in ever seeing you know so I just and again for that to be used against me it sucks cuz who runs in that room I I I don't believe anybody in my situation would have because again I didn't want to see my parents what I was worried was you know how they were and my biggest Focus was I need to get my little sister out at this house and I need to make sure she's okay and we will find out what's let the police come in and do what they need to do and give us the information about my parents but my sister was my biggest worry she's that's M it's my little sister have you spoken to your sister since I have have um I always I tell anybody who ask she's she's had it harder than anybody even with me sitting in here right now never compare what she's had to go through to what I've gone through she was 12 years old at the time um she she's very strong very very strong you know it's she not only lost her parents that night but I was put in jail my brother wasn't doing well she's just you know she's had she's put with my grandparents and nobody deserves that what she had to go through but I don't know how but I know it's nobody but God that girl is so strong she graduated high school went to she's going to a great University made the Deans List she's just she's a rock star there there's nobody that that's a very very special young lady and I'm I'm just grateful for her continuous support she's always supported me she's always been there for me to this day she she stepped up my my son calls her Titi and she's always she's always calling and checking on them she's always in town every time she's in town she's going to see him she's there for him so it's it's a blessing to have to have her she's I'm very grateful for everything she's done and you know she's strong but she's an Armstong how has your faith kind of played how has your faith helped you since you've been here since through all of this my faith is the only reason why I have my head on straight there's no other way around it after everything I've been through the things that I've had to sit through and listen to there's nobody with God that I haven't lost my mind or just quite frankly been suicidal or anything like that like it's truly truly my faith God has has kept me through it all you know and that's why I can sit here and be okay despite the fact that I'm I'm in this prison physically but I won't allow myself mentally to go to that place I won't allow them this process all of this to take anything from me you know I I'm I'm strong in my word I'm strong in my prayer and I believe every word that that every word that the Bible says and I know that as long as I continue to keep my trust in him keep my faith in him that this is going to work itself out it doesn't matter to me what anyone else says about the process I know that God answers prayers and there's people that are praying all across we've had people call from everywhere not just in the United States from other countries that have reached out to the family to let us know they're praying with us and there's power and agreement there's power in the agreement of prayer so I'm just grateful for all the people that have been supportive that have just lifted me up cuz that's been a blessing to here you know that you can be in here and at times you know get the feeling like man like how how am I even here but I'll run into somebody and they'll be like man I can't believe you're in here man I've run into so many guys throughout this process that have just been like man I've been supporting you my family on the outside's been rooting for you it's just it's been a blessing God's been with me everywhere I've everywhere I've been and obviously coming to prison I'm not the I'm not the type of guy that's a fighter and a yeller and a go off like that I'm just a quiet to myself but um and there's the worries of being in here you know but like I said God's been with me everywhere I've gone I've been given favor with you know inmates that have just looked out for me who somehow knew me or heard about me somehow I've had um people reach out to me on on the tablet just messaging me from all over the place that have just heard about my case and just wanted to reach out and say they support me and they're praying for me so being hit with all that support I know it's it's nobody but God that's just put this many people around me to be able to show me that love throughout all this time what's the day-to-day like here would you say um it is I work in the kitchen so uh I you know just am busy I only work Thursday to Sunday you have to work four days and you're off three but um you know I just keep myself busy um I do like to I FOC I spend a lot of time you know know keeping up to date on my sports cuz that's my that's my love right there but um you know outside of that just keeping my mind occupied you know cuz I'm just it's a process you know it's something you have to take a day at a time you you mentioned that this is not the end of your story no not at all tell us your story what happens next I can't tell you the time I can't tell you the date but I'm going to walk out of here and I believe I'll be acquitted I believe that this thing is going to work itself out I have no choice but to keep my faith in God I know that he answered my prayers when I first prayed in 2016 I know he answered all of my family's prayers over these years and the people that we've met and run into and I get back out this is I've met so many people this week what I want to do with my life I want to help people who are in situations like mine who are put falsely accused people who are you know just need that family support who need someone to be able to help get them a lawyer you know not not many people are are able to hire a lawyer like you're this judicial system is it's not something that can just you can just fight you know you have to be able to have a lot of support to be able to get through it and I've realized throughout my time that that's something I really really care about is helping make a difference because there's a lot of people who could use that support from lawyers to family to financially just in any kind of way I could help you know I've told my family like we we're going to start a foundation when this is over with that sole purpose is helping people before they go to jail juveniles the whole thing like I just I want to help and I feel like that might have been might be why I've gone through all this to be able to see how this whole process works from the juvenile stages all the way up to now being in TDC I've learned how this process works and now I want to use what I've learned to help people well Antonio thank you for your time we wrapping up here final moments anything you want to say to your family to your wife or anyone who might watch this later to my wife first of course I love her very very much and she is so strong to be able to you know take care of our son and continue to work and do everything she's doing with working with the lawyer just she's she's doing a million things but you couldn't tell by how strong she's handling it and you know I just I'm so grateful to have someone like her to stand by my side I couldn't have picked a better woman to be my wife and I'm just grateful for that and to my family y'all know I love you I thank y'all for you know continuing to support me and going on this this journey with me because it's been there's been ups and downs highs and lows but God is good and I'm at peace I'm going to continue to smile every single day not let anything take away my joy and um for everyone out there that supports I thank you I you know I've I've heard a lot of the people who have reached out I know like on my birthday I got so many messages that my family sent me from just people all over just reaching out to tell me happy birthday just things like that mean in the world to me it uplifts you to see the the support that's out there and know that there's people that despite me being here they know the truth they see the truth and the truth will come out you know what's done in the dark always comes to light and the things that were done wrong the Injustice that took place it will it'll come out one day and I'm just going to continue to trust God and keep on living my life as best I know how until that time comes Antonia thank you for your time no problem man thank you'all that can you still hear me yeah can you hear me from here you talked about that mass man three times what do you remember about that mass man from that night look at realan when you talk to uh about the mass man that night pretty much the description that I gave the officers who was a mass man I whole that was about it but it's very eerie how the exact same description is used in that burglary of the gym it's the exact same thing African-American eyes mask the whole nine so it's again something that I felt was really relevant that what that the prosecutors didn't feel was relevant do you think that the Maxine Waters was right in saying that your dad was a part of a Pros prostitution ring I can't say whether I think she was right or not cuz I honestly don't know like I I have I hold my dad in such high regard that I would need some okay this has been investigated AJ this is what we found this is what we know your dad did XYZ for me to be like okay he was a part of something like that but it was never investigated they just threw it under the rug like it doesn't matter so I yeah last one for me um the alarm system was a major pivotal Focus point from Ryan TR from the F the second trial to the third trial your thoughts on the alarm system and what do you think about it today after all of that um yeah the alarm system was huge obviously throughout the trials I mean for me personally I thought Chris did an amazing job breaking down the alarm you have what 79 heirs I believe in just July alone that weren't picked up with somebody coming in now Mr dasta said that this is normal not a big deal but for me he's the president or vice president of that company he can't come out and say that hey these 79 erors are concerning because then he's going to be having his phone ringing all day long with people who have those exact same issues potentially saying okay well if it's the concern for that house then should I be concerned is my alarm system not working so he said what he had to say but at the end of the day you can't get around the fact that someone could come into that house and not even be in the alarm not even pick it up or the fact that the alarm system wasn't even installed properly you're not supposed to have two doors on One sensor but that's what we had then we showed that that door could open and close and open and close and it not even be picked up and we showed that you could come in that house and go straight up those stairs and not be picked up by that first floor motion detector these are things that we pointed out and like I said Chris did an amazing job of breaking all of that down and I don't believe in the alarm system that we had I don't even believe that alarm system is still used it was that 2 gig system I don't even think it's something that companies use anymore because of the issues it was having so for me it's I don't argument that we made for the alarm system was factual you can't have 100 something errors over the 3 months before the murders and say that that's not a problem it is a problem and that's all the time we have thanks Antonio no problem

Channel: KPRC 2 Click2Houston

Views: 142,873

Keywords: Antonio Armstrong, AJ Armstrong, AJ Armstrong Interview, Prison Interview, True Crime, True Crime Interview, Josh Armstrong, The Evidence Room, aj armstrong interrogation, aj armstrong trial, news, true crime latest, aj armstrong verdict, aj armstrong interview, aj armstrong prison, Antonio Armstrong Jr., Dawn Armstrong, Harris County, Houston, crime near me, news ], [ crime, antonio armstrong jr trial 2023, antonio armstrong jr story, antonio armstrong jr, abc 2020

Id: cUN6T6dp2-U

Length: 57min 41sec (3461 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 15 2023