HOUSTON – The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is asking the state’s highest criminal court to intervene in the long-running legal battle over Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr.’s murder conviction. This week, prosecutors filed a petition urging the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to stop a lower court from moving forward with a hearing that could open the door to a new trial.

The request marks the latest twist in a case that has captured Houston’s attention for nearly a decade. Armstrong was convicted in 2023 of killing his parents, Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Sr., in their Bellaire home. His first two trials ended with hung juries before a third jury found him guilty of capital murder.

In November, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge should have held a hearing

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