HOUSTON — The state rested its case Wednesday in the capital murder re-trial of Antonio "AJ" Armstrong Jr.
He’s accused of fatally shooting his parents while they slept inside their southwest Houston home in 2016. AJ was 16 at the time.
More than a week after his re-trial began, Armstrong Jr. walked into a Harris County courtroom as the state’s final witness took the stand.
The jury was sent home early after hearing testimony centered around the Armstrong family's home security system.
That testimony is key evidence showing whether it was someone from inside or outside the house that committed the murders.
“The whole state’s theory that the house is closed and no one can get into it is nonsense," defense attorney Rick Detoto said. "I mean, their own expert crashed and burned today.”
Prosecutors called security company ADT's head of product testing, Tim Rader, to testify.
Rader walked jurors through records of the Armstrong family’s home security system on the night of the murder.
“Based on the records, no doors or windows were open at that time," Rader testified when questioned by the prosecution.
Records show motion detectors first detected activity overnight upstairs.
When prosecutor John Jordan asked where the only place that person could have come from, Rader replied, “The second or third floor.”
DAY 1 RECAP: Opening statements begin in second murder trial for man accused of killing parents as teen
But on cross-examination, defense lawyer Chris Collings questioned Rader on errors in the security system records leading up to the murder on July 28, 2016.
“That calls into question the accuracy of these recordings, doesn’t it?” Collings said.
“Yes, sir,” Rader replied.
“There was 128 total, between June and July, only related to how people can come in and out of the house and the downstairs motion detector not even pick them up," Collings said.
"Again, I’ll say it; those records are not worth the paper they’re written on," Detoto said.
Prosecutors declined to comment on Wednesday's proceedings.
The defense plans to start calling witnesses Thursday morning at 10:30.