We love you, too, Mike, so please add the Thanks button so that we may throw $2 into the pot to buy you a coffee or a tea or whatever it is that you like to refresh yourself with. We need you fresh, you see, as we can't live without you.
I don't think he's innocent. The jury even said that the blood was irrelevant. He was going away, regardless. You failed to mention the numerous lies he constructed to hide his actions.
Probably one of the dumbest things about this justice system, allow ordinary people who get brainwashed by the media to determine the fates of others. Ordinary people are too emotionally fallible to make such serious decisions but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You know what, Mike? I don’t care what your age is, but it’s so nice to hear “take care, because I love ya”… Some of us don’t hear it that often, so Thank You, Mike ❤️🩹
I can't say for sure, and I don't think anybody can, if he is actually guilty or not. But what I can say for 100% fact is that I personally would never change my vote to guilty based on one speck of blood that turned up 7 years after the crime. 7 years and 3 trials it took them to get that single speck of blood. Something smells bloody fishy to me. Based on everything I heard in this video, which is all I have to go on, as a juror following the rules I would have voted "not guilty".
@@Erebus.666.that doesn’t make a ton of sense cuz the jury should of found him not guilty twice if they went strictly on evidence. Regardless idk if I think it was planted anyways but my question is if it’s from a name tag they put on him at the station isn’t it possible it came from one of the cops who entered the home? Maybe that’s impossible idk but unless they addressed that I’d say I’d be just barely within reasonable doubt still.
Same. Leaving out the fishy DNA evidence, it looks kinda obvious (I mean - the gun was in the bedroom?) so IDK how I would have voted, having not heard ALL the evidence. But finding that DNA seems sus to me.
A killer executed 2 persons in a bedroom with other people in the house stops to write a note and leaves the gun next to it. This killer knew where the gun was kept in the parents bedroom and searched for it as they slept and then killed them. This killer didn’t bring is own gun but knew where the Dad’s gun was kept. AJ had to disable the alarm to exit and allow cops into the house. How did this killer enter and leave and alarm was still engaged? Circumstantial evidence was profoundly stacked against AJ as the inside killer.
You obviously didn’t pay attention, the alarm was only connected to the doors not the windows. Also there was 0 GSR on him.. 0… Idc who you are there is no possible way to get ALL GSR off the quickly.. especially from your hair. Lastly his fingerprints were not on the gun, pen OR paper while no gloves were found in the house.. you’re missing very key details that matter immensely
Watch the behavior panel’s analysis on this on TH-cam. There is so much more circumstantial than just the alarm. That’s the WEAKEST evidence. Totally guilty. His story makes zero sense, he claims he has evidence that would explain away the GSR but refuses to tell anyone who was with him so that he doesn’t “involve “ someone else. If you were truly innocent, you wouldn’t give a rats ass about involving an outside party to save the rest of your life. He’s so guilty they should have convicted him 3x. He’s either 100% guilty or he’s so unreasonably stupid that I’m glad he’s out of society.
@@myibook141 I live in my place 24/7 and trust me, even in pitch dark, if I'm up and walking I can tell where someone is moving + gunshots are loud af especially without silencers. I call bs he did it.
If they found no fingerprints on the gun, pen or paper at all that’s suspicious. I’m assuming he wrote it with his gloves on before the crime. And the gun shot from his room down through the floor is really telling to me. I think he did it.
This was my football coach and AJ was my quarterback. I can say with 100% certainty Coach Armstrong loved everyone. One of the greatest people I’ve ever met in my life. He was an amazing teacher. GIG EM! SFL FOR LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS MISS YOU COACH.
@@kadzo6614just here to show support for one of the best people I’ve ever known in my life. If you have an issue with that it seems more like a you problem than me. Have a great day sir and God bless you. Bless your heart.
I feel natural sympathy for people who have flat affects in traumatic situations like this. In an emergency or a tragedy, I don't show emotions in conventional ways and tend to shut down and focus on rational things, or things that can be controlled. It can be a coping mechanism for people with HIGH empathy. So yeah he didn't seem bothered during his interrogation, but the detective insisting on how abnormal and suspicious it is really rubbed me the wrong way. Evidence should create suspicion. Not someone's personality.
This is me to the T. I often watched these and wondered what people would think of my reaction to tragedy. They would think I was guilty for sure. however I have a ton of empathy
I'm a rational, take charge person myself. I was crushed under a low boy trailer, pulverized my left chest, open compound fractures of my hand. I was the only one hurt & the only one able to relate the details to the 911 operator. Half way through the call, she asked "who's the patient?" When I told her it was me she asked "how are you talking?" I fall apart after the crisis is over. Yeah, I'm frequently misunderstood!
I'd like to share with uou how much it means to me personally that you sign off with 'I love ya'. There was a specific time I REALLY needed to hear that, even from someone I haven't met. So a very big Thank You Mike. It's my pleasure to say Love Ya too....! Muaaah
The sudden revelation of a single piece of dna evidence just magically appearing, on the back of a name tag among the adhesive is in my opinion a huge red flag. More so, why was that tag kept for that long? I don’t believe that this is the entirety of the story and that now this young man is languishing away in a prison cell whilst the facts get further buried. Great job as always Mike. I dearly love your channels and always look forward to the next episode.
He's in a prison cell precisely because the facts *didn't* stay buried. No "magic" required, forensic investigators are only human, not hard to overlook a tiny drop of blood.
Lol explain the fact that it was his gun that was the murder weapon? Or did you forget that in all the kumbiya grandstanding for the little lying brat smh
all the evidence is kept until the case is tried to conclusion. So its not crazy that the nametag would still by lying around in the evidence room. The fact that it was only revealed later to have blood on it though, is questionable though, but its not strange that they would still have it.
@@bobbilly6520 There's been thousands of cases of intruders using weapons at the scene to commit their murder. It leaves fewer things to tie back to them and also leaves red herrings for the cops.
I’m a law & order kinda guy. I’ve worked in and around law enforcement for years. This case scares me. Maybe he is guilty, idk… but how many bites at the apple does the prosecution get? Two hung juries, followed by a conviction that focused heavily on DNA evidence found under tape that was handled by investigators… Seriously? All I get from this is that the gvmt can wear you down financially with its unlimited resources, forcing the quality of your legal representation to degrade, until it can get the outcome it desires: you in jail or on death row. Folks should be concerned. I am, and I’ve worked law enforcement…
I don't think high-schoolers are smart enough to get rid of gun residue and commit a murder while leaving ZERO evidence. Definitely staged crime scene tho
I don't understand how evidence just 'pops' up suddenly. I love how you can mix some humor into your videos when it's appropriate. Sometimes things are funny. Criminals are stupid and it lightens the mood. Lookin' good Mike!
I think there were cold cases where, over many years, somebody decided they should give another try to solve them and they did a more thorough investigation of the objects that they already had in the evidence box and found sperm or blood that lead to the criminal. The evidence didn't just "pop", it was already there, but you have to find it. (I think in a case was just one sperm cell. One. Find one cell on a piece of clothing.)
Because that prosecutor wants going to lose again, that’s how. See Steven Avery case. Teach your kids to not talk to the police. Especially if they’re in trouble.
The gun and note was so nicely laid out on the counter. AJ barely acknowledged his parents as murdered. He always referred to them as gone. He's Psycho.
Nevermind allllllllllllllll the other suspicious stuff that points to his guilt. Nah, it's definitely gotta be that last thing. Gimme a break, he did it, no question.
@@pizzlerot2730 I think he totally did it, but also I think they planted that DNA evidence because they couldn't reasonably prove he did it with the evidence they had.
@pizzlerot2730 "no matter which way you see this case.." As in yes you can believe he is guilty without a doubt. Op was just saying that the whole dna thing at the very end was suspicious.
@@brittneyp282it was alittle suspicious though I believe it was the only chance the prosecution had to sway the jurors into finding him guilty. DNA is huge in proving guilt that’s for sure
Damnnnnn… I instantly remembered him speaking to my high school when I seen his picture. That’s heartbreaking that he gave his kid so much and that’s how it went down…
The whole case sucks as the idea of killing parents who loved you is heartbreaking, but what’s really confusing is why did they hide DNA evidence for so long? That’s just bizarre
Agree- the one piece of DNA evidence they found was NOT on a primary surface, but on a piece of tape the police introduced themselves, outside of the crime scene! I don't think it was planted deliberately, but just accidentally transferred by a cop who had been in the parents' bedroom.
Perhaps that's because not everything presented at trial is presented in a TH-cam video, ya think? Do you think that Mike presented everything here that the jury saw? Or do you think perhaps that 12 people in a trial saw far more than was presented here and came to the conclusion that the burden of proof was met? Perhaps you think we should do away with trials and just have some evidence presented by youtube content creators who may or may not be biased and have the yahoos of youtube decide his fate.
@@_Y.Not_it is a well known fact juries have to be bias free meaning they probably wont heat about the history of the trials The jurors would have no knowledge of the seemingly miraculous nature of the new evidence posited
Does “unsafe conviction” mean that the conviction is highly likely to be overturned in an appeal? If that’s what it means then I think it’s an accurate term. The conviction itself is unsafe.
To be prosecuted, it said that the person has to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and listening to this case I can honestly say, in my opinion, he is not guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Such a sad case.
There's a lot of Cases where people are found guilty soley on Circumstantial Evidence. And many Cases do not have enough evidence that results in the findings of innocence or guilt "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt".
Most juries don’t understand the concept of reasonable doubt as if they did the majority of trials would end in the defendants being found not guilty as the burden of proof has not been met
I’ve been reading about this case since watching the video. I’m a big fan of Mike and his videos but something was left out or overlooked here. AJ set a fire to the carpet with gasoline in front of his parents bedroom 2 nights before the murder.
That sounds like pertinent info left out. It would have taken mere seconds to mention it, if that long. Sure, this is just a youtube video, but I think Mike can do better
This case is the epitome of "If at first you don't succeed - try, try again." They would rather put a "possibly innocent" man in jail than to let a guilty man go. He was deemed guilty from the start and they were hell-bent on putting him in jail.
When you aren't very smart, and dont know how to investigate. You pick domeone close to them, and try, and try, and try till you get it. Especially when you find "Evidence" from out of the sky, years later.
Mike O is my absolute favourite true crime host on youtube, and this video was unforgettable. Love ending my day with a Mike O video of That Chapter to unwind, and love your unique touch of humour interjected when needed.
how can a single speck of blood show up 7 years later? no one noticed it until now? there’s no right or wrong way to process emotions like this and it’s wild how quickly you get judged based off of how you react. too emotional? guilty. not emotional enough? guilty. it’s no wonder so many innocent people are serving time they shouldn’t be.
A lot more guilty people are on the outside than innocent people are on the inside. The real jumping to conclusions is believing we can understand what the jury did just by watching a 30 minute video. And that note? I'm guessing and yes it's just a theory. But perhaps this guy was trying to implicate his brother who had mental problems. Get him kicked out of inheriting.
@@gutenbirdYes, but our legal system is supposed to be based on the concept that it is better to let 10 guilty go free than to wrongly imprison a single person. Out of 36 jurors, 12 found him not guilty. His bad luck was that the 12 were not even spaced out amongst the three bites at the apple that the state opted for
@@drebkbut to what degree are we talking about? A certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt. Once you let a double murderer off, that’s it. You can’t retry them. As far as whether it serves society to let 11 serial killers go free who have murdered 30 or 40 individuals simply because of the small chance that one of the 11 was wrongfully accused , that can be debated.
@@gutenbird If you can't find enough evidence to convict 30 or 40 serial killers without fabricating it and withholding other evidence, then they aren't serial killers. They are just people you believe are serial killers. But believing a thing and proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. Are two very different things. Which is entirely my point. Police and prosecutors are notorious for getting tunnel vision. They get pot committed, they've spent all this time and resources building a case against the person they "know" committed the crime - they just don't have the evidence to prove it. I bet you could take the same case, present it to 5 juries and get more than zero hung trials. I mean, they did that here with 3 juries and got 3 different results. If that isn't reasonable doubt, I am not sure what is
There is no statute of limitations on murder. One serious area of concern is how quickly Houston law enforcement is making statements of certainty: AJ is guilty on the first night; the gym break in is just random hooligans, the prostitution ring is irrelevant, the brother’s access to the home combined with mental illness isn’t to be taken seriously, a single speck of supposedly 7 year old blood means this is the killer of 2 people at close range? This hurry to dismiss everything and withhold evidence is giving Making a Murderer vibes.
I have no doubt that planted evidence happens far more than we know. Making a Murderer isn’t as cut & dry as it appeared either tho. Netflix painted that picture in a making money, movie style way. I fell for the ‘police with a vendetta’ act too until recently. Convicting a Murderer reveals a lot of details Netflix conveniently left out.
Wow, just wow. I remember hearing about this story and thought that it was a case closed that he did it. But looking at your deep dive was mind blowing. Please keep making your videos, you are phenomenal!!
The fact that the house alarm was set, and AJ explained this away as saying the killer must've "jumped out a window, instead of using a door," and that AJ had fired the murder weapon days before downward into his parents' bedroom, and AJ had also recently set an accelerant-fueled fire outside of his parents' bedroom all lead me to believe he is guilty.
I truly feel that pd and prosecutors had tunnel vision and wouldn’t look at the possibility of anyone else being the murderer. If you aren’t lying your story doesn’t change and his hasn’t. A small piece of dna evidence showing up years later is suspicious and most certainly would not be enough to persuade me that AJ is guilty. I hope the Innocence Project can get involved and help him.
I started reading more about this story, and the more I read, the more it looks like he did it. They were able to see a lot from the home alarm records. 2 days before the murder he tried to start a fire outside his parents bedroom. His relationship with his parents was badly strained in the 2 months leading up to the murder
I concur, not to mention the bullet hole covered by his clothing in his bedroom floor right??? No tears, no empathy, no remorse, no sadness.....he's got this 'smirk' too that I noticed throughout the trial's'.....AJ did it. Period. May his parents rest in peace.
@@midnightmadness5307People grieve in different ways. No tears: "He's guilty because he shows no empathy" Many tears: "He's guilty because he feels sad for what he did"
@@djm56879:16 come on man. He talks so normal after his paretns got murdered? I know people laigh in stressful situations. But that turns to sadness later.
Another great one Mike. I have kept on this case. The one key piece I think that also sealed the deal for AJ was on the 911 call he said he had a ringing in his ear. Prosecutors later stated that only a person close to the gunshot would have that happen. I’m still 50/50 he did it though cause the 911 audio was tough to hear.
So 7 years later , after 2 mistrials , they find 1 tiny spot of Antonio's blood on a tag that was put on his shirt?! Wow ! The prosecution team needs to be investigated
I’ve been super busy these last couple weeks, and I’ve missed your videos! I’m going to spend my night catching up on my favorite true crime content creator that adds a bit of tasteful humor to bring some levity to a very tough subject…
Jeez, that has to be the flimsiest evidence I've seen to convict someone beyond reasonable doubt. No GSR, but strangely, DNA found under a wrist band that had been in police custody for 7 years. Doubtless there will be appeal. More to come on this case I think. Once again, great coverage Mike. Stoked to see you're approaching 2 mill subs. I've been following you since 47k subs.
Gloves plus bloody clothes. If they didn't find any evidence on him, he would've had to have had a whole damn dexter-suit. Sounds like the shooter left before the cops showed up.
As someone who inspects odd residential construction regularly, I’d like to see the bullet hole, how it was “concealed” and what they are saying exactly about all of that.
It irritates the double H out of me how cops, prosecutors use someones emotions to weigh up their case. I worked in the ER for 25 years. Peoples emotions and grief are all over the map! I've seen the most grim, calm people and after talking with family you hear, that person loved the individual beyond belief. Peoples reactions to trauma should not ever! be allowed to be part of a prosecutions case.
@@sharpshooter_Aus ergo all neurodivergent people are guilty. If you're an incompetent cop you should just pin the crime on the autistic person. They don't act right after all, you know.. statistically.
@@ricksanchez4813 probably means hell. I remember some mormon friends of mine saying Double H-E hockey sticks in replacement for saying it, since it wasn't right to be saying it.
I couldn’t tell you for sure he didn’t do it, but can definitely tell you that is absolutely not enough evidence to convict someone. Wow, what was that jury thinking.
something ive learned from watching these videos is intruders don't just come in a house and kill some people but leave some survivors not take anything and just leave
@@belmum1689 How do you *know* he *is* guilty? It took 3 trials. The fact they gave him parole for an alleged premeditated double homicide leads me to believe they weren’t too sure the third time either. What are the limits to the prosecution’s attempts? There’s a man who had a hung jury *5* times, of course the prosecution got him on the sixth; probability statistics with degrees of variability make a conviction an inevitability. Prosecutorial misconduct, overreach, and really just a straight up abuse of power is rampant in our “justice” *system.*
I live in Tennessee, there's a really interesting case I've never seen anyone cover before. Charles or "charley Harrison, was arrested for a massacre of a house full of people. including one pregnant woman. There was one survivor who hid in the bushes and was a witness. Charles was caught later the same day in one of the victims vehicle. The kicker is he got off not guilty somehow. And nobody else was ever arrested for the crime as far as I know. I believe later in life he shot someone else. And he passed away a few years ago of an overdose I think. There was drugs involved in the massacre, and someone had insulted him is the story I heard. I knew Charles when I was younger we were friends. This case never got much media attention, but I think it's one of the craziest, and most interesting cases I've ever heard of. Would be awesome if you could find enough information to do a story about it.
@@iminaband3351I found one in somebody's online gossip page. Lafayette, Macon County, 2009. Police were told it was an argument regarding meth. A woman had left before the violence started; another woman and 2 men were killed.
Yes because it was a mistral the first 2 times. I was thinking, how different it would be if the second set of jurors had all said not guilty. He couldn't have been tried again for that crime. Pretty shitty.
Well in the 3rd trial they supposedly found blood on the shirt AJ wore that night.I found that strange 2 previous trials and no one was able to notice this blood stain.
There was overwhelming circumstantial evidence. That's why it was warranted to have a second trial.. and a third which had new DNA evidence. I'm not sure why this is hard for some to understand. A mistrial does not by any means suggest one is innocent at all. So many murders get mistrials due to insufficient evidence... Everyone knows they did it. They've bragged about their murders... but a trials are very serious as they should be. Tonnes of circumstantial even before the blood evidence. Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in. Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position. GSR (gun shot residue) can be scrubbed off the hands if you do a good job. The detective was lying to him about that in order to illicit a confession. He also waited 30 plus minutes to call 911. A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around, and they took his car away. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this. As far as the newly discovered speck of blood that was discovered (but always present) under an adhesive stick on his actual shirt that led to his conviction. A tiny speck of blood is a lot of DNA even though barely seen by the human eye. New DNA being discovered that was previously missed *but always there) happens all the time. Police and forensics are only human and they can miss vital evidence. It can get overlooked for months or years. Not uncommon... This is how countless cold cases have been solved.
Funny how if he didnt do it , he seems to be very calm and never once pleads with the authorities to find the actual killers. no emotion at all other than self preservation.
Interesting that they suddenly found one spec of DNA evidence. Considering numerous police officers stated they never saw any blood spatter on him did anybody stop to think that maybe that evidence under the tag came from the hands of the person who wrote it or the surface they used to write out the tag on? It would be sad if an innocent man was jailed for 40 years. If he did do it, I would like to know how the spatter got on him since they were shot through pillows. Surely, the pillows would have absorbed the majority of the spatter & if some escaped, how did only one drop land on him? How is it that the person placing the tag on top of this spatter didn't notice it? There are too many questions & not enough answers. Anyway, thank you for another fantastic video. Keep safe, and remember, we love ya.
@@libertyresearch-iu4fythere's no evidence that he did. Only a fool would be convinced by something like this, it screams of fabricated evidence to get a conviction after years of prosecutorial & police misconduct.
First, he was guilty of sin, hands down. First, an alarm system is wired to ALL doors and ALL windows. Who gets an alarm system that does not activate when opening a windows?? That was dumb mistake #1. Secondly, when he used a pillow, his dad must have fought back and caused the pillow to move around which is very plausible. The "drop" of blood splatter on his tag would be overlooked by investigators because hey, no one is perfect. Little things tend to get missed in evidence, it just happens without meaning to. I'm speaking from my experience in Law Enforcement and even tickets were given to people speeding, yet there are those who forget to reset and calibrate the speed guns we used and that alone can be argued in court and the defendant can get away with it - even though they clearly were speeding. Just as blood on a tag can be missed, and when they go back on examining evidence in the locker they had a few teams looking for anything on them, and a fresh new set of eyes and hands can make the difference in a finding. I've seen it myself, even spotted things that make, or break a case. I was that good, but again no one is perfect, not even I. As for this kid who murdered his parents and showed no emotion of any kind throughout this entire set of trials, I hope he gets his a$$ bruised real good in prison for murdering his parents. And I bet he did it for the money they had, all of their property and things of value, and most likely they both had life insurance which would go to the next of kin - the two kids.
@@libertyresearch-iu4fynowhere does it say he went to his parents bedroom in the middle of the night. He said he came downstairs because he was on the 3rd floor because he heard a noise and figured a parent was awake. He went down to ask said parent for stomach medicine because he had been home all day with a stomach ache. I’m sure they corroborated the stomach ache claims with text messages or else we would’ve heard otherwise from the prosecution. When he got to the second floor he sad a masked intruder fleeing the parent’s bedroom. He then turned around and ran back upstairs. The argument with the DNA evidence that makes it “hold up” is his claim he didn’t enter his parent’s bedroom at all so there can’t be a reason for it to have been found on him. Although it’s never said it was blood DNA evidence anywhere in this video. It could have been transferred DNA evidence from any number of ways. A hug can leave transfer DNA, using the same hand towel, they live together.
@@uneeky5785...so...the police never checked the house...the windows...or the grounds..?? But knew enough to bag the hands of two kids ?!?!? I've got some swamp land on Mars real cheap, too, since you're into buying stuff...
This is exactly how the legal system is NOT supposed to work. There is obviously more than enough reasonable doubt here to ensure Aj’s freedom whether he’s actually guilty or not. Absolutely disgusting that he was imprisoned after being tried for the same crime 3 times. SMH 🤦🏼♂️
What are you talking about? That is exactly how a mistrial works. Are you saying that if eleven of twelve jurors vote guilty, but there is one holdout, then the accused should just get to walk?
@@Sam-y1y8q yes I do believe so. I would rather a “likely” guilty man walk free than a innocent man behind bars or worse, put to death. That’s called justice. However that’s not what I was making reference to here. The fact that two juries already led to mistrials proved that there was reasonable doubt in this case. Furthermore, what new evidence was brought to the third was laughable! Clearly not bringing a guilty verdict beyond a shadow of a doubt.
WE DIDN'T GET OUR DESIRED VERDICT. RETRIAL!! WE DIDN'T GET OUR DESIRED VERDICT AGAIN... UMMM.. RETRIAL.. *again?* LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE FUGGIN GOTTEM. GUILTY. JUST LIKE WE ALWAYS KNEW HE WAS!!
@@awaysaltaherYou're arguing with someone who doesn't understand reasonable doubt. You always see it in true crime channel comments, people who don't understand where the burden of proof lies. They need to put themselves in the shoes of the defendant. How would they feel if they were tried and tried and tried til the police got the verdict they wanted. The issue is that these people are dumb and rarely see anything beyond what's right in front of them.
@@TJ20232 How any of us feel is irrelevant. There is a good reason why retrials are permitted (with some exceptions) following a mistrial. Reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence still apply, but until a case is decided one way or the other, then prosecution can proceed unless a judge rules there is insufficient evidence to do so. This case was ultimatedly decided in favour of the prosecution. Like it or not, a jury found the prosecution's case was proven beyond reasonable doubt. That decision can be appealed, and if successful the case could go back to trial. This is the system working as intended. The system not working would be throwing out a conviction because you or I or OP disagrees with it.
This case makes my stomach hurt..... Like, we weren't there at the trial to see what the jury saw, but the last trial, with the pop up evidence is so suspicious. We all know how detectives, and prosecutors can be like a dog with a bone when they think they have the suspect, no matter the evidence, or lack thereof.
I am not a crying type person, but the day my Mother passed I cried for hours! I didnt want them to take her away. I clung to her. I spent the next several years on prozac so I didnt go over the edge. He lost BOTH on the same day and I felt like he was relieved in his calm demeanor. Sorry to say but I think he did it. I would never try to burn my house down at his age, or fire a gun in the house into a pillow. He is definitely unhinged somewhere.
Just let me say this, Mike. You're a boss! Sometimes I let the episodes build up before I watch them. I do that because I love what you do, and I don't want to see it end. Love your stuff, Mike!
What I find weird is when he spoke to cops and said “I would never kill my parents or ask someone else to do it”. If he hired the people who also then showed up at the fitness center stealing computers, they would have been let into the house by AJ which is why the alarms didn’t go off in the house and were still set.
Valid point but at the same time we lack context of what questions had already been put to him and exactly when this excerpt comes up. If he'd been just asked "did you do it?" then yes, this is an odd response but if this is several hours in and there has already been a whole line of questioning probing if he paid someone to do it, this response makes more sense as he's responding not only to the question asked but also trying to "cover his bases" on everything else that's been discussed. That's one of the reasons that if you're questioned by police 1: have a lawyer present and 2: only answer the question being asked in that moment. Don't try to answer everything all at once. Of course if innocent you want to help police in any way you can but help them by keeping everything as clear and concise as possible so they can stop chasing their tails and get on with their jobs 🤗
This is what I think as well. It's a situation where rather he ASKED someone to do it or not. Someone did it to help him. the whole speck of blood as concrete proof is stupid as well. See OJ Simpson for more information. did he do it. Maybe not directly. Did he conspire? Possible. but I think this was a bunch of friend who wanted to help him out.
Best thing to do ESPECIALLY if you have done nothing wrong is keep your mouth closed. The police are not there to help you, but to close cases. You need never say a word. It is up to them to prove you have done something!!! Be careful too when you dial 911… They are listening and recording while you are waiting for them to answer!!!
Unless they came through a window or the alarm wasn’t armed. I have an alarm and I don’t always arm it. It could’ve happened, don’t get me wrong, he 100% killed his parents I’m just saying the alarm is debunked.
I’d want to examine the custody of that tag. Where was it for seven years? When was it checked out? Why was it not tested initially? Are they certain that there was no possibility of cross-contamination of the tag with any other evidence in that locker? That seems very suspicious to me.
It was on the shirt the whole time. No one ever thought to remove it. The CSI women lifted it as they were going back over evidence and saw the blood at that point.
This story is common, right? For true crime fans anyway. The son of high achieving parents, who start disappointing their parents by failing in school, dropping out of school etc, and instead of trying to continue living up to parents expectations, murder their parents instead. Not a new story at all, but tragic none the same 😢
The fact that the alarm was set, AJ had fired the murder weapon days before, and had also recently set a gas/alcohol fire outside of his parents room all lead me to believe he was guilty.
I fully believe he did it as well. Did all the people in the comments just completely forget all of that vital information?? Seems so... And the weapon was from inside the parent's bedroom, which goes hand in hand with your statement of him firing the same gun through his bedroom floor down into their room prior to the murder. The jury two previous juries had a really hard time convicting a 16 year old, and I don't blame them, and the results at the end varied. That made perfect sense to me that they were so conflicted. They also didn't have strong, compelling motive which makes it even harder to convict essentially a child to life behind bars. Motive is so important for juries. I've no doubt there was very irrational motive for him to kill his parents, sadly. Teens brains are just not fully formed and I've also no doubt that he regretted his horrific mistake every single day afterwards and will for the rest of his life... even if he didn't go to jail. But there are consequences to premeditated double homicide. So many are also making such a big deal about the fact that he didn't show emotion. Yes, yes.. we all know that people all react differently when they are in shock or even grieving. This has nothing to do with why he should be found guilty. But thankfully, the blood evidence came in for the conviction. Call me crazy, but I can see it in his eyes that he did it. The eyes are the windows to the soul. I've always been good at reading people's eyes. NOT that I would convict someone on that, obviously. lol I'm just saying.... So many lack intuition and the ability to read people. It's always the eyes.
Same. Some people just refuse to believe someone could be a killer if they consistently deny it. The evidence is there, it's the only explanation that makes any sense.
majority of folks don't have enough dealing or information's on how psychopath operates otherwise this is a clear case of guilty and evidence actually pointed at him not an intruder.
I remember when you had just a few followers and I'm really glad to see your channel growing. Every new video I see new people who've discovered you and have the joy of getting to binge watch for the first time all of your work. Welcome everybody there's room for everyone. Love ya Mikey.
Yeah I was like whaaat??? When I noticed he suddenly had like 1,5 million subs when just a few moments ago it was 2800 haha. He has been this good from the very beginning, that must've played a big role in his channel growing super quick
I hate to say it, but history points to the AJ. There are so many red flags: The weapon came from inside of the house, the "come get me note", the alarm, the covering of the victim faces: It was 100% a family member. If the brother had a solid alibi...then there is just one left...I believe justice was served. He does have a very innocent face tho. So I get why the several mistrials.
@@John-ml2ghthe “proof” used was chery-picked, at best. no gunshot residue means he didn’t fire any weapons, that’s not something easy to get off say by washing your hands after. and I doubt a 16 year old would even be thinking about that.
I don’t think a 16 year old is that incredibly careful about evidence and just texting his gf like normal. They usually find evidence. I’ve never seen a teen that clean or good in a crime
Native Texan and local to Houston at the moment, and I’m stoked to see your coverage of it! I personally thought he was guilty until the out of line stunts the courts and DA last pulled. Big time moving the goal posts to ensure a guilty verdict. Let’s give it a go!
Edit: WOW! Blood under a sticker? Who is to say that wasn’t faulty chain of custody mishap?! Unbelievable. I’ve also always thought he might’ve paid someone to take his parents out. The prostitution ring aspect would also likely be something HPD and the DA would want to keep under wraps. Very sketchy. Another thing that’s always been on my mind is the fact that he and his girlfriend had a child at some point and I’ve always been curious if that was s catalyst, in addition to him being in trouble, but who knows. This will be a case for the innocence project down the road, without a doubt!
ok but if you trial someone three times you'll eventually find what you're looking for. if you go by this logic there wouldn't even be a third trial because 8 jurors ruled not guilty lol im not saying hes innocent but theres too much reasonable doubt for guilty@@Jeremy----
@@KVAA10 I posted a lengthy comment on this video outlining the mountain of circumstantial evidence for his guilt. Sadly, TH-cam won't let me leave a comment linking to it, but if you look at the entire scope of what the prosecution had available, it's hard to believe he wasn't convicted either of the first two times. Also, the third trial had a different prosecuting attorney which could have a difference in the presentation of the case at trial.
It's so human to over-complicate things. My main takeaway is that no one left that house. It was him or his sister. It's pretty simple. The killer didn't set the alarm on his way out. As far as everyone whining about them finding dna, that stuff happens all the time. I mean have you ever seen cold case files???? That's literally the plot of EVERY show!!
You're completely accurate! I'm not quite sure why people don't understand the concept of discovering DNA that was ALREADY PRESENT years later to convict someone. Do they not watch true crime. I think they find it upsetting only in context of how tragic the case is and the two mistrials, which they mistake as meaning someone must be innocent. The first trial was 8 to 4 against and the second was 4 to 8 for a conviction. That's a very conflicted jury. Tonnes of circumstantial even before the blood evidence... Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in. Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position. A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this. As far as the newly discovered speck of blood that was discovered under an adhesive stick on his shirt that led to his conviction. New DNA being discovered that was previously missed happens all the time. Police and forensics are only human and they can miss vital evidence. It can get overlooked for months or years. Not uncommon...
The reason that comes up in Cold Case Files is because they didn't have DNA testing back when those murders took place. That's not the case here. He was thoroughly checked for GSR, blood, the weapon and pen were fingerprinted, etc.
I didn’t know blood DNA could survive that long on adhesive unless they had found it right away and stored it properly. I feel like I have often heard about potential samples being too degraded to be tested in cases when they are properly tagged and stored in the immediate…
Of course it can. And evidence is stored correctly. DNA becomes too degraded after a very, very long time if improperly stored. The DNA was also behind an adhesive sticker that was place on his shirt the night of the crime.
It's only the Devils lettuce if it becomes tampered with. The lettuce has healing properties, and the Devil usually is about destroying places, people and things.
I’m finally here after a few minutes! Thank you Mike! Always with the high quality content! Been around since your first uploads. Glad your channel has grown so much. Silent support to you.
As much as I am uncertain about AJs conviction, my mind goes to "who else could it be?" Was there ever any evidence of an intruder? What about the sister? She had nothing to say about that night??? No exterior video cameras or doorbell cameras from neighbors??? AJs demeanor does not scream cold blooded parent killer, but between the security still being engaged, the gun being left on the counter, no evidence of anyone else being in the house, who else could it be???
This isn't how "beyond reasonable doubt" is *supposed to* work. The burden of proof lies with the accusing side. The fact that the question "Who else could it be?" is still open, is irrelevant.
The whole "Why would he kill his parents, it doesn't make sense!" business is ridiculous. Ridiculous crimes for ridiculous reasons are committed by ridiculous people every hour of every day. I'm not saying I know one way or another in this particular case, but you can't try to rationalize something in your head when it was senseless to begin with.
Mike does not give all the details to have an objective point of view. At the time of the murderer the parents were angry at him and punished him: he could not see his girlfriend and could not use his car, which was given to his brother Josh. The mother considered AJ a liar and a manipulator: the relationship between the two was very bad in those days.
My wife and I just watched the Dateline on this. Really interesting case, but I can see both sides to it. The failure of the alarm and the hole in AJ's room is weird, and the sudden appearance of DNA evidence is just as weird.
@@chrishandsome6542 because the DNA evidence that was collected years before the technology existed was finally tested. It didn’t magically/ suddenly appear.
@@chrishandsome6542maybe so, but the location was weird. An adhesive tag? Really? Like a name tag? Why would you put on a name tag at 3 AM just to murder your parents?
Has there ever been a case where the killer intentionally left the pistol that killed the victims? Texas does have an abysmal, and I mean abysmal track record of sending innocent people to prison. However, I think AJ did it, or set it up with his friends to do it. The fact he said “they must have jumped out a window or something because had they went out the doors the alarm would have went off” seemed very suspicious to me. It just seemed overly descriptive.
There is just not enough evidence to convict. And the DNA evidence is just sketchy. I believe it was more than likely manufactured. Not guilty is my verdict.
@@tillitsdone motive was also extremely weak. if this kid DID do it- the only way i can see he would be motivated to do it is if they threatened his relationship. "that girls a bad influence" five bucks that mom would have said that.
I'm from Houston and I am so split on thia case. Especially since it was Celestina Rossi who found the blood flake under the name tag days before the 3rd trial. Rossi also played a big role in Sandy Melgar's conviction and she is 100% innocent and still in prison (listen to the Truth & Justice podcast season 6...it will make you livid). She works for Montgomery County and is basically a bought and paid for expert that Harris county seems to like using when it suits them. There is no doubt Sandy Melgar is innocent, though I can't be sure about AJ. BUT one thing I do know that Harris county pulls a lot of BS with cases and has a history with wrongful convictions, and I think going after AJ a 3rd time was crazy. I will be interested to see how his appeals and lawsuits go. I hope to god I'm never tried for murder here, thats for sure.
Thanks a lot for this important detail, the Melgar case is one of the most controversial and frustrating cases that I have come accross, and to know the same expert was involved certainly is super shady.
Those pictures of his deceased parents is gutting 😢. He’s a monster. And to think he got to live years out of prison after he murdered them….and no remorse. Just wow
I think we need to be careful as a society to have better evidence of guilt than this to be taking a young man’s life away. I also find the magic evidence pretty suspicious that it popped up on the third try.
I think we also have to be careful as a society to not conflate what a content creator on a youtube channel shows us versus what evidence a jury saw. Perhaps you think we should do away with trials and just have some evidence presented by youtube content creators who may or may not be biased and have the yahoos of youtube decide his fate.
Me too it almost seems like a witch hunt . I feel if he did do it his conscience would have punished him as he grew up. The note seemed childish. However 3 trials hmmm? Seems like someone got a bee in their bonnet to prove his guilt no matter. Even plant something?
You know as well as anyone else does, the chances are that he likely committed the murder. However that's irrelevant. There needs to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I don't believe this was achieved. Not even close in fact.
@@wright1048 it wasn't. Mike is omitting a ton of information on this case. The evidence against AJ is pretty damning and Mike left most of it about. The discovery of the DNA blood spatter was recorded on surveillance video. There was no planting of evidence in this case, despite what this video wants you to believe
Love the chapter but many facts were left out, including the fire AH tried to set with gasoline right outside his parents room days before. Then blamed his sister.
"high achievers expect high achievers". That's actually very toxic. Our children should be allowed to live their own life, not just be expected to be miniature versions of ourselves.
The bullet through his floor is pretty damning, though according to an article it was "Days before the murders, Antonio Jr. also fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor with a pile of socks." Nothing more was said about the handwritten note, that could have been inculpatory or ex. It wasn't mentioned here but I found this in an article: "Two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom. His dad put out the fire before it spread. Dawn texted a photo of the burned carpet to Josh." Yeah, a good kid doesn't do these kinds of things, and if they do, it sucks for him that he did them just before his parents got murdered in the same house where these other events took place. And is this kid or his supporters looking for a killer? That always drives me nuts in these cases, when many scream innocence but don't seem to care at all that a killer is running around and killing people in their homes at night. "Jurors said those two events combined with cell phone records that showed Antonio Jr. was awake and moving around the house beginning at 1:09 a.m. the morning of the murders. He made the 911 call 31 minutes later. They also cited alarm records that showed nobody else entered or exited the house that night." I'm not going to google it, but it sounds like he had been practicing his shooting and may have had time to clean up residue in those 30 minutes. I'm naive when it comes to guns, so I don't know how feasible that is.
he would have had gun powder on his whole body you cant help it unless he washed all his cloths and dried them to before the police got there, They did not do their job its easier to just blame a kid.
I found this in an article. They (the state) had Chandler Bassett, a firearms examiner with HFSC, explain why "the absence of it doesn't mean someone didn't shoot a gun." "The misconception is: GSR is all over the place," Bassett said. He told the jury that to have a positive GSR test, three scientific elements must show up in a test. "Most .22 calibers, in my experience, don't contain one of the three components." In his more than 20 years of experience testing dozens of .22 calibers, Bassett said he has never come across any that yield positive GSR results-but, he said he has read about it happening. "You aren't willing to test the actual gun and compare it for GSR?" DeToto asked Bassett. "All you had to do was test the ammunition!" Bassett told the jury that there are "scientific standards" set by the GSR expert community, which keep them from testing the murder weapon.@@glenwiley6032
@@wsidechrissounds like somebody is halfassing their job tbh. Maybe doesn't want to take the chance of being wrong. Especially since it was fired multiple times in am enclosed space.
The police also found evidence in his bedroom that he smoked crack cocaine that night so he was under the influence of those drugs. He was smoking crack!
They focused so hard on him I’m sure that any evidence of anyone else it could’ve been was destroyed. Whether he did or didn’t, I’m sure it was as I’m possible to grieve his parents because he had to focus on defending himself. This case is tragic.
The state should not be able to retry over and over again. How much money was spent to railroad this kid. Whether or not he is guilty. I'm not trusting the miracle blood evidence years later.
yes they can and should when there's an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence. Tonnes of circumstantial evidence even before the blood DNA. It was not "miracle" blood evidence. It was always present on his shirt underneath an adhesive sticker, but was previously missed. It is not uncommon at all for minute amounts of evidence to be missed. People are only human and they make mistakes. That's why hopefully evidence gets retested and retested and retested over the years. That's how countless cold cases get solved. It was a mere speck of blood, likely not even easily visibly to the naked eye. Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in. Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position. GSR (gun shot residue) can be scrubbed off the hands if you do a good job. The detective was lying to him about that in order to illicit a confession. He also waited 30 plus minutes to call 911. A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around, and they took his car away. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this.
He was a teenager when this happened . The fact that he never slipped up or told anyone makes me wonder if he is guilty. Didn’t seem like they proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Very true. The way the notion of a involvement in a prostitution ring was dismissed is strange too. You'd think if he knew who did it that would've slipped too.
@@ddanielbragg88 it’s too bad they never released any info about the prostitution ring tip. But if they really were involved with something like that, I think the police would have been able to find a lot of info about it, that’s not something you can easily hide. There’d be many people/criminals involved, lots of phone/text records, and other records. They seem like a nice, hard working family, running a prostitution ring sounds unlikely anyways, those are generally career criminals who live in the shadows. If the cops explored that lead and found nothing, I doubt there was anything there.
Truth is most calls with the sobbing hysterical people are the ones who did it funny enough - they behave that way because most people think that would be the case but you actually get real focused when you think an intruder is in your house
When I was young, there was a fire in my parent's house whilst I was home alone. I was alerted to it as I sat a floor below because of a loud bang - later explained to me as likely being the windows of the room above me blowing out with the pressure and heat - and so I began to climb the stairwell to investigate. As I get halfway up my eyes are level with the landing and underneath the door of the room where I thought I'd heard the bang coming from I could see an orange glow; The penny quickly dropped. I walked back down, collected my guitar (priorities, right?), picked up the phone, and called 999 (911 but more British) to report the fire, then proceeded down to the ground floor and out on the street, and sat waiting for the fire brigade to arrive. I was still waiting 20 minutes later; I could walk to the fire station in half that time. When the fire brigade finally turned up, they quickly dealt with the situation and thankfully nobody was hurt and the fire was contained - devastating for my family, but as we lived in a block of town houses it could've been much worse. As they were packing up the police also arrived and I was questioned briefly (quite routine), and in this questioning the police made a point of saying how calm I reportedly was on the emergency call- and let slip that part of the reason it took so long for them to arrive was because they suspected the call to be a hoax. Nearly forty years later I'm still a little mad about that; How much more of our property, and how many of my family's memories, might have been saved if they had done their jobs rather than acting on assumption?
Our judicial and prosecutorial systems are so corrupt and dirty that it surprises me they waited until trial THREE to railroad A.J. Terrible outcome and I pray it’s overturned on appeal.
For those saying not guilty, consider this...alarm was set, anyone entering or exiting the house would have set it off. So you'd have to believe that someone somehow got into the house, knew exactly where the gun was (cuz they didnt bring their own weapon, oddly), shot the parents but didn't go for AJ, then somehow escaped without being seen - by anyone but AJ?
The gun used was also kept in the parents bedroom. Pretty unlikely for an intruder to be able to pull off finding and using it without the patents noticing.
They already gave you another suspect his mentally disturbed brother who had the alarm codes or knowledge of how not to set them off, knew where the gun was, had motive to kill only his parents after they lied to him his entire life shattering his world. Not to mention the EXTREMELY shady other circumstances of the case that went totally ignored- the women who reports a prostitution ring and tells police it was connected to the murders, she puts her own name at risk and provides phone records of thousands of calls to prove its exististence, AND their business was broken into right afterward where MASKED intruders steal their computer equipment (almost like the point was covering tracks). Pulling the most minuscule “evidence” out of your ass so corruptly ONLY after 2 prior mistrials where your case was getting 2x LESS convincing even with the introduction of additional evidence again on your 2nd trial. There’s zero motive established, zero circumstantial evidence that can’t be reasonably explained, while there’s also TWO other equally/more plausible suspects being his brother or the protestution ring; but it’s clear they DID have tunnel vision. He may very well have done it, but the prosecution did NOT prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt
@@LiveFreeOrDie2A You're just focused on Josh because of his mental health. He's not psychotic, he's depressed and anxious. AJ did it, it's hilarious that you think it's not obvious
Even with the supposed new evidence, i wouldnt have been able to say guilty. Theres still too much doubt and its highly suspect that the evidence they needed finally shows up. That police department is either corrupt or inept.
7:27 i watch way too much true crime. i’ve probably seen at least a dozen stories like this… in all my time watching this stuff since the beginning of the pandemic, i’ve never seen the kids’ hands get bagged. especially a 12 year old girl. the 16 y/o i understand, but the 12 y/o… wonder why?
Finding DNA seven years later, after two mistrials , a small spec of blood is found… sounds like a dirty cop or forensic specialist to me. Like someone else said, I’d also wonder about the prosecution team. I mean, they withheld evidence from the defense for a year and a half.
I have mixed feelings about this case. Even with the DNA evidence, I'm still not 100% sure if it was planted or there all along. I guess if the cops want to get their guy, they'll do anything to just say it was "solved." This is a thinker of a case, for sure. Thanks for the Tuesday upload, as always, Mike! See you awesome group of people (hopefully) Friday!! Take care, Mike!!
It was planted. Blood spatter would have been all over the shirt, not just a single drop conveniently hidden under a nametag that magically appears five years later. Repeat after me: "Cops and prosecutors are not to be trusted. They routinely lie all the time."
The whole idea of a jury made up of Joe & Jackie Bloggs is insane to me. I worked in law and was never selected (I was only in administrative role, so that shouldnt have prevented me), but I knew a woman who did it. She was extremely unintelligent and stupid, and that is not in any way an exaggeration. Many people who knew her were thinking/saying "WTF??" at the time. It would be funny if it weren't for the fact these people hold the keys to people's lives in their hands! 😬
@@SJ-007 as an attorney, I believe juries should be made up of people who have some experience in the legal field. There is just so much more a lawyer would understand about the proceedings that a lay person would not. "jury of your peers" is a noble thing... but, in practice, is dangerous and largely undermines all the work done in the rest of the criminal justice system. The issue is that lawyers wont be on a jury for $10 a day... so ratehr than "jury of your peers" its more a "jury of people willing to sit around for a month or two making $10/day and a free lunch." You get what you pay for...
If you believe AJ to be innocent you can help here donateajarmstrong.com
This isn't the end mark, my words Mike¡
We love you, too, Mike, so please add the Thanks button so that we may throw $2 into the pot to buy you a coffee or a tea or whatever it is that you like to refresh yourself with. We need you fresh, you see, as we can't live without you.
donated, thank you for this link!!!
i dont
I don't think he's innocent. The jury even said that the blood was irrelevant. He was going away, regardless.
You failed to mention the numerous lies he constructed to hide his actions.
The thought of ever having a jury of my peers determine my fate horrifies me. I mean have you been to a Walmart or on Facebook?
The odd smelling walmart shoppers are now offended
That cracked me up Liam22278. 1 of the better comments I’ve evr read on a case. Good one. 👍 WTG, lmao 😂
😅🤣😂
Probably one of the dumbest things about this justice system, allow ordinary people who get brainwashed by the media to determine the fates of others. Ordinary people are too emotionally fallible to make such serious decisions but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It should frighten you. The solution: Don’t break the law.
You know what, Mike? I don’t care what your age is, but it’s so nice to hear “take care, because I love ya”…
Some of us don’t hear it that often, so Thank You, Mike ❤️🩹
Don't mention his age. He's a little sensitive about being 53 years old.
@@jumpinjohnnyruss Personally I don't think he should be sensitive about his age; he sure doesn't look 53.
@@jumpinjohnnyrusshe is not 53😂😂😂
@@tylargrimes1855 Did I miss his birthday? He must not have wanted to make a big deal of it. Always humble, our Mikey.
And we love Mike ❤️
I can't say for sure, and I don't think anybody can, if he is actually guilty or not. But what I can say for 100% fact is that I personally would never change my vote to guilty based on one speck of blood that turned up 7 years after the crime. 7 years and 3 trials it took them to get that single speck of blood. Something smells bloody fishy to me. Based on everything I heard in this video, which is all I have to go on, as a juror following the rules I would have voted "not guilty".
I'm sorry but DNA on a tag seven years af er the fact SCREAMS evidence tampering and planting
@@Erebus.666.Even if you think the evidence was planted?
@@Erebus.666.that doesn’t make a ton of sense cuz the jury should of found him not guilty twice if they went strictly on evidence.
Regardless idk if I think it was planted anyways but my question is if it’s from a name tag they put on him at the station isn’t it possible it came from one of the cops who entered the home? Maybe that’s impossible idk but unless they addressed that I’d say I’d be just barely within reasonable doubt still.
@@Erebus.666.Obvious idiot troll is obvious idiot troll
Same. Leaving out the fishy DNA evidence, it looks kinda obvious (I mean - the gun was in the bedroom?) so IDK how I would have voted, having not heard ALL the evidence. But finding that DNA seems sus to me.
A killer executed 2 persons in a bedroom with other people in the house stops to write a note and leaves the gun next to it. This killer knew where the gun was kept in the parents bedroom and searched for it as they slept and then killed them. This killer didn’t bring is own gun but knew where the Dad’s gun was kept. AJ had to disable the alarm to exit and allow cops into the house. How did this killer enter and leave and alarm was still engaged? Circumstantial evidence was profoundly stacked against AJ as the inside killer.
You obviously didn’t pay attention, the alarm was only connected to the doors not the windows. Also there was 0 GSR on him.. 0… Idc who you are there is no possible way to get ALL GSR off the quickly.. especially from your hair. Lastly his fingerprints were not on the gun, pen OR paper while no gloves were found in the house.. you’re missing very key details that matter immensely
Watch the behavior panel’s analysis on this on TH-cam. There is so much more circumstantial than just the alarm. That’s the WEAKEST evidence. Totally guilty. His story makes zero sense, he claims he has evidence that would explain away the GSR but refuses to tell anyone who was with him so that he doesn’t “involve “ someone else. If you were truly innocent, you wouldn’t give a rats ass about involving an outside party to save the rest of your life. He’s so guilty they should have convicted him 3x. He’s either 100% guilty or he’s so unreasonably stupid that I’m glad he’s out of society.
@@myibook141 I live in my place 24/7 and trust me, even in pitch dark, if I'm up and walking I can tell where someone is moving + gunshots are loud af especially without silencers. I call bs he did it.
@@limbeboy7 and your evidence?
If they found no fingerprints on the gun, pen or paper at all that’s suspicious. I’m assuming he wrote it with his gloves on before the crime. And the gun shot from his room down through the floor is really telling to me. I think he did it.
This was my football coach and AJ was my quarterback. I can say with 100% certainty Coach Armstrong loved everyone. One of the greatest people I’ve ever met in my life. He was an amazing teacher. GIG EM! SFL FOR LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS MISS YOU COACH.
Who asked you? 😮
@@kadzo6614just here to show support for one of the best people I’ve ever known in my life. If you have an issue with that it seems more like a you problem than me. Have a great day sir and God bless you. Bless your heart.
Rude
Rip Coach
@@kadzo6614Who asked you? 🤔
I feel natural sympathy for people who have flat affects in traumatic situations like this. In an emergency or a tragedy, I don't show emotions in conventional ways and tend to shut down and focus on rational things, or things that can be controlled. It can be a coping mechanism for people with HIGH empathy. So yeah he didn't seem bothered during his interrogation, but the detective insisting on how abnormal and suspicious it is really rubbed me the wrong way. Evidence should create suspicion. Not someone's personality.
Exactly! Well stated!
This is me to the T. I often watched these and wondered what people would think of my reaction to tragedy. They would think I was guilty for sure. however I have a ton of empathy
I'm a rational, take charge person myself. I was crushed under a low boy trailer, pulverized my left chest, open compound fractures of my hand. I was the only one hurt & the only one able to relate the details to the 911 operator. Half way through the call, she asked "who's the patient?" When I told her it was me she asked "how are you talking?" I fall apart after the crisis is over. Yeah, I'm frequently misunderstood!
And when it comes to cops, if you do some intense emotion, “you’re faking it.”
@@katiekane5247Well that is different then having someone with a gun in your parents bedroom &/or your parents being murdered
I'd like to share with uou how much it means to me personally that you sign off with 'I love ya'. There was a specific time I REALLY needed to hear that, even from someone I haven't met. So a very big Thank You Mike. It's my pleasure to say Love Ya too....! Muaaah
Way too much reasonable doubt to convict for murder. Outrageous
The sudden revelation of a single piece of dna evidence just magically appearing, on the back of a name tag among the adhesive is in my opinion a huge red flag. More so, why was that tag kept for that long? I don’t believe that this is the entirety of the story and that now this young man is languishing away in a prison cell whilst the facts get further buried. Great job as always Mike. I dearly love your channels and always look forward to the next episode.
He's in a prison cell precisely because the facts *didn't* stay buried. No "magic" required, forensic investigators are only human, not hard to overlook a tiny drop of blood.
Lol explain the fact that it was his gun that was the murder weapon? Or did you forget that in all the kumbiya grandstanding for the little lying brat smh
all the evidence is kept until the case is tried to conclusion. So its not crazy that the nametag would still by lying around in the evidence room. The fact that it was only revealed later to have blood on it though, is questionable though, but its not strange that they would still have it.
@@bobbilly6520 There's been thousands of cases of intruders using weapons at the scene to commit their murder. It leaves fewer things to tie back to them and also leaves red herrings for the cops.
They definitely planted that evidence, that much seems obvious.
I’m a law & order kinda guy. I’ve worked in and around law enforcement for years. This case scares me. Maybe he is guilty, idk… but how many bites at the apple does the prosecution get? Two hung juries, followed by a conviction that focused heavily on DNA evidence found under tape that was handled by investigators… Seriously? All I get from this is that the gvmt can wear you down financially with its unlimited resources, forcing the quality of your legal representation to degrade, until it can get the outcome it desires: you in jail or on death row. Folks should be concerned. I am, and I’ve worked law enforcement…
he looked well represented and had a bushel of public support.
This is a dirty evil country full of dirty evil hit men for the government, there called pig cops.
I mean mistrials just speak volumes about this ass legal system , not so much guilt
I don't think high-schoolers are smart enough to get rid of gun residue and commit a murder while leaving ZERO evidence. Definitely staged crime scene tho
good points!
I don't understand how evidence just 'pops' up suddenly. I love how you can mix some humor into your videos when it's appropriate. Sometimes things are funny. Criminals are stupid and it lightens the mood. Lookin' good Mike!
I think there were cold cases where, over many years, somebody decided they should give another try to solve them and they did a more thorough investigation of the objects that they already had in the evidence box and found sperm or blood that lead to the criminal. The evidence didn't just "pop", it was already there, but you have to find it. (I think in a case was just one sperm cell. One. Find one cell on a piece of clothing.)
Science.
@@mini_skinny0296 Should be obvious but we're going with "pop" in these comments anyway.
Because that prosecutor wants going to lose again, that’s how. See Steven Avery case.
Teach your kids to not talk to the police. Especially if they’re in trouble.
@@WatchTashi even if he didn't talk they probably would've thought he was guilty anyways. he always said he was innocent
The gun and note was so nicely laid out on the counter. AJ barely acknowledged his parents as murdered. He always referred to them as gone. He's Psycho.
Thanks for bring back the tumble roll in the “life insurance theme”😉👍🏻🥰 you’re the best Mike!!!
I'm here FOR the life insurance dance😁
The irony isn't lost on me Mike , that's very interesting that the evidence seemed to materialize out of thin air.
no matter which way you see this case, you can’t deny that the circumstances surrounding the DNA evidence is suspicious
Nevermind allllllllllllllll the other suspicious stuff that points to his guilt. Nah, it's definitely gotta be that last thing. Gimme a break, he did it, no question.
@@pizzlerot2730 I think he totally did it, but also I think they planted that DNA evidence because they couldn't reasonably prove he did it with the evidence they had.
@pizzlerot2730 "no matter which way you see this case.."
As in yes you can believe he is guilty without a doubt. Op was just saying that the whole dna thing at the very end was suspicious.
True
@@brittneyp282it was alittle suspicious though I believe it was the only chance the prosecution had to sway the jurors into finding him guilty. DNA is huge in proving guilt that’s for sure
My heart goes out to Josh and wish him a full mental health recovery … May Dawn and Antonio Armstrong rest in peace. 🥀🥀🥀🥀
Unless he did it. It was probably AJ though.
@@SlowMoebius Even if he did it he might not have been in control
Josh and the sister that survived. It's heart breaking
Damnnnnn… I instantly remembered him speaking to my high school when I seen his picture. That’s heartbreaking that he gave his kid so much and that’s how it went down…
The whole case sucks as the idea of killing parents who loved you is heartbreaking, but what’s really confusing is why did they hide DNA evidence for so long? That’s just bizarre
They didn't hide the DNA. They suddenly found one spot on an adhesive tape name tag.
Because its planted obviously. Cops are corrupt pieces of shit
SUSPICOUS MUCH?@@lennychorn147
@@lennychorn147 suddenly came outta no where love it
@@lennychorn147seems a little convenient doesn’t it?
Sounds like what we in the UK would call an "unsafe conviction"... far too much reasonable doubt based on what I have heard.
Agree- the one piece of DNA evidence they found was NOT on a primary surface, but on a piece of tape the police introduced themselves, outside of the crime scene! I don't think it was planted deliberately, but just accidentally transferred by a cop who had been in the parents' bedroom.
@@horrortackleharrythat was my first impression too. Transferred DNA from the crime scene.... or another piece of evidence.
Perhaps that's because not everything presented at trial is presented in a TH-cam video, ya think? Do you think that Mike presented everything here that the jury saw? Or do you think perhaps that 12 people in a trial saw far more than was presented here and came to the conclusion that the burden of proof was met? Perhaps you think we should do away with trials and just have some evidence presented by youtube content creators who may or may not be biased and have the yahoos of youtube decide his fate.
@@_Y.Not_it is a well known fact juries have to be bias free meaning they probably wont heat about the history of the trials
The jurors would have no knowledge of the seemingly miraculous nature of the new evidence posited
Does “unsafe conviction” mean that the conviction is highly likely to be overturned in an appeal? If that’s what it means then I think it’s an accurate term. The conviction itself is unsafe.
That stupid ass note next to the gun makes me think he's guilty... Who would write that...
and who would leave the gun behind? He’s guilty.
the way he can talk about this emotionless tells me hes a psychopath
@@enzoinfinity1how is he supposed to act
Gun behind? Who breaks in without a weapon and kills you with your own gun that's in one of three specific places? Lol, dudes where he belongs!
@@enzoinfinity1you mean in the interview? 7 years later? SEVEN YEARS LATER..
To be prosecuted, it said that the person has to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and listening to this case I can honestly say, in my opinion, he is not guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Such a sad case.
There's a lot of Cases where people are found guilty soley on Circumstantial Evidence. And many Cases do not have enough evidence that results in the findings of innocence or guilt "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt".
Sure, from what Mike presented, but there's a lot more evidence you can find online about this case.
In my opinion he clearly is
Most juries don’t understand the concept of reasonable doubt as if they did the majority of trials would end in the defendants being found not guilty as the burden of proof has not been met
So much reasonable doubt!!
I’ve been reading about this case since watching the video. I’m a big fan of Mike and his videos but something was left out or overlooked here. AJ set a fire to the carpet with gasoline in front of his parents bedroom 2 nights before the murder.
That sounds like pertinent info left out. It would have taken mere seconds to mention it, if that long. Sure, this is just a youtube video, but I think Mike can do better
@@mikenotta7079to be fair, given how much content he makes, it's easy to miss things
No you haven't. Sit down
@@thomasvega7931
you seem nice
😮😮 omg!!
This case is the epitome of "If at first you don't succeed - try, try again." They would rather put a "possibly innocent" man in jail than to let a guilty man go. He was deemed guilty from the start and they were hell-bent on putting him in jail.
_"by hook or by crook"_
makes me sick.
Did you research this? Do you know he tried to set their bedroom on fire a few days before they were shot?
When you aren't very smart, and dont know how to investigate. You pick domeone close to them, and try, and try, and try till you get it. Especially when you find "Evidence" from out of the sky, years later.
Possibly innocent lol😂😂
Mike O is my absolute favourite true crime host on youtube, and this video was unforgettable. Love ending my day with a Mike O video of That Chapter to unwind, and love your unique touch of humour interjected when needed.
Mike is great as always!!!! He is very close to 2 millions!!! Lets help him get there!!! Love you Mike😘
how can a single speck of blood show up 7 years later? no one noticed it until now? there’s no right or wrong way to process emotions like this and it’s wild how quickly you get judged based off of how you react. too emotional? guilty. not emotional enough? guilty. it’s no wonder so many innocent people are serving time they shouldn’t be.
It's so messed up
A lot more guilty people are on the outside than innocent people are on the inside. The real jumping to conclusions is believing we can understand what the jury did just by watching a 30 minute video. And that note? I'm guessing and yes it's just a theory. But perhaps this guy was trying to implicate his brother who had mental problems. Get him kicked out of inheriting.
@@gutenbirdYes, but our legal system is supposed to be based on the concept that it is better to let 10 guilty go free than to wrongly imprison a single person.
Out of 36 jurors, 12 found him not guilty. His bad luck was that the 12 were not even spaced out amongst the three bites at the apple that the state opted for
@@drebkbut to what degree are we talking about? A certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt. Once you let a double murderer off, that’s it. You can’t retry them. As far as whether it serves society to let 11 serial killers go free who have murdered 30 or 40 individuals simply because of the small chance that one of the 11 was wrongfully accused , that can be debated.
@@gutenbird If you can't find enough evidence to convict 30 or 40 serial killers without fabricating it and withholding other evidence, then they aren't serial killers. They are just people you believe are serial killers.
But believing a thing and proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. Are two very different things.
Which is entirely my point.
Police and prosecutors are notorious for getting tunnel vision. They get pot committed, they've spent all this time and resources building a case against the person they "know" committed the crime - they just don't have the evidence to prove it.
I bet you could take the same case, present it to 5 juries and get more than zero hung trials.
I mean, they did that here with 3 juries and got 3 different results.
If that isn't reasonable doubt, I am not sure what is
There is no statute of limitations on murder. One serious area of concern is how quickly Houston law enforcement is making statements of certainty: AJ is guilty on the first night; the gym break in is just random hooligans, the prostitution ring is irrelevant, the brother’s access to the home combined with mental illness isn’t to be taken seriously, a single speck of supposedly 7 year old blood means this is the killer of 2 people at close range?
This hurry to dismiss everything and withhold evidence is giving Making a Murderer vibes.
I have no doubt that planted evidence happens far more than we know. Making a Murderer isn’t as cut & dry as it appeared either tho. Netflix painted that picture in a making money, movie style way. I fell for the ‘police with a vendetta’ act too until recently. Convicting a Murderer reveals a lot of details Netflix conveniently left out.
@@jamesbell2902 is that the book the prosecutor wrote?
@@BOOM-Spalding it actually mentions both points.
@@BOOM-Spaldingno it doesn't it was mentioned like three times!
@@penpad_bts ah my apologies, I guess I didn’t catch it when it was said. Do you believe that he did it?? Why or why not?
Wow, just wow. I remember hearing about this story and thought that it was a case closed that he did it. But looking at your deep dive was mind blowing. Please keep making your videos, you are phenomenal!!
He did do it.
Dude's interview convinced me he did it. That denial was weak; his language couched in modifying words.
yes, exactly!
Let's get Mike to 2M!!!! He deserves it!
He will get it himself, same as he got first 1M
We can only subscribe once, right?
@@jordanheimer774 I meant first,🤣🤣 Thanks for correcting me
@@danidakota7304 I do it too. If people say they don't, they're lying 😂
he should be at like 4-5 M idk why his subs went stagnant he uploads twice a fricken week!!
The fact that the house alarm was set, and AJ explained this away as saying the killer must've "jumped out a window, instead of using a door," and that AJ had fired the murder weapon days before downward into his parents' bedroom, and AJ had also recently set an accelerant-fueled fire outside of his parents' bedroom all lead me to believe he is guilty.
Facts 💯👍
The fire thing wasn't mentioned in this episode. You mind explaining that?
@@sdawg58 i think i remembered hearing something about a fire here on Houston's local news. That may be what they're referring to.
@@sdawg58 It was mentioned.
He had shot down, and had covered it with dirty clothes. Watch the video again.
And the perp left the murder weapon and a note? That really makes no sense
I truly feel that pd and prosecutors had tunnel vision and wouldn’t look at the possibility of anyone else being the murderer. If you aren’t lying your story doesn’t change and his hasn’t. A small piece of dna evidence showing up years later is suspicious and most certainly would not be enough to persuade me that AJ is guilty. I hope the Innocence Project can get involved and help him.
Nobody is going to come to a home to commit a double murder abs not bring their own weapon. Ah the person just knew where he kept his gun??
Please do the case of Tristan Borlase, who also killed his parents over his grades. Can yall upvote this for Mike to see?
Bump
"Also." This guy didn't kill anyone.
Also the guy who claimed to be working with Space X
Upvoted.
@@gordonaliasme1104think he already covered that.
I started reading more about this story, and the more I read, the more it looks like he did it. They were able to see a lot from the home alarm records. 2 days before the murder he tried to start a fire outside his parents bedroom. His relationship with his parents was badly strained in the 2 months leading up to the murder
I think he did it. He's a cold fish.
I concur, not to mention the bullet hole covered by his clothing in his bedroom floor right??? No tears, no empathy, no remorse, no sadness.....he's got this 'smirk' too that I noticed throughout the trial's'.....AJ did it. Period. May his parents rest in peace.
@@midnightmadness5307People grieve in different ways.
No tears: "He's guilty because he shows no empathy"
Many tears: "He's guilty because he feels sad for what he did"
@@djm5687 Yep there's a reason body language reading is pseudoscience... Wish people would stop trying to use it in serious cases.
@@djm56879:16 come on man. He talks so normal after his paretns got murdered? I know people laigh in stressful situations. But that turns to sadness later.
Another great one Mike. I have kept on this case. The one key piece I think that also sealed the deal for AJ was on the 911 call he said he had a ringing in his ear. Prosecutors later stated that only a person close to the gunshot would have that happen. I’m still 50/50 he did it though cause the 911 audio was tough to hear.
Talks very calm for parents dead!
So 7 years later , after 2 mistrials , they find 1 tiny spot of Antonio's blood on a tag that was put on his shirt?! Wow ! The prosecution team needs to be investigated
Yes, that was the only evidence they had.
/sarcasm
@@kyleshootsthingsphotograph2226 incel
was the judge suspicious lol surely judge was thinkin ok this is convenient
But no gunshot residue?
Also his fingerprints weren't on the gun or note.
I’ve been super busy these last couple weeks, and I’ve missed your videos! I’m going to spend my night catching up on my favorite true crime content creator that adds a bit of tasteful humor to bring some levity to a very tough subject…
Jeez, that has to be the flimsiest evidence I've seen to convict someone beyond reasonable doubt. No GSR, but strangely, DNA found under a wrist band that had been in police custody for 7 years.
Doubtless there will be appeal. More to come on this case I think.
Once again, great coverage Mike. Stoked to see you're approaching 2 mill subs. I've been following you since 47k subs.
gloves, easy to hide somewhere the cops would never find.
@@johnmike121how could he hide gloves if he didn’t leave the house when it was a crime scene they would have found the gloves your brain is so smooth
Gloves plus bloody clothes. If they didn't find any evidence on him, he would've had to have had a whole damn dexter-suit. Sounds like the shooter left before the cops showed up.
@@imcaseless Flush them down the toilet.
I honestly believe that juries like to vote guilty to make sure a “bad guy” doesn’t get away. Reasonable doubt is a difficult idea to fully grasp.
He seemed guilty as hell in that interview
As someone who inspects odd residential construction regularly, I’d like to see the bullet hole, how it was “concealed” and what they are saying exactly about all of that.
It irritates the double H out of me how cops, prosecutors use someones emotions to weigh up their case. I worked in the ER for 25 years. Peoples emotions and grief are all over the map! I've seen the most grim, calm people and after talking with family you hear, that person loved the individual beyond belief. Peoples reactions to trauma should not ever! be allowed to be part of a prosecutions case.
Statistically it is abnormal so yes it should be used by investigators and prosecutors.
Double h?
@@sharpshooter_Aus ergo all neurodivergent people are guilty. If you're an incompetent cop you should just pin the crime on the autistic person. They don't act right after all, you know.. statistically.
@@ricksanchez4813 probably means hell. I remember some mormon friends of mine saying Double H-E hockey sticks in replacement for saying it, since it wasn't right to be saying it.
@@mcburn_ you’re thinking of h e double hockey sticks. Because hockey sticks look like Ls
I couldn’t tell you for sure he didn’t do it, but can definitely tell you that is absolutely not enough evidence to convict someone. Wow, what was that jury thinking.
I think he did it , the bullet hole in his bedroom and the fact the alarm didnt go off and also the note and gun being left behind points to him.
The only people on a jury are the people that were too stupid to figure out how to get out of jury duty. Always a peanut gallery.
@@rachelwilson6531 wouldnt the alarm going off indicate that someone fled the house? or did you mean to say the alarm "didnt" go off?
honestly juries get impatient... imagine having a family and kids and having to let them know youre currently making $10 a day for a month or two.
@@Kalashnikov_Respecteror worse - people who actually enjoy being responsible for that kind of shit.
something ive learned from watching these videos is intruders don't just come in a house and kill some people but leave some survivors not take anything and just leave
That's more than reasonable doubt. In my country withholding evidence from the defense lawyer is enough to cause an automatic not guilty verdict.
What country is that?
Not a retrial?
BS he is guilty
You live in a good country 😌👍
@@belmum1689 How do you *know* he *is* guilty? It took 3 trials. The fact they gave him parole for an alleged premeditated double homicide leads me to believe they weren’t too sure the third time either. What are the limits to the prosecution’s attempts? There’s a man who had a hung jury *5* times, of course the prosecution got him on the sixth; probability statistics with degrees of variability make a conviction an inevitability. Prosecutorial misconduct, overreach, and really just a straight up abuse of power is rampant in our “justice” *system.*
I live in Tennessee, there's a really interesting case I've never seen anyone cover before. Charles or "charley Harrison, was arrested for a massacre of a house full of people. including one pregnant woman. There was one survivor who hid in the bushes and was a witness. Charles was caught later the same day in one of the victims vehicle. The kicker is he got off not guilty somehow. And nobody else was ever arrested for the crime as far as I know. I believe later in life he shot someone else. And he passed away a few years ago of an overdose I think. There was drugs involved in the massacre, and someone had insulted him is the story I heard. I knew Charles when I was younger we were friends. This case never got much media attention, but I think it's one of the craziest, and most interesting cases I've ever heard of. Would be awesome if you could find enough information to do a story about it.
Crazy.
That was my ex girlfriends family! I kid you not
@@Beefystew101 wow that's insane. Small world... Was Charlie part of her family? Or one of the victims?
i live in TN too! just tried to look his name up and found nothing though
@@iminaband3351I found one in somebody's online gossip page. Lafayette, Macon County, 2009. Police were told it was an argument regarding meth. A woman had left before the violence started; another woman and 2 men were killed.
Our Justice system is so broken. Prosecution just gets unlimited tries to take a persons life.
Yes because it was a mistral the first 2 times. I was thinking, how different it would be if the second set of jurors had all said not guilty. He couldn't have been tried again for that crime. Pretty shitty.
Well in the 3rd trial they supposedly found blood on the shirt AJ wore that night.I found that strange 2 previous trials and no one was able to notice this blood stain.
Only on a mistrial
How is that a sign of it being broken? The system is set up to be a fair as possible. Half the jury members thought he was guilty the first 2 times.
There was overwhelming circumstantial evidence. That's why it was warranted to have a second trial.. and a third which had new DNA evidence. I'm not sure why this is hard for some to understand. A mistrial does not by any means suggest one is innocent at all. So many murders get mistrials due to insufficient evidence... Everyone knows they did it. They've bragged about their murders... but a trials are very serious as they should be.
Tonnes of circumstantial even before the blood evidence.
Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in.
Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position.
GSR (gun shot residue) can be scrubbed off the hands if you do a good job. The detective was lying to him about that in order to illicit a confession. He also waited 30 plus minutes to call 911.
A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around, and they took his car away. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this.
As far as the newly discovered speck of blood that was discovered (but always present) under an adhesive stick on his actual shirt that led to his conviction. A tiny speck of blood is a lot of DNA even though barely seen by the human eye. New DNA being discovered that was previously missed *but always there) happens all the time. Police and forensics are only human and they can miss vital evidence. It can get overlooked for months or years. Not uncommon... This is how countless cold cases have been solved.
Funny how if he didnt do it , he seems to be very calm and never once pleads with the authorities to find the actual killers. no emotion at all other than self preservation.
I love you Mike. You are so good at what you do.❤
Interesting that they suddenly found one spec of DNA evidence. Considering numerous police officers stated they never saw any blood spatter on him did anybody stop to think that maybe that evidence under the tag came from the hands of the person who wrote it or the surface they used to write out the tag on? It would be sad if an innocent man was jailed for 40 years. If he did do it, I would like to know how the spatter got on him since they were shot through pillows. Surely, the pillows would have absorbed the majority of the spatter & if some escaped, how did only one drop land on him? How is it that the person placing the tag on top of this spatter didn't notice it? There are too many questions & not enough answers. Anyway, thank you for another fantastic video. Keep safe, and remember, we love ya.
What I would like to know is if he did NOT do it, why he went into his parents' bedroom in the middle of the night?
@@libertyresearch-iu4fythere's no evidence that he did. Only a fool would be convinced by something like this, it screams of fabricated evidence to get a conviction after years of prosecutorial & police misconduct.
Agree
First, he was guilty of sin, hands down. First, an alarm system is wired to ALL doors and ALL windows. Who gets an alarm system that does not activate when opening a windows?? That was dumb mistake #1. Secondly, when he used a pillow, his dad must have fought back and caused the pillow to move around which is very plausible. The "drop" of blood splatter on his tag would be overlooked by investigators because hey, no one is perfect. Little things tend to get missed in evidence, it just happens without meaning to. I'm speaking from my experience in Law Enforcement and even tickets were given to people speeding, yet there are those who forget to reset and calibrate the speed guns we used and that alone can be argued in court and the defendant can get away with it - even though they clearly were speeding. Just as blood on a tag can be missed, and when they go back on examining evidence in the locker they had a few teams looking for anything on them, and a fresh new set of eyes and hands can make the difference in a finding. I've seen it myself, even spotted things that make, or break a case. I was that good, but again no one is perfect, not even I. As for this kid who murdered his parents and showed no emotion of any kind throughout this entire set of trials, I hope he gets his a$$ bruised real good in prison for murdering his parents. And I bet he did it for the money they had, all of their property and things of value, and most likely they both had life insurance which would go to the next of kin - the two kids.
@@libertyresearch-iu4fynowhere does it say he went to his parents bedroom in the middle of the night. He said he came downstairs because he was on the 3rd floor because he heard a noise and figured a parent was awake. He went down to ask said parent for stomach medicine because he had been home all day with a stomach ache. I’m sure they corroborated the stomach ache claims with text messages or else we would’ve heard otherwise from the prosecution. When he got to the second floor he sad a masked intruder fleeing the parent’s bedroom. He then turned around and ran back upstairs. The argument with the DNA evidence that makes it “hold up” is his claim he didn’t enter his parent’s bedroom at all so there can’t be a reason for it to have been found on him. Although it’s never said it was blood DNA evidence anywhere in this video. It could have been transferred DNA evidence from any number of ways. A hug can leave transfer DNA, using the same hand towel, they live together.
Thank you for covering this, I'm in Houston and the entire city is split on this. I'm leaning towards he did it, but I'm not sure.
Same
He sounded too calm and casual in that interview for someone who had just lost his parents.
Man what a sad story. I’ll never believe a 16 year old would be able to hide all the evidence.
He was NOT the average 16 yr old. He was VERY INTELLIGENT and had time and motives.
He didn't hide "all" the evidence. That's why he's in prison.
Yeah, same. You know, except for the mysteriously appearing 7 years later single drop of forensic evidence. Yeah, doesn't scream planted at all. /s
He could have thrown it out of the window, he even mentioned that the windows didn't make the security system go off.
@@uneeky5785...so...the police never checked the house...the windows...or the grounds..??
But knew enough to bag the hands of two kids ?!?!?
I've got some swamp land on Mars real cheap, too, since you're into buying stuff...
This is exactly how the legal system is NOT supposed to work. There is obviously more than enough reasonable doubt here to ensure Aj’s freedom whether he’s actually guilty or not. Absolutely disgusting that he was imprisoned after being tried for the same crime 3 times. SMH 🤦🏼♂️
What are you talking about? That is exactly how a mistrial works. Are you saying that if eleven of twelve jurors vote guilty, but there is one holdout, then the accused should just get to walk?
@@Sam-y1y8q yes I do believe so. I would rather a “likely” guilty man walk free than a innocent man behind bars or worse, put to death. That’s called justice. However that’s not what I was making reference to here. The fact that two juries already led to mistrials proved that there was reasonable doubt in this case. Furthermore, what new evidence was brought to the third was laughable! Clearly not bringing a guilty verdict beyond a shadow of a doubt.
WE DIDN'T GET OUR DESIRED VERDICT. RETRIAL!!
WE DIDN'T GET OUR DESIRED VERDICT AGAIN... UMMM.. RETRIAL.. *again?*
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE FUGGIN GOTTEM. GUILTY. JUST LIKE WE ALWAYS KNEW HE WAS!!
@@awaysaltaherYou're arguing with someone who doesn't understand reasonable doubt. You always see it in true crime channel comments, people who don't understand where the burden of proof lies.
They need to put themselves in the shoes of the defendant. How would they feel if they were tried and tried and tried til the police got the verdict they wanted. The issue is that these people are dumb and rarely see anything beyond what's right in front of them.
@@TJ20232 How any of us feel is irrelevant. There is a good reason why retrials are permitted (with some exceptions) following a mistrial. Reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence still apply, but until a case is decided one way or the other, then prosecution can proceed unless a judge rules there is insufficient evidence to do so. This case was ultimatedly decided in favour of the prosecution. Like it or not, a jury found the prosecution's case was proven beyond reasonable doubt. That decision can be appealed, and if successful the case could go back to trial. This is the system working as intended. The system not working would be throwing out a conviction because you or I or OP disagrees with it.
This case makes my stomach hurt..... Like, we weren't there at the trial to see what the jury saw, but the last trial, with the pop up evidence is so suspicious. We all know how detectives, and prosecutors can be like a dog with a bone when they think they have the suspect, no matter the evidence, or lack thereof.
I am not a crying type person, but the day my Mother passed I cried for hours! I didnt want them to take her away. I clung to her. I spent the next several years on prozac so I didnt go over the edge. He lost BOTH on the same day and I felt like he was relieved in his calm demeanor. Sorry to say but I think he did it. I would never try to burn my house down at his age, or fire a gun in the house into a pillow. He is definitely unhinged somewhere.
Just let me say this, Mike. You're a boss! Sometimes I let the episodes build up before I watch them. I do that because I love what you do, and I don't want to see it end. Love your stuff, Mike!
What I find weird is when he spoke to cops and said “I would never kill my parents or ask someone else to do it”.
If he hired the people who also then showed up at the fitness center stealing computers, they would have been let into the house by AJ which is why the alarms didn’t go off in the house and were still set.
Valid point but at the same time we lack context of what questions had already been put to him and exactly when this excerpt comes up. If he'd been just asked "did you do it?" then yes, this is an odd response but if this is several hours in and there has already been a whole line of questioning probing if he paid someone to do it, this response makes more sense as he's responding not only to the question asked but also trying to "cover his bases" on everything else that's been discussed.
That's one of the reasons that if you're questioned by police 1: have a lawyer present and 2: only answer the question being asked in that moment. Don't try to answer everything all at once. Of course if innocent you want to help police in any way you can but help them by keeping everything as clear and concise as possible so they can stop chasing their tails and get on with their jobs 🤗
are alot of people dont always set the alarm people forget
This is what I think as well. It's a situation where rather he ASKED someone to do it or not. Someone did it to help him. the whole speck of blood as concrete proof is stupid as well. See OJ Simpson for more information. did he do it. Maybe not directly. Did he conspire? Possible. but I think this was a bunch of friend who wanted to help him out.
Best thing to do ESPECIALLY if you have done nothing wrong is keep your mouth closed. The police are not there to help you, but to close cases. You need never say a word. It is up to them to prove you have done something!!!
Be careful too when you dial 911… They are listening and recording while you are waiting for them to answer!!!
Unless they came through a window or the alarm wasn’t armed. I have an alarm and I don’t always arm it. It could’ve happened, don’t get me wrong, he 100% killed his parents I’m just saying the alarm is debunked.
I’d want to examine the custody of that tag. Where was it for seven years? When was it checked out? Why was it not tested initially? Are they certain that there was no possibility of cross-contamination of the tag with any other evidence in that locker?
That seems very suspicious to me.
Mike said it disappeared at one point. So there's definitely possibility of cross-contamination if they don't even know where it went
chain of custody 😮
It was on the shirt the whole time. No one ever thought to remove it. The CSI women lifted it as they were going back over evidence and saw the blood at that point.
This story is common, right? For true crime fans anyway. The son of high achieving parents, who start disappointing their parents by failing in school, dropping out of school etc, and instead of trying to continue living up to parents expectations, murder their parents instead. Not a new story at all, but tragic none the same 😢
The fact that the alarm was set, AJ had fired the murder weapon days before, and had also recently set a gas/alcohol fire outside of his parents room all lead me to believe he was guilty.
I fully believe he did it as well. Did all the people in the comments just completely forget all of that vital information?? Seems so... And the weapon was from inside the parent's bedroom, which goes hand in hand with your statement of him firing the same gun through his bedroom floor down into their room prior to the murder. The jury two previous juries had a really hard time convicting a 16 year old, and I don't blame them, and the results at the end varied. That made perfect sense to me that they were so conflicted. They also didn't have strong, compelling motive which makes it even harder to convict essentially a child to life behind bars. Motive is so important for juries.
I've no doubt there was very irrational motive for him to kill his parents, sadly. Teens brains are just not fully formed and I've also no doubt that he regretted his horrific mistake every single day afterwards and will for the rest of his life... even if he didn't go to jail. But there are consequences to premeditated double homicide.
So many are also making such a big deal about the fact that he didn't show emotion. Yes, yes.. we all know that people all react differently when they are in shock or even grieving. This has nothing to do with why he should be found guilty. But thankfully, the blood evidence came in for the conviction. Call me crazy, but I can see it in his eyes that he did it. The eyes are the windows to the soul. I've always been good at reading people's eyes. NOT that I would convict someone on that, obviously. lol I'm just saying.... So many lack intuition and the ability to read people. It's always the eyes.
Same. Some people just refuse to believe someone could be a killer if they consistently deny it. The evidence is there, it's the only explanation that makes any sense.
@@wendigo1919 The eyes don’t lie . So true
yes he has such guilty look to him. I could see the guilty eyes too. @@wendigo1919
majority of folks don't have enough dealing or information's on how psychopath operates otherwise this is a clear case of guilty and evidence actually pointed at him not an intruder.
I remember when you had just a few followers and I'm really glad to see your channel growing. Every new video I see new people who've discovered you and have the joy of getting to binge watch for the first time all of your work. Welcome everybody there's room for everyone.
Love ya Mikey.
Yeah I was like whaaat??? When I noticed he suddenly had like 1,5 million subs when just a few moments ago it was 2800 haha. He has been this good from the very beginning, that must've played a big role in his channel growing super quick
I hate to say it, but history points to the AJ. There are so many red flags: The weapon came from inside of the house, the "come get me note", the alarm, the covering of the victim faces: It was 100% a family member. If the brother had a solid alibi...then there is just one left...I believe justice was served. He does have a very innocent face tho. So I get why the several mistrials.
Mistrials because of the absence of any actual evidence or proof.
I totally agree
@@Klm49guilty because there was
@@John-ml2ghthe “proof” used was chery-picked, at best. no gunshot residue means he didn’t fire any weapons, that’s not something easy to get off say by washing your hands after. and I doubt a 16 year old would even be thinking about that.
I don’t think a 16 year old is that incredibly careful about evidence and just texting his gf like normal. They usually find evidence. I’ve never seen a teen that clean or good in a crime
Really close but not a tear from either one of them.......
Native Texan and local to Houston at the moment, and I’m stoked to see your coverage of it! I personally thought he was guilty until the out of line stunts the courts and DA last pulled. Big time moving the goal posts to ensure a guilty verdict. Let’s give it a go!
Edit: WOW! Blood under a sticker? Who is to say that wasn’t faulty chain of custody mishap?! Unbelievable.
I’ve also always thought he might’ve paid someone to take his parents out. The prostitution ring aspect would also likely be something HPD and the DA would want to keep under wraps. Very sketchy. Another thing that’s always been on my mind is the fact that he and his girlfriend had a child at some point and I’ve always been curious if that was s catalyst, in addition to him being in trouble, but who knows. This will be a case for the innocence project down the road, without a doubt!
It was stated the jury did not consider the blood evidence in determining their verdict, so it's really a non-factor either way.
ok but if you trial someone three times you'll eventually find what you're looking for. if you go by this logic there wouldn't even be a third trial because 8 jurors ruled not guilty lol im not saying hes innocent but theres too much reasonable doubt for guilty@@Jeremy----
@@KVAA10 I posted a lengthy comment on this video outlining the mountain of circumstantial evidence for his guilt. Sadly, TH-cam won't let me leave a comment linking to it, but if you look at the entire scope of what the prosecution had available, it's hard to believe he wasn't convicted either of the first two times. Also, the third trial had a different prosecuting attorney which could have a difference in the presentation of the case at trial.
It's so human to over-complicate things. My main takeaway is that no one left that house. It was him or his sister. It's pretty simple. The killer didn't set the alarm on his way out. As far as everyone whining about them finding dna, that stuff happens all the time. I mean have you ever seen cold case files???? That's literally the plot of EVERY show!!
You're completely accurate! I'm not quite sure why people don't understand the concept of discovering DNA that was ALREADY PRESENT years later to convict someone. Do they not watch true crime. I think they find it upsetting only in context of how tragic the case is and the two mistrials, which they mistake as meaning someone must be innocent. The first trial was 8 to 4 against and the second was 4 to 8 for a conviction. That's a very conflicted jury.
Tonnes of circumstantial even before the blood evidence...
Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in.
Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position.
A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this.
As far as the newly discovered speck of blood that was discovered under an adhesive stick on his shirt that led to his conviction. New DNA being discovered that was previously missed happens all the time. Police and forensics are only human and they can miss vital evidence. It can get overlooked for months or years. Not uncommon...
Thank you for being logical💡@@wendigo1919
The reason that comes up in Cold Case Files is because they didn't have DNA testing back when those murders took place. That's not the case here. He was thoroughly checked for GSR, blood, the weapon and pen were fingerprinted, etc.
Yeah that little f***er did it he wasn't even upset talking about it on the 911 call or anything. Hope his ass don't get parole.
No one as he said who was running out of the house was going to stop and write a note and leave their gun.
I didn’t know blood DNA could survive that long on adhesive unless they had found it right away and stored it properly. I feel like I have often heard about potential samples being too degraded to be tested in cases when they are properly tagged and stored in the immediate…
Of course it can. And evidence is stored correctly. DNA becomes too degraded after a very, very long time if improperly stored. The DNA was also behind an adhesive sticker that was place on his shirt the night of the crime.
What a beautiful family, so so sad.
nothing makes me happier than when you say “Devils Lettuce” 😂
great vid again, Mike!
Never watched these crime stories without it.
It’s hilarious that term of phrase and the life insurance dance you do we watch from Adelaide south sustralia
I laugh every time 😂
I'm in a healthy daily diet of the devils' lettuce
It's only the Devils lettuce if it becomes tampered with. The lettuce has healing properties, and the Devil usually is about destroying places, people and things.
I’m finally here after a few minutes! Thank you Mike! Always with the high quality content! Been around since your first uploads. Glad your channel has grown so much. Silent support to you.
As much as I am uncertain about AJs conviction, my mind goes to "who else could it be?" Was there ever any evidence of an intruder? What about the sister? She had nothing to say about that night??? No exterior video cameras or doorbell cameras from neighbors??? AJs demeanor does not scream cold blooded parent killer, but between the security still being engaged, the gun being left on the counter, no evidence of anyone else being in the house, who else could it be???
Great questions Pixie! It seems the prosecution cut some corners. Let’s hope they didn’t fabricate evidence.
There could not have been an intruder, the alarm records show that no doors or windows were opened
@@MentokTheMindTaker Didn’t the defendant state to the police that the windows were not connected to the alarm system?
What's bizarre is that they can just keep going to trial until there gets to be a result the police deem suitable for them.
This isn't how "beyond reasonable doubt" is *supposed to* work. The burden of proof lies with the accusing side. The fact that the question "Who else could it be?" is still open, is irrelevant.
The whole "Why would he kill his parents, it doesn't make sense!" business is ridiculous. Ridiculous crimes for ridiculous reasons are committed by ridiculous people every hour of every day. I'm not saying I know one way or another in this particular case, but you can't try to rationalize something in your head when it was senseless to begin with.
Except we attempt this every day as the law requires it. Means, motive, and opportunity have to be established in capital murder cases like this.
Mike does not give all the details to have an objective point of view.
At the time of the murderer the parents were angry at him and punished him: he could not see his girlfriend and could not use his car, which was given to his brother Josh. The mother considered AJ a liar and a manipulator: the relationship between the two was very bad in those days.
My wife and I just watched the Dateline on this. Really interesting case, but I can see both sides to it. The failure of the alarm and the hole in AJ's room is weird, and the sudden appearance of DNA evidence is just as weird.
Exactly! This case should still be open!
Sounds like reasonable doubt about him doing it to me.
Sudden DNA evidence happens virtually every day what are you talking about? How do you think they figure out cold cases?
@@chrishandsome6542 because the DNA evidence that was collected years before the technology existed was finally tested. It didn’t magically/ suddenly appear.
@@chrishandsome6542maybe so, but the location was weird. An adhesive tag? Really? Like a name tag? Why would you put on a name tag at 3 AM just to murder your parents?
Has there ever been a case where the killer intentionally left the pistol that killed the victims? Texas does have an abysmal, and I mean abysmal track record of sending innocent people to prison. However, I think AJ did it, or set it up with his friends to do it. The fact he said “they must have jumped out a window or something because had they went out the doors the alarm would have went off” seemed very suspicious to me. It just seemed overly descriptive.
Excellent presentation. Thank you for your work. 👏
If I was a jury, I can't say beyond reasonable doubt he is guilty
Me neither!
There is just not enough evidence to convict. And the DNA evidence is just sketchy. I believe it was more than likely manufactured. Not guilty is my verdict.
@@tillitsdone motive was also extremely weak. if this kid DID do it- the only way i can see he would be motivated to do it is if they threatened his relationship. "that girls a bad influence" five bucks that mom would have said that.
It’s what he didn’t say, like “I love my parents and would never have hurt them.”
I'm from Houston and I am so split on thia case. Especially since it was Celestina Rossi who found the blood flake under the name tag days before the 3rd trial. Rossi also played a big role in Sandy Melgar's conviction and she is 100% innocent and still in prison (listen to the Truth & Justice podcast season 6...it will make you livid). She works for Montgomery County and is basically a bought and paid for expert that Harris county seems to like using when it suits them.
There is no doubt Sandy Melgar is innocent, though I can't be sure about AJ. BUT one thing I do know that Harris county pulls a lot of BS with cases and has a history with wrongful convictions, and I think going after AJ a 3rd time was crazy. I will be interested to see how his appeals and lawsuits go.
I hope to god I'm never tried for murder here, thats for sure.
Thanks a lot for this important detail, the Melgar case is one of the most controversial and frustrating cases that I have come accross, and to know the same expert was involved certainly is super shady.
I cant believe she's still in jail! That case pisses me off so bad, she's not guilty
@@melissajacobs5822 That case is one of the most unjust ones I've heard about.
Those pictures of his deceased parents is gutting 😢. He’s a monster. And to think he got to live years out of prison after he murdered them….and no remorse. Just wow
I always look forward to your videos! Thank you so much Mike for all the hard work you put into each video! Much love from Springfield, MO! ❤
I think we need to be careful as a society to have better evidence of guilt than this to be taking a young man’s life away. I also find the magic evidence pretty suspicious that it popped up on the third try.
I think we also have to be careful as a society to not conflate what a content creator on a youtube channel shows us versus what evidence a jury saw. Perhaps you think we should do away with trials and just have some evidence presented by youtube content creators who may or may not be biased and have the yahoos of youtube decide his fate.
Even if the dna evidence was real, it could have been transferred by one the cops.
Me too it almost seems like a witch hunt . I feel if he did do it his conscience would have punished him as he grew up. The note seemed childish. However 3 trials hmmm? Seems like someone got a bee in their bonnet to prove his guilt no matter. Even plant something?
You know as well as anyone else does, the chances are that he likely committed the murder. However that's irrelevant. There needs to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I don't believe this was achieved. Not even close in fact.
@@wright1048 it wasn't. Mike is omitting a ton of information on this case. The evidence against AJ is pretty damning and Mike left most of it about. The discovery of the DNA blood spatter was recorded on surveillance video. There was no planting of evidence in this case, despite what this video wants you to believe
Love the chapter but many facts were left out, including the fire AH tried to set with gasoline right outside his parents room days before. Then blamed his sister.
Please tell case updates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Absolutely love the videos and your humor please don’t stop being yourself!! ❤
It's sick when these youngsters do these things when all their parents wanted for them is to have a good education and have a good life
You don’t know their home life that boy could’ve been getting beat
@@0alexander062 possible you dont know either
@@0alexander062 OK that’s still not an excuse to murder your parents dude. WTF lol
"high achievers expect high achievers". That's actually very toxic. Our children should be allowed to live their own life, not just be expected to be miniature versions of ourselves.
@@ruthhase-gutierrez9830living their own life like getting stoned at 16 and kicked out of school? How low should the bar be exactly?
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt” must mean something different than I thought it did
It’s NOT beyond shadow of a doubt it’s beyond reasonable doubt.
The bullet through his floor is pretty damning, though according to an article it was "Days before the murders, Antonio Jr. also fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor with a pile of socks." Nothing more was said about the handwritten note, that could have been inculpatory or ex. It wasn't mentioned here but I found this in an article: "Two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom. His dad put out the fire before it spread. Dawn texted a photo of the burned carpet to Josh." Yeah, a good kid doesn't do these kinds of things, and if they do, it sucks for him that he did them just before his parents got murdered in the same house where these other events took place. And is this kid or his supporters looking for a killer? That always drives me nuts in these cases, when many scream innocence but don't seem to care at all that a killer is running around and killing people in their homes at night. "Jurors said those two events combined with cell phone records that showed Antonio Jr. was awake and moving around the house beginning at 1:09 a.m. the morning of the murders. He made the 911 call 31 minutes later. They also cited alarm records that showed nobody else entered or exited the house that night." I'm not going to google it, but it sounds like he had been practicing his shooting and may have had time to clean up residue in those 30 minutes. I'm naive when it comes to guns, so I don't know how feasible that is.
he would have had gun powder on his whole body you cant help it unless he washed all his cloths and dried them to before the police got there, They did not do their job its easier to just blame a kid.
I found this in an article. They (the state) had Chandler Bassett, a firearms examiner with HFSC, explain why "the absence of it doesn't mean someone didn't shoot a gun."
"The misconception is: GSR is all over the place," Bassett said. He told the jury that to have a positive GSR test, three scientific elements must show up in a test. "Most .22 calibers, in my experience, don't contain one of the three components."
In his more than 20 years of experience testing dozens of .22 calibers, Bassett said he has never come across any that yield positive GSR results-but, he said he has read about it happening.
"You aren't willing to test the actual gun and compare it for GSR?" DeToto asked Bassett. "All you had to do was test the ammunition!"
Bassett told the jury that there are "scientific standards" set by the GSR expert community, which keep them from testing the murder weapon.@@glenwiley6032
@@wsidechrissounds like somebody is halfassing their job tbh. Maybe doesn't want to take the chance of being wrong. Especially since it was fired multiple times in am enclosed space.
The police also found evidence in his bedroom that he smoked crack cocaine that night so he was under the influence of those drugs. He was smoking crack!
Yeah people saying there is reasonable doubt must have skipped over all the evidence that they do have against him.
They focused so hard on him I’m sure that any evidence of anyone else it could’ve been was destroyed. Whether he did or didn’t, I’m sure it was as I’m possible to grieve his parents because he had to focus on defending himself. This case is tragic.
There was no evidence anyone else did it.
The state should not be able to retry over and over again. How much money was spent to railroad this kid. Whether or not he is guilty. I'm not trusting the miracle blood evidence years later.
yes they can and should when there's an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence.
Tonnes of circumstantial evidence even before the blood DNA. It was not "miracle" blood evidence. It was always present on his shirt underneath an adhesive sticker, but was previously missed. It is not uncommon at all for minute amounts of evidence to be missed. People are only human and they make mistakes. That's why hopefully evidence gets retested and retested and retested over the years. That's how countless cold cases get solved. It was a mere speck of blood, likely not even easily visibly to the naked eye.
Days before the murders, A.J. fired the murder weapon through a pillow and blanket and covered up the hole in his bedroom floor from his parents/family.. The weapon came from his parent's bedroom. That same gun was just randomly left on the kitchen counter with a ridiculous, juvenille note, written in pen and scribbled over many times to enhance the letters. A supposed intruder simply would not do that. Top kitchen drawers simply opened pretending like it was a burglary? Worst pretending ever. Also, two days before the murders, he put gasoline in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and set a fire on the stairwell outside his parents' bedroom which the father put out before it had a chance to spread. The security alarm wasn't deactivated prior to the murders... wasn't disturbed at all and no one broke in.
Juries would have had a really hard time convicting A.J. , only 16 years old, to life behind bars, especially without a strong and obvious motive, and there didn't appear to be one. Although the alluded to motive in the video is the correct one, I believe. The juries were 8 to 4 against and then 4 to 8 for, which just shows their utter reluctance to convict a child in the first two trials. I would not ever want to be in that position.
GSR (gun shot residue) can be scrubbed off the hands if you do a good job. The detective was lying to him about that in order to illicit a confession. He also waited 30 plus minutes to call 911.
A 16 year old's mind is not fully developed yet and unfortunately they can make horrible, rash decisions. That's what I think happened here. And I think he regretted it every day afterwards and will for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted. I think he was a kid living a pretty decent lifestyle, going to private school, flunking out, smoking weed (I heard meth as well), his parents were having none of that (maybe more so the even stricter mom), he was taken out of private school... he was getting major heat at home. Resentment and anger had been building and building. Who knows what his parents were threatening him with (rightfully so)? Probably with being kicked out like the older brother who was turning his life around, and they took his car away. They had high expectations of him that he was not meeting. I've seen similar situations of some type of parental murder to this.
He was a teenager when this happened . The fact that he never slipped up or told anyone makes me wonder if he is guilty. Didn’t seem like they proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Very true. The way the notion of a involvement in a prostitution ring was dismissed is strange too. You'd think if he knew who did it that would've slipped too.
They needed someone to pin this on and oh..how convenient! Finally DNA shows up. Who is all in this prostitution ring I wonder? How high does it go?
There was enough reasonable doubt for the jury to convict A.J. for the double murder of his parents.
@@ddanielbragg88 it’s too bad they never released any info about the prostitution ring tip. But if they really were involved with something like that, I think the police would have been able to find a lot of info about it, that’s not something you can easily hide. There’d be many people/criminals involved, lots of phone/text records, and other records. They seem like a nice, hard working family, running a prostitution ring sounds unlikely anyways, those are generally career criminals who live in the shadows. If the cops explored that lead and found nothing, I doubt there was anything there.
Remember what they say: only dumb criminals get caught. The ones who never "slipped"are still out there.
First thing that came to mind is the calmness in his voice during the 911 call
Truth is most calls with the sobbing hysterical people are the ones who did it funny enough - they behave that way because most people think that would be the case but you actually get real focused when you think an intruder is in your house
He was hiding in the closet and trying to stay quiet
When I was young, there was a fire in my parent's house whilst I was home alone. I was alerted to it as I sat a floor below because of a loud bang - later explained to me as likely being the windows of the room above me blowing out with the pressure and heat - and so I began to climb the stairwell to investigate. As I get halfway up my eyes are level with the landing and underneath the door of the room where I thought I'd heard the bang coming from I could see an orange glow; The penny quickly dropped.
I walked back down, collected my guitar (priorities, right?), picked up the phone, and called 999 (911 but more British) to report the fire, then proceeded down to the ground floor and out on the street, and sat waiting for the fire brigade to arrive.
I was still waiting 20 minutes later; I could walk to the fire station in half that time. When the fire brigade finally turned up, they quickly dealt with the situation and thankfully nobody was hurt and the fire was contained - devastating for my family, but as we lived in a block of town houses it could've been much worse.
As they were packing up the police also arrived and I was questioned briefly (quite routine), and in this questioning the police made a point of saying how calm I reportedly was on the emergency call- and let slip that part of the reason it took so long for them to arrive was because they suspected the call to be a hoax.
Nearly forty years later I'm still a little mad about that; How much more of our property, and how many of my family's memories, might have been saved if they had done their jobs rather than acting on assumption?
Our judicial and prosecutorial systems are so corrupt and dirty that it surprises me they waited until trial THREE to railroad A.J. Terrible outcome and I pray it’s overturned on appeal.
For those saying not guilty, consider this...alarm was set, anyone entering or exiting the house would have set it off. So you'd have to believe that someone somehow got into the house, knew exactly where the gun was (cuz they didnt bring their own weapon, oddly), shot the parents but didn't go for AJ, then somehow escaped without being seen - by anyone but AJ?
The gun used was also kept in the parents bedroom. Pretty unlikely for an intruder to be able to pull off finding and using it without the patents noticing.
AND wrote a silly note AND left the gun behind too. Murder is fine, but stealing ... That's a big no no to this 'intruder'.
They already gave you another suspect his mentally disturbed brother who had the alarm codes or knowledge of how not to set them off, knew where the gun was, had motive to kill only his parents after they lied to him his entire life shattering his world. Not to mention the EXTREMELY shady other circumstances of the case that went totally ignored- the women who reports a prostitution ring and tells police it was connected to the murders, she puts her own name at risk and provides phone records of thousands of calls to prove its exististence, AND their business was broken into right afterward where MASKED intruders steal their computer equipment (almost like the point was covering tracks).
Pulling the most minuscule “evidence” out of your ass so corruptly ONLY after 2 prior mistrials where your case was getting 2x LESS convincing even with the introduction of additional evidence again on your 2nd trial. There’s zero motive established, zero circumstantial evidence that can’t be reasonably explained, while there’s also TWO other equally/more plausible suspects being his brother or the protestution ring; but it’s clear they DID have tunnel vision. He may very well have done it, but the prosecution did NOT prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt
Why would AJ say its all my fault then ?@@LiveFreeOrDie2A
@@LiveFreeOrDie2A You're just focused on Josh because of his mental health. He's not psychotic, he's depressed and anxious.
AJ did it, it's hilarious that you think it's not obvious
Even with the supposed new evidence, i wouldnt have been able to say guilty. Theres still too much doubt and its highly suspect that the evidence they needed finally shows up. That police department is either corrupt or inept.
👍👍
Lot's of that going on, they'd rather look incompetent than involved.
Spot on
@@addiegraves3 Love the name Addie!🥰
There's plenty of other evidence out there if you look. I'm sure the jury heard a lot more than what you can find online as well.
My favorite Scottish Canadian from East Ohio narrator of all time!!!! Love this buddy buddies
7:27 i watch way too much true crime. i’ve probably seen at least a dozen stories like this…
in all my time watching this stuff since the beginning of the pandemic, i’ve never seen the kids’ hands get bagged. especially a 12 year old girl. the 16 y/o i understand, but the 12 y/o…
wonder why?
Finding DNA seven years later, after two mistrials , a small spec of blood is found… sounds like a dirty cop or forensic specialist to me. Like someone else said, I’d also wonder about the prosecution team. I mean, they withheld evidence from the defense for a year and a half.
What a beautiful couple, very sad.
I have mixed feelings about this case. Even with the DNA evidence, I'm still not 100% sure if it was planted or there all along. I guess if the cops want to get their guy, they'll do anything to just say it was "solved." This is a thinker of a case, for sure. Thanks for the Tuesday upload, as always, Mike! See you awesome group of people (hopefully) Friday!! Take care, Mike!!
I’d bet everything I own he is guilty…no way anyone innocent would be so calm and talking about it the same day
its all police incompetency, how did they miss it the last 2 times?
Who else could it be . GUILTY
It was planted. Blood spatter would have been all over the shirt, not just a single drop conveniently hidden under a nametag that magically appears five years later. Repeat after me: "Cops and prosecutors are not to be trusted. They routinely lie all the time."
@@Anthony-qy5ywJosh, the people that broke into the gym. There's tons of suspects that were never looked at.
I’ve never been on jury duty, but it feels like a scary bullying experience of peer pressure.
I couldn't do it would be the hardest thing to do
I'm 29 and have been selected 3 times... it sucks
Beavis and Butthead agree...
The whole idea of a jury made up of Joe & Jackie Bloggs is insane to me. I worked in law and was never selected (I was only in administrative role, so that shouldnt have prevented me), but I knew a woman who did it. She was extremely unintelligent and stupid, and that is not in any way an exaggeration. Many people who knew her were thinking/saying "WTF??" at the time. It would be funny if it weren't for the fact these people hold the keys to people's lives in their hands! 😬
@@SJ-007 as an attorney, I believe juries should be made up of people who have some experience in the legal field. There is just so much more a lawyer would understand about the proceedings that a lay person would not. "jury of your peers" is a noble thing... but, in practice, is dangerous and largely undermines all the work done in the rest of the criminal justice system. The issue is that lawyers wont be on a jury for $10 a day... so ratehr than "jury of your peers" its more a "jury of people willing to sit around for a month or two making $10/day and a free lunch."
You get what you pay for...