Overview
- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday denied the State’s petition and lifted a year‑long stay that had blocked a trial-court hearing ordered by the 14th Court of Appeals.
- The hearing will focus on an undisclosed 2019 complaint to the Texas Forensic Science Commission about forensic analyst Celestina Rossi and whether prosecutors should have turned that information over to the defense.
- Rossi testified at trial that two tiny dried specks of blood found on Armstrong’s shirt came from the dying breaths of his father, a piece of evidence the defense says was central and highly contested.
- Armstrong’s lawyers argue nondisclosure and possible contamination or planting of the blood evidence deprived him of a fair trial and have also filed a civil suit against HPD; prosecutors say they were not aware of the complaint and will defend the 2023 jury verdict.
- Judge Kelli Johnson will hold the hearing in Harris County to weigh testimony and evidence and then decide whether Armstrong is entitled to a new trial, a decision that could lead to a fourth jury or leave the conviction in place while Armstrong remains at the Polunsky Unit.