The shocking news of former NFL linebacker Antonio Armstrong and his wife, Dawn, being shot and killed inside of their Houston home last July was easily one of the most tragic stories in sports last year. What made it that much harder to stomach was the fact that their teenage son was charged with the crime.

Now, nearly seven months later, Antonio Armstrong Jr., 17, will stand trial as an adult charged with murdering his parents, as reported by the Daily Mail. According to the website, the teenager appeared somber and started to cry as a Harris County judge ruled Wednesday that he would be tried as an adult and as images of his late parents were shown in the courtroom, respectively. He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years if convicted.

Considering that Armstrong Jr. has maintained his innocence from the start and said that a masked intruder was responsible for his parents' murder, being tried as an adult is something his attorney, Rick DeToto, said his client is "obviously disappointed" with.

"We've been telling him since the first time we met him that he could be tried as an adult based on the offense and the court," DeToto said, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

According to the Daily Mail, a police walkthrough video played in court showed a gun sitting on a kitchen counter beside a handwritten note that read, "I have been watching you for some time."

The footage also showed Dawn Armstrong's dead body on a bloodstained bed, as reported by local ABC13. While she was pronounced dead at the scene, Antonio died later at a nearby hospital. Both died from being shot in the head and were 42.

Despite Armstrong Jr. insisting he's innocent, prosecutor Martina Longoria told the court that the defendant admitted to a homicide detective that he had discharged a gun in his room before his parents were murdered and that the note and masked man story seem to be a cover-up attempt.

The court also heard audio from Armstrong Jr.'s 911 call, on which the then-16-year-old said he heard gunshots from his parents' bedroom and saw a masked man. Armstrong Jr. has an older brother and younger sister, who was at home during the time of the double-homicide.

Armstrong Jr., nicknamed A.J., will be moved from a juvenile detention center to Harris County Jail in Houston.

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