PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of a 35-year-old Tucson man for the 1998 shotgun slayings of his sister and her fiance.
The justices rejected arguments by attorneys for Shad Armstrong that there was evidence he was incompetent to stand trial in 1998 in the slayings of Farrah Armstrong, 22, and Frank Williams, 25. They also dismissed claims that some evidence at the sentencing was improperly introduced.
And they said there was nothing wrong with allowing Julie Williams, Frank's mother, to make a statement to the jury that was considering whether to sentence Armstrong to death or life behind bars.
According to court records, Shad Armstrong and his sister had burglarized a home in Texas and had problems with the law in Oklahoma. After learning authorities were looking for them, they moved to Tucson.
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At some point, after meeting Williams, Farrah Armstrong told her brother's girlfriend that she planned to go back to Oklahoma to resolve her legal problems. She also said, in hopes of getting favorable treatment, she planned to tell authorities where her brother was.
Several days before the slayings, Armstrong dug a grave near the trailer at Three Points where he lived, authorities said. He asked his sister to come and visit, and said she should bring her boyfriend because the roommate needed help with his car.
Armstrong subsequently killed both, buried the bodies and disposed of bloodstained furniture in the desert, authorities said. He was later arrested in Texas and convicted.
His first death sentence, imposed by a judge, was overturned after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing must be decided by a jury. That led to a new hearing, with the jury concluding multiple murders at the same time merited the death sentence.
