Armstrong Found Guilty of Murdering Tasheka Young, Unborn Child

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Bursey Armstrong Jr. guilty of two counts of Second-Degree Murder for killing Tasheka Young and her unborn child. With the verdict, Armstrong faces up to life in Florida State Prison with a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence for discharging a firearm causing death. The Honorable Tatiana Salvador will sentence Armstrong at a later date.

In the early hours of July 23, 2022, a neighbor called 911 after she heard someone stomping upstairs to Young’s Biscayne Bay Boulevard apartment. The neighbor heard Young say, “Please don’t, I love you,” a loud noise followed, and then silence, other than the crying children. Officers responded but were unable to establish probable cause to break into the apartment. The next day, Young’s mother went to the apartment after she had not been able to reach her daughter. Young’s mother entered the apartment, found Young — a popular local radio DJ — lying dead on her bedroom floor, and called the police. Young died after being shot twice, and her two young children were found in the room near her body. Young’s son told his grandmother and officers that “daddy hurt mommy”. Armstrong is the father of Young’s two children; the two were in an on-again, off-again volatile relationship. Young was pregnant with their third child at the time of her murder. While JSO processed the crime scene, Armstrong showed up and was detained for questioning. Detectives conducted a search warrant at Armstrong’s parents’ house — where he was staying while visiting from out of state — and discovered a recently dug hole under backyard steps where a firearm was hidden. Detectives also found bloody clothing in the same vicinity as the gun. Forensic testing showed the firearm was the murder weapon, and Young’s DNA was found on the bloody clothing.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Sheila Loizos and Carleshia Jimerson.