Karmelo Anthony Denied New Trial in Deadly Track Meet Stabbing

In the months since Karmelo Anthony’s conviction in the murder of Austin Metcalf, his parents have spoken out against the verdict, details have emerged that weren’t presented in his first trial, and a judge has denied his legal team’s request for a new trial. 

The Texas case grabbed national attention, while a controversial Texas law that disproportionately affects Black and brown youth accused of serious crimes remains under scrutiny. 

During the trial, lawyers on both sides told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race, but social media amplified the killing nationwide in racial terms.

“All of us wanted the temperature on this, so to say, to be turned down,” said Mike Howard, who was Anthony’s lead attorney during the trial.

Anthony is Black, and Metcalf was white.

Anthony, now 19, was convicted in June on first-degree murder charges in the April 2, 2025, fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Metcalf. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. 

The incident occurred after a seating dispute at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas.  The stabbing took place at a school that neither of the boys — then 17 — attended. 

Anthony remained at the scene and told investigators with the Frisco Police Department that he acted in self-defense. When Anthony posted bail, Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, had been demanding answers from the Frisco Independent School District, questioning how Anthony was allowed to graduate while they were left to bury their son.

Anthony was prosecuted under Texas’ “concurrent jurisdiction” laws, often referred to as prosecutor “direct file” laws. These laws allow prosecutors to charge minors as adults without judicial oversight — a policy in 12 states and Washington, D.C., that has disproportionately affected Black and brown youth accused of serious crimes like homicide.

As of 2024, there are 56,245 people serving life without parole sentences who were under the age of 25 at the time of their offense, according to a January report from The Sentencing Project. More than half of the reported 25,254 people incarcerated with that sentence from 1995 to 2017, were Black, a separate report from The Sentencing Project revealed. 

Texas ranks among the states with the highest number of life-sentenced individuals under 25, with 18,358 people currently serving life terms.

Since 2008, hundreds of efforts have been made across the country to reform direct-file laws or introduce second-chance legislation. In Texas, two related bills have been proposed — one in 2011 and another in 2023 — according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those, only the 2011 bill was enacted, and it focused on sentencing and probation hearings for individuals convicted of certain drug offenses, outlining the conditions of their community supervision.

What new details emerged 

Prosecutors and defense attorneys used a motion for a new trial hearing to expose the violent backgrounds of Anthony and Metcalf.

During the first trial, there was a private, off-record agreement to keep the backgrounds of the two teens from the jury and the public so that the murder trial would focus solely on what happened at the track meet.

Since then, it has surfaced that Anthony once sent a text fantasizing about stabbing someone, and Metcalf had a history of fighting and using racist language, prosecutor Bill Wirskye said. Both were details that did not come up during the trial, according to the Associated Press. 

Mike Howard, Anthony’s trial lawyer, said earlier this month that there was an offense report naming Metcalf and two others related to graffiti that was obtained during discovery, according to CBS News.

The graffiti they were accused of painting included “KKK,” “Kill all Black people,” the N-word, “Heil Hitler,” and an upside down cross.

Austin and his twin brother were sentenced to 12 months probation in Denton County, Texas, Howard said. Videos and text messages on Austin’s phone, he said, painted a “pervasive picture of a racist outlook” — including using the N-word with a hard ‘r’ — up until the day before the attack.

Howard also said that Austin was taken into custody in connection with an alleged assault in May 2018 when he was 10 years old. Howard was accused of shoving another student during a game of capture the flag at school.

What happens next

A judge denied Anthony’s request for a new trial in his murder conviction after a two-day hearing. He’ll continue serving his 35-year sentence, but his appeals process will continue. 

The case will now go through the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, but the appeals process could delay a hearing until 2027.

Anthony’s legal team said in a statement, per NBC 5 DFW, “We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled. … The denial of this motion does not make those issues, or others not yet raised, disappear.”

What Anthony’s parents said

“We’re in a nightmare. It doesn’t feel real,” Anthony’s parents said in June. It was their first interview following the verdict. “We’ve been up all night crying and praying.”

Despite what a jury found, his parents disputed whether their son ever wanted to kill Metcalf.

“My son is no murderer,” Kala Hayes later told CBS News. “My son didn’t intend to hurt anyone. My son was defending himself, and that’s what hurts so bad.”

His mother recounts the moments she addressed the jury and made her plea to them during the sentencing phase.

“To have mercy on my son. That’s what I told the jury,” she said. “I know they had their minds made up already; there really wasn’t much I could say to change their minds.”

“We didn’t know how cruel the world could be,” said Anthony’s father, Andrew Anthony. “We did everything we were advised and told to do, and look what happened.”

How the case unfolded before the June trial

After a police officer arrived, Anthony allegedly asked if Metcalf was going to be OK, multiple news outlets reported. The officer saw blood on Anthony’s hands, and a knife was recovered from the stands. Investigators spoke to several witnesses, including those who were nearby when Metcalf told Anthony he needed to move.

“Anthony grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside and proceeded to tell [Metcalf], ‘Touch me and see what happens,’” the affidavit read.

Metcalf touched Anthony after he warned him not to, and the encounter escalated, according to the affidavit. Anthony then allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest before running away.

Anthony’s bail was initially set at $1 million, but after a bond hearing it was reduced to $250,000. As a condition of his release, he was placed on house arrest, required to wear an ankle monitor, and was prohibited from leaving home without the judge’s permission, according to The Dallas Morning News. He was released shortly after posting bond — a decision that sparked backlash and threats against Collin County Judge Angela Tucker, who approved the reduced amount and is also Black.

As Anthony’s case gained national attention, a GoFundMe page not started by his family began circulating. It falsely claimed to raise money for his legal defense, his parents said during a  press conference the day after his release. The family said that they were also receiving threats and there was misinformation about the case. 

Before the press conference — hosted by Next Generation Action Network — started, Metcalf’s father was spotted amongst the crowd. He left after police on the scene spoke to him, Fox 26 Houston captured live.  

Anthony reportedly had a 3.7 GPA and had earned enough credits to graduate, according to multiple news outlets. Anthony received a diploma but was barred from his high school’s graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, an online petition calling for Austin Metcalf to be awarded an honorary diploma, as he was expected to graduate in 2026, had collected more than 17,000 signatures.

National Editor Dalila-Johari Paul contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.

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