Karmelo Anthony Case: Trial, 35-Year Sentence, and Appeal

The Karmelo Anthony case ended on June 9, 2026, when a Collin County jury convicted the Texas teenager of murder for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Anthony’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal the following day. He is eligible for parole after serving roughly 17 and a half years.¹

What Happened at the Track Meet

On the morning of April 2, 2025, a UIL district track meet was underway at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco. Anthony, then 17 and a student at Centennial High School, was inside a team tent belonging to rival Memorial High School. Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial, confronted him and asked him to leave. Witnesses later testified that Metcalf made the request roughly 15 times over four to six minutes.²

According to trial testimony, Anthony told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens,” while keeping his hands near or inside his backpack. Metcalf then made physical contact with him. Witness accounts of that contact varied, ranging from a small shove to a hard, two-handed push. Anthony pulled a folding knife with a 3.5-inch blade from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf once in the left side of the chest. Metcalf was pronounced dead at a hospital at 10:53 a.m.³

After jogging away from the tent, Anthony told a coach, “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him.” Police body camera footage captured him with his hands raised, telling officers, “I’m not alleged. I did it. He put his hands on me. I told him not to.”⁴

Who the Two Teenagers Were

Karmelo Anthony was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and moved to North Texas in 2021. At Frisco Centennial High School he carried a 3.7 GPA and served as captain of both the football and track teams. He had no prior criminal record and had worked at Foot Locker and H-E-B.⁵

Austin Metcalf was a 17-year-old junior at Frisco Memorial High School. His family described him as a leader and a peacemaker, and his twin brother Hunter called him his best friend.⁶ The two did not know each other before that day.⁷ Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white.

The Charges and Bond

Anthony was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder. Because he was 17, he was charged as an adult under Texas law.⁸ He was initially held on a $1 million bond, later reduced to $250,000 with conditions that included house arrest, an ankle monitor, and confinement to his parents’ home. He remained on house arrest for nearly a year before trial.⁹

The Trial in Collin County

The trial began in June 2026 in the 296th District Court at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, before Judge John Roach Jr.¹⁰

Lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye framed the killing as “an unjustified, provoked murder” and told jurors, “This case is not self-defense. This was simply senseless.”¹¹ The state’s evidence included enhanced surveillance footage (the camera did not capture the actual stabbing), the body camera video of Anthony’s admission at the scene, the recovered knife, and testimony from classmates, coaches, first responders, and the county medical examiner.²

A central witness was Eddie Parra, an 18-year-old Memorial teammate who had greeted Anthony when he entered the tent. Parra testified that Anthony provoked Metcalf, recalling him saying, “Touch me. You’re going to have to move me,” and said he saw Anthony reach into his bag before the stabbing.¹²

Defense attorney Mike Howard argued self-defense. He emphasized inconsistencies in witness accounts of the physical contact, noted that other athletes had wandered into different schools’ tents that day, and challenged Parra’s credibility with photos and social media showing Parra and Anthony had socialized together at family gatherings, contradicting Parra’s claim that they were not friends.¹³

In closing, Wirskye told jurors, “You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoked the shove,” and dismissed the defense theory that Metcalf had accidentally impaled himself on the knife as “ludicrous.”¹⁴

The Jury Selection Dispute

Jury selection on June 3, 2026, produced the trial’s most consequential dispute. Prosecutors used peremptory strikes to remove the only three remaining Black candidates from the pool. When challenged, they offered a race-neutral explanation: all three were educators, a profession they argued was too closely connected to the circumstances of the case. Judge Roach sided with the prosecution and allowed the strikes. The seated jury of 12 members and six alternates included no Black jurors.¹⁵

Verdict and 35-Year Sentence

On June 9, 2026, the jury found Anthony guilty of murder, rejecting the self-defense claim.¹⁶

The sentencing phase took place the same day. The defense called a single witness, Anthony’s mother Kayla Hayes, who asked for mercy. Prosecutors argued against a finding of “sudden passion,” a Texas sentencing provision that would have capped the punishment at 20 years. Wirskye told jurors, “Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.” Howard urged the jury to find that Anthony had acted in “a split second of chaos” and was incapable of cool reflection.¹

After roughly two hours and twenty minutes of deliberation, the jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison, effectively rejecting the sudden-passion argument. The available range had been five to 99 years. He is eligible for parole after serving half the sentence.¹⁶

The Metcalf Family’s Response

Members of Austin Metcalf’s family addressed the court after the sentence. His mother, Meghan Metcalf, told Anthony, “You may have been given a sentence of 35 years. You should feel lucky. I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime without my son.” His father, Jeff Metcalf, described Austin as “a friend, leader and warrior,” said the family had been subjected to six swatting calls, harassment, and doxing since the killing, and told Anthony he had forgiven him but believed “accountability was necessary.” His twin brother Hunter said, “You still have air while my brother is six feet under.”¹⁷

The family also announced a scholarship established in Austin’s memory through Hope Fellowship.⁶ Jeff Metcalf later publicly criticized Anthony’s parents for not attending the sentencing, telling Fox News, “They left that poor child up there by himself.”¹⁸

The GiveSendGo Fundraiser Controversy

Less than two weeks after the stabbing, Anthony’s mother launched a GiveSendGo campaign titled “Help Karmelo Official Fund” with a goal of nearly $1.4 million. It raised approximately $634,000 before being shut down after the conviction. The page had disclosed that proceeds would cover more than legal defense, but the scope of spending, which included relocation, living costs, transportation, and counseling, drew scrutiny once Anthony filed court documents declaring himself a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person” unable to afford appellate counsel. GiveSendGo said the funds had been dispersed for “lawful purposes” and that the campaign was closed because its stated pre-trial purpose was complete.¹⁹²⁰

The Appeal

Anthony’s defense team filed a notice of appeal on June 10, 2026, one day after the conviction. Howard said, “We believe there are several important issues for the appellate courts to consider,” though the specific legal arguments have not been formally detailed.²¹ Legal observers and the defense have signaled the appeal could center on alleged racial bias during jury selection, potentially invoking the 1986 Supreme Court precedent of Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits race-based peremptory strikes.²²

Anthony has filed a pauper’s oath requesting a court-appointed appellate attorney. A second GiveSendGo campaign, organized by family spokesman Dominique Alexander, has reportedly been launched on his behalf.¹⁹ His parents have publicly maintained that the trial was unfair and that their son did not intend to hurt anyone.²³

Aftermath at Frisco Schools

The killing exposed gaps in security at high school athletic events. No school resource officers or police were stationed inside or immediately outside the stadium that morning, and student-athletes were not screened at entry. Texas law permits a minor to carry a knife with a blade under 5.5 inches on school district property, but Frisco ISD policy prohibits weapons of any kind. Centennial High School has since barred its track athletes from mingling under other teams’ tents, requiring them to stay with their own squads at meets.³

1
Fox 4 News. Karmelo Anthony Trial Live Updates Frisco Track Meet Stabbing
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ABC News. Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Verdict Reached Texas Track
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NBC DFW. Frisco Track Meet Stabbing the Tragic Perfect Storm of April 2 2025
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NBC News. Karmelo Anthony Fatal Stabbing Trial
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Biography. Who Is Karmelo Anthony Austin Metcalf Murder Case Trial
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CBS News Texas. Live Updates Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Fatal Stabbing Austin Metcalf Frisco Track Meet
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Houston Public Media. Karmelo Anthony Austin Metcalf Stabbing Track Meet Frisco
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BBC News. Karmelo Anthony Found Guilty of Murder
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CBS News Texas. Karmelo Anthony Frisco Stabbing Austin Metcalf Bond Reduced House Arrest
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USA Today. Karmelo Anthony Judge Verdict Decision Camera Ban
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Karmelo Anthony Trial Frisco Track Meet Stabbing
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Fox 4 News. Karmelo Anthony Trial Live Updates Austin Metcalf Frisco Track Meet June 6
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NBC News. Karmelo Anthony Trial Defense Rests Closing Arguments Tuesday
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Dallas Morning News. Karmelo Anthony Trial Updates Closing Arguments
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Dallas Morning News. Frisco Track Meet Stabbing Jury Selection Nears
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Karmelo Anthony Found Guilty of Murder Collin County Jury
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Fox 4 News. Karmelo Anthony Sentenced Austin Metcalf Family Reacts
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New York Post. Austin Metcalfs Dad Blasts Karmelo Anthonys Family for Skipping Sentencing
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Washington Times. Karmelo Anthony Family Used Fundraiser Cover Relocation Living Costs
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National Review. Family of Convicted Killer Karmelo Anthony Pocketed 630K in Donations Before Fundraisers Closure
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USA Today. Karmelo Anthony Trial Case Appeal Latest
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New York Post. Karmelo Anthony Appeals Murder Conviction After Family Supporters Claimed Racism
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CBS News. Karmelo Anthony Murder Conviction Parents Speak Out