Posted on 06/09/2026 5:54:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
The Brief The jury at the trial of Karmelo Anthony will get the case on Tuesday after four days of testimony. Anthony is charged with murder in the 2025 stabbing death of Austin Metcalf. If convicted, Anthony could face up to 99 years in prison.
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MCKINNEY, Texas - A Texas jury will soon decide the fate of Karmelo Anthony.
Anthony, 19, has been charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf.
Investigators said Anthony and Metcalf got into an argument over stadium seating during a track meet in Frisco on April 2, 2025. When the disagreement escalated, Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife.
The defense has argued that Anthony was acting in self-defense after he was shoved by Metcalf.
After about four days of testimony, the defense rested Monday. That came after the state rested its case over the weekend.
Closing arguments will happen Tuesday before the case is handed to the jury. The judge has ordered the jury be sequestered.
If convicted, Anthony could face up to 99 years in prison.
Day 3 Recap:
Prosecutors rest their case
Testimony resumed on Saturday in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco in 2025.
The state rested its case Saturday in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony after calling 21 witnesses, handing momentum to the defense as testimonies shifted from the victim’s final moments to the casual culture of high school track meets.
Jurors earlier heard harrowing testimony from Collin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura, who detailed the "gaping," fatal 2-inch stab wound to Austin Metcalf’s heart. Student witnesses from Memorial High School also took the stand, describing Anthony as the aggressor who provoked a confrontation and refused to leave their team's tent before the stabbing.
The defense quickly launched its case by calling Anthony's track coach and teammate, who testified that mingling under other schools' tents during downtime was a common practice in the "organized chaos" of track meets. However, under cross-examination, defense witnesses conceded that a student would be expected to leave a tent if asked, and agreed there was no reason to bring a knife to a track meet.
Day 2 Recap:
Teenage witnesses testify after jurors watch arrest, bodycam video Several friends of Austin Metcalf testified in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial on Friday, and all consistently said they believed Anthony was the aggressor. FOX 4's Amelia Jones has more.
Eyewitness Testimony:
The state presented testimony from first responders, law enforcement, and several teenage eyewitnesses. A responding paramedic testified that Metcalf never regained consciousness, having been found with no pulse. School Resource Officer Eduardo Cortez recounted arresting Anthony, who was caught on body camera video stating, "I'm not alleged, I did it. He put his hands on me." Law enforcement later recovered the weapon—a blood-stained 3.5-inch folding knife—and Anthony’s backpack from the stadium bleachers.
Multiple student witnesses from Memorial High School testified that Anthony was the aggressor. They stated that Anthony entered their team tent to escape the rain and refused multiple requests to leave. The situation quickly escalated as Anthony verbally provoked Metcalf, stating, "Touch me and see what happens." Witnesses noted Anthony kept his hand hidden inside his backpack, warning that he had something. When Metcalf finally pushed or shoved Anthony's shoulders, Anthony immediately stood up and stabbed him in the chest.
Defense Strategy:
The defense focused heavily on a self-defense narrative, using cross-examination to highlight discrepancies between the students' courtroom testimonies and their initial police statements. The defense established significant physical differences between the two boys, noting that Metcalf outweighed Anthony by 50 to 60 pounds.
Crucially, the defense emphasized the physical positioning during the altercation: Anthony was sitting down with his bag on his lap, surrounded by roughly 20 people in a crowded tent, while Metcalf and several teammates stood over him. Trial consultants note this spatial dynamic will be vital for the jury when evaluating the self-defense claim.
Day 1 Recap:
Jurors watch video, listen to 911 calls The trial of Karmelo Anthony, a teen charged with the murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet last year, began with opening statements on Thursday. FOX 4's Alex Boyer has more from the trial's first full day.
Opening Statements:
The prosecution and defense laid out two completely opposing narratives to the jury during their 20-minute opening statements. Collin County District Attorney Bill Wirskye called the incident a "provoked, unjustified murder," arguing that Anthony entered a closed team tent uninvited, provoked a confrontation, and launched a "sneak attack" with a hidden knife before fleeing.
Wirskye explicitly noted that the case is not about race or self-defense. Conversely, defense attorney Mike Howard argued that Anthony acted out of a "split second of fear and chaos." Howard described Anthony as an honor student working two jobs who remained seated until Metcalf and his twin brother confronted him, maintaining that Anthony used the knife strictly in self-defense because he felt cornered by a group turning on him.
Grainy Stadium Video:
Jurors viewed surveillance footage provided by Frisco ISD from multiple stadium angles. The video showed a figure identified as Anthony entering the Memorial High School team tent, followed by a brief scuffle and Anthony fleeing the scene as coaches and students gave chase.
Memorial High School track coach Robert Starr testified to the sacred nature of team tents, comparing them to a sports bench where you just do not go in uninvited. He became visibly emotional on the stand while describing the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.
Chaotic 911 Audio: turned deeply emotional as the prosecution played a chaotic 911 call from the scene. In the audio, Liberty High School football coach Joshua Rebmann, a military veteran who administered CPR, could be heard shouting, "Stay with me, Austin."
The state capped the day with a powerful visual display, presenting the physical, blood-stained jacket that Rebmann used to apply pressure to Metcalf's wound. Legal observers noted that displaying the bloody jacket right before adjournment left a staggering, lasting impression on the jury.
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Jim
“I’m thinking 3 hours, guilty, then lunch, then 25 years.”
AND on parole in a few months for “good behavior”.
That’s okay, because Austin Metcalf should be back by then.
/S
Prison is hell. He’ll be surrounded by bigger, older dudes who will have no mercy on this young murderer.
“. Because he was 17 at the time and not charged with capital murder, he is legally ineligible for the death penalty.”
Guilty...next case.
They blew all the money that was supposed to go for a lawyer for the kid and he ended up being declared indigent and got a Public Lawyer.
Yup. Guilty or not.
Give the jury knives. The deceased’s parents likely don’t want to live if the jury finds not guilty.
He’s been on the dreaded house arrest since the murder
This trial I hear is in Austin, so that is a hive of liberals, so a white person will not get justice in an Austin court.
I guess we shall see oh oracle of the future
Anthony’s family has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars, profiting off an innocent kid being stabbed in the heart.
>> There was no reason for any of his actions other than to create the situation leading to a death.
Yeah, I figure he set out to kill him a white boy that day. Gang initiation maybe. Or goaded into it online.
These little buggers know this. It’s taught to them at a young age in the hood, that’s why there’s no fear. Start public hangings and you will see a change in attitude.
In a sane country, they would deliberate for about an hour, find him guilty, and a gallows would be set up behind the courthouse.
Nope.
Not happening
Ah, Summer of Love II!
Compare that to Luigi, who used his money to hire lawyers who got damming evidence thrown out at his trial....
It is not near Austin. It’s in Collin County. Northish of Dallas.
It’s wealthy. 50% white and 20% Asian with 30% split by black and Hispanic.
It went for Trump in all elections by 11%.
Collin County, in no way, resembles Travis County (Austin) in politics.
Judges in Texas are elected.
Collin county would not elect a Democrat judge who would rule like the leftists in NYC.
The trial is being held in Mckinney a northern suburb of Dallas (Collin County). This area is nothing like Austin; in fact if this had happened in Austin I doubt the little thug would have even been indicted...
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