Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

A Texas prosecutor accused Karmelo Anthony of an “unjustified, provoked murder” Thursday on the opening day of the 19-year-old’s trial, which comes more than a year after he was charged in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf.Mr. Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, argued in his own opening statement that his client had “made a split-second decision” out of fear when he killed Metcalf on the sidelines of an April 2025 track meet at Frisco, Texas.Mr. Anthony has been charged with first-degree murder for the stabbing, which came while both young men were 17. Under Texas law, Mr. Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty, is considered an adult.The case has garnered national attention due to racial undertones because Mr. Anthony is black, and Metcalf was white. However, Mr. Wirskye said that the case “has nothing to do with race” or self-defense. “We are all here because Karmelo Anthony decided to take a knife to a high school track meet and provoke another young man who he didn’t know into touching him. This man decided to commit an unjustified, provoked murder,” he said.Mr. Howard countered by telling the jurors that his client acted out of fear when Metcalf and his brother, Hunter Metcalf, approached him in their school’s tent at the track meet and asked him to leave.Jury selection wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon after a pool of potential jurors had been was whittled down from roughly 600 people to 12 jurors and six alternates. The selection process has been criticized by Mr. Anthony’s defense team, as there are no black jurors. An advocacy organization, Next Generation Action Network, which has assisted Mr. Anthony’s family, said in a statement that it was “outraged” by the jury selection process, which it said “raises serious concerns about fairness and equal justice.”Several potential jurors were dismissed because of concerns about whether they would be impartial. One prospective juror, who was identified as African American, said that he would “have a hard time putting a brother in jail.”Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that “several” potential jurors said they would have a hard time sending Mr. Anthony to prison because he “looks like a child.”“I don’t think I can make a decision about somebody so young. One mistake, one argument, one conflict, you can’t say he’s a bad person,” a potential juror said, according to the Post. The stabbing occurred at an April 2, 2025, track meet. The Metcalf brothers, students at the Frisco Memorial High School, noticed that Mr. Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, had entered their school’s tent. Mr. Wirskye told jurors that Metcalf asked Mr. Anthony to leave the Memorial High School tent because “tents are like ‘locker rooms’ for teams, including a safe space to avoid things being stolen.”After being asked to leave, the defendant allegedly responded, “Touch me and see what happens.” Mr. Wirskye said that Metcalf did not want to fight but was stabbed by Mr. Anthony, who then fled the scene. Mr. Howard, however, said his client told Metcalf, “As long as you don’t touch me, we’re cool.” Mr. Howard said his client stabbed Metcalf in self-defense after the Memorial High School students stood up, and it appeared as though they were going to fight. The defense attorney said that Metcalf touched his client first. At that point Mr. Anthony had a “decision to make” and “defended himself with that knife,” he said, noting that the defendant had admitted to stabbing Metcalf when he was apprehended. Protesters gathered outside the courthouse on Thursday morning, with some wearing shirts expressing support for Mr. Anthony and others holding signs that read, “Justice for Austin Metcalf.”As the trial got underway, supporters of Mr. Anthony were still donating on a GiveSendGo page set up to support his family. As of Thursday morning, supporters have donated more than $616,000 to Mr. Anthony, with donations still rolling in. If convicted, Mr. Anthony faces between five and 99 years in prison.

Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

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​​Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

​​Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

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Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet

Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial Begins One Year After Fatal Stabbing at Track Meet