The family of Karmelo Anthony, a Dallas teenager accused of killing a fellow high school student in a racially charged case that has drawn national scrutiny, is denying reports that they have used hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to buy a new house.

This comes as the feud in the racially charged case, between the Anthony’s family and that of the victim, Austin Metcalf, intensified as Austin’s father was removed from the Anthony family press conference by police, and an Anthony family spokesperson suggested that damaging information about Austin could be released.

In a Thursday press conference, which Mr. Anthony did not attend, his family members refuted what they say are false claims circulating about him. Mr. Anthony has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf. His mother, Kayla Hayes, said her family has “been under attack.” 

The Daily Mail reported earlier this week alleged that in the wake of Mr. Anthony’s arrest, the family has moved into a new $900,000 home in a gated community. Mr. Anthony is believed to be living in the house after he was controversially released on bail when a judge lowered the bail amount from $1 million to $250,000.

Supporters of both families have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars on fundraising platforms, including $450,000 for Mr. Anthony’s on GiveSendGo.  

Unverified reports on social media suggested that the family had used the donations to pay for rent on the new home. However, Ms. Hayes said the family has not withdrawn any of the donated money and would not have access to them for several more days. 

“The claims that were [made] about the public donations to buy a home or anyone else are completely false. We have not received a single dime,” she said. 

The co-founder of GiveSendGo, Jacob Wells, confirmed to TMZ on Wednesday that no funds had been distributed.

The start of the press conference Thursday was delayed when Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, tried to attend despite a court order preventing contact between his family and Mr. Anthony. Mr. Metcalf was escorted out by police, even though Mr. Anthony was not in attendance. 

Before the press conference began, a spokesman for the Anthony family, Dominique Alexander, criticized Mr. Metcalf for showing up to the event, accusing him of showing “disrespect to the dignity of his son.”

After criticizing the grieving father, Alexander said his firm, the Next Generation Action Network, has “respected the dignity of life and loss” and not attacked the victim. He then accused “conservative operatives” of circulating inflammatory and racially-tinged comments about Mr. Anthony and the case on social media. 

Mr. Anthony has pleaded not guilty of murder in the case of Metcalf, whom he admits to fatally stabbing at an April 2 track meet. Mr. Anthony says he acted in self defense. Since being released on the reduced, $250,000 bail, he’s required to stay at home and wear an ankle monitor.

The story has garnered national attention due to the racial component as Mr. Anthony is black and Metcalf was white. Some advocates for the Metcalf family claim that the case would have become the subject of national outrage were the races of the two men reversed; and instead, Mr. Anthony has been released on bail and has raised almost half a million dollars for his defense.

Ms. Hayes said her husband has taken a leave of absence from his job after his address and that of his employer were posted online. She also said her husband’s “mental health is deteriorating day by day.”

She also said the family received death threats, adding, “My thirteen year old daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bedroom because she’s fearful of what will happen to her.”

“Whatever you think happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boy, my three younger children, my husband, and I didn’t do anything to be threatened, harassed, and lied about,” Ms. Hayes said. “The lies and their amplification put my family in danger.”

She also noted that there is an ongoing investigation into the incident, and “everyone involved wants it to be full and fair.”

“Our son deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded to. He’s been raised in a two parent home, with structure, stability, love, and we put God first in everything we do. We believe in the Constitution, we believe in the laws of this state. But, the laws must apply to all of us,” she said 

The fatal stabbing occurred around 10 a.m. on April 2 at Frisco Centennial High School. According to the police report, the altercation began when Metcalf, a student of Frisco Memorial High School, asked Mr. Anthony, a student of Centennial High School, to move out of the Memorial High School tent

A witness reported that Mr. Anthony reached inside his bag and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.” The police report states that Metcalf grabbed Mr. Anthony, who then “stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away.”

During the press conference, Alexander appeared to issue a threat to the Metcalf family regarding apparently unsavory information about the victim he said he had come into possession of, “We have not attacked. We have not shared the information that was shared with us about Austin Metcalf, because we respect the dignity of life…and as a minister, I would not attack a grieving family.”

The spokesman said he “wouldn’t dare” share the information, but “plenty of people can share that.” He also said that information will eventually come out in court.