A Texas jury has convicted 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in McKinney, Texas. The verdict, delivered Tuesday after less than half a day of deliberations, means Anthony faces a sentence ranging from five to 99 years or life in state prison.
The fatal incident occurred on April 2, 2025, during a rainy track meet at Memorial High School. Anthony, who was a student at Centennial High School, entered a tent belonging to Memorial High School when rain began falling. Centennial High School did not have its own tent at the event.
According to testimony presented during the trial, Anthony was asked to leave the Memorial tent, leading to a confrontation with Metcalf and his twin brother Hunter. The prosecution argued that Anthony responded to being shoved by fatally stabbing the unarmed Metcalf.
Defense attorney Mike Howard maintained throughout the trial that his client acted in self-defense. Howard argued that while the Metcalf brothers had the right to ask Anthony to leave the tent, they had no legal authority to use physical force against him. He emphasized that Anthony was in a public place and questioned whether his client could safely turn his back on the physically larger Metcalf brothers.
The defense also raised concerns about potential bias among the prosecution’s witnesses, noting that all student witnesses were from Memorial High School, where Metcalf was described as a leader among his peers.
Prosecutor Bill Wirskye countered the self-defense claim by questioning why Anthony did not simply walk away from the confrontation, noting that other tents were available at the meet. Wirskye argued that Texas law does not permit meeting a shove with deadly force, particularly when the defendant provoked the contact.
Crucial to the prosecution’s case was witness testimony indicating that Metcalf told Anthony he was not going to fight him before the stabbing occurred. A 16-year-old Memorial student testified that Anthony had cursed at and insulted students when asked to leave, calling them derogatory names and stating they would not do anything about his refusal to leave.
A Centennial student who testified for the defense admitted under cross-examination that he had initially misstated that Anthony was surrounded before the stabbing, later clarifying that Anthony was surrounded only after the incident.
Before closing arguments, District Judge John Roach Jr. denied a defense request to allow jurors to consider the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which would have carried a sentence of six months to two years. Prosecutors successfully argued that no evidence supported the claim that Anthony was unaware the stabbing could result in death.
During closing arguments, Wirskye emphasized that self-defense requires the use of force to be immediately necessary, stating that the size difference between Anthony and Metcalf did not justify the use of deadly force. He characterized the incident as murder, not self-defense.
The case has attracted significant national attention and has been surrounded by online misinformation, according to defense attorneys who criticized the noise and false information circulating about the trial.
The jury was sequestered for the duration of their deliberations on Tuesday, ultimately returning the guilty verdict in less than four hours. Anthony now awaits sentencing on the first-degree murder conviction.
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