A Texas judge today rejected Karmelo Anthony’s request for a new trial, leaving intact his murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet near Dallas.
Attorneys for Anthony argued that problems surrounding his June trial warranted another proceeding, pointing to restrictive courtroom rules and what they contended were improper jury instructions. The defense and prosecutors also disputed the implications of an agreement between the two sides that limited the evidence presented to jurors about events preceding the deadly confrontation.
Anthony, 19, was convicted of murder on June 9 and sentenced to 35 years behind bars for stabbing Metcalf during the April 2025 track meet.
Anthony did score a victory in court following his conviction when the original judge in the case, John Roach, was removed after publicly commenting on the jury’s verdict.
“Yeah, they did, whatever they say, they got it right,” Roach told WFAA TV.
Anthony did not take the witness stand during his murder trial. His defense maintained that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed Metcalf inside a tent during the track meet.
The confrontation began after Metcalf told Anthony to leave the tent, which had been set up for students from Metcalf’s high school.
Anthony had taken a seat beneath the Memorial High School tent under the bleachers at the multi-school meet. Metcalf and other students repeatedly instructed him to leave the area, according to testimony about the encounter.
As tensions rose, Anthony warned Metcalf, “touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.
Metcalf then pushed Anthony. Witnesses testified that Anthony had been the aggressor in the confrontation. Anthony subsequently retrieved a knife from his bag and stabbed Metcalf, a standout football player, inflicting the wound that killed him.
The killing and subsequent prosecution attracted national attention, with race becoming a prominent issue surrounding the case because Anthony is black and Metcalf was white.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys told jurors that the killing was not racially motivated. Nevertheless, relatives of both Anthony and Metcalf reported being subjected to harassment and threats as public attention surrounding the case intensified.
Another significant issue to emerge following the trial involved evidence that jurors never heard. Prosecutors and Anthony’s defense had reached a gentleman’s agreement under which certain material would not be introduced before the jury, and some of that evidence subsequently became public.
Among the material withheld from jurors was a disturbing 2023 text message in which Anthony threatened to carry out a shooting at his school.
“imma shoot the school up tmr,” Anthony wrote in a 2023 text that prosecutors revealed during the hearings to determine of he should receive a new trial.
Saturday’s ruling means Anthony’s conviction remains in place despite his attorneys’ attempt to persuade the court that problems with the original proceedings justified giving him another trial.
{Matzav.com}
