Following a trial that lasted just one week from jury selection to verdict, a Collin county, Texas, jury found Karmelo Anthony, now 19, guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf last year.
The closely watched trial drew national attention, with viral social media posts that highlighted the racial composition of the case: Anthony is Black; Austin was white. Attorneys selected 12 jurors and six alternates for the trial; none of the jurors was Black.
Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison later on Tuesday.
Anthony, of Centennial high school, and Austin, of Memorial high school, were both 17 when they met during a Frisco independent school district track meet in April 2025. A rain shower started and led to confusion – some athletes stayed on the field, while others ran for cover under team tents. Centennial did not have a tent that day, and when Anthony sought shelter under Memorial’s tent, a confrontation occurred resulting in Anthony stabbing Austin, who was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital.
Anthony’s legal team argued that he’d acted in self-defense after he was confronted by members of the Memorial high school team. The defense said Austin and his twin brother, who are about 6ft 1in and 213lb, confronted Anthony, who is 5ft 8in and about 130lb.
The defense claimed that Anthony reacted to “fear and chaos”, while a prosecutor said that Austin was stabbed in a “sneak, surprise attack”.
Prosecuting attorney Bill Wirskye said that Anthony threatened Austin, quoting a trial witness who said that the teen had told Austin: “Touch me and find out.” Wirskye said that video evidence shown during the trial supported the argument that other people in the tent had not turned on Anthony, and that the incident was one-on-one.
A Texas law allowed Anthony to be tried as an adult, despite his being a minor at the time of the stabbing.
Austin’s twin brother, Hunter, was in the courtroom for the first time during the trial, as Texas district court judge John Roach Jr read the verdict. As he was on the witness list, Hunter Metcalf had not been allowed in the courtroom.
When the verdict was read, Hunter Metcalf leaned forward, while Anthony’s mother wept. Anthony broke down in tears, and his parents left the courtroom; Anthony has been remanded into the custody of the Collin county sheriff’s office.
