The second week of Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial began on Monday. As the trial proceeded, defense witnesses provided fresh testimony regarding Anthony’s attendance at the event and the circumstances leading up to the fatal altercation.
Anthony is a Texas teenager accused of fatally stabbing fellow student Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco.
Anthony, now 19, is charged with murder in the April 2025 death of Metcalf, 17, at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas. Prosecutors argue the stabbing was an unjustified attack, while defense attorneys maintain Anthony acted in self-defense after feeling threatened.
Read more: Karmelo Anthony trial: Witnesses reveal Austin Metcalf’s heartbreaking last words before death
Why was Karmelo Anthony at the track meet?
Defense attorneys sought to answer a key question Monday: why Anthony was under the Memorial High School team tent where the confrontation occurred.
A 17-year-old Frisco ISD student testified that track meets are often “really social” events where athletes regularly interact with students from different schools. The witness told jurors that participants commonly visit other teams’ areas during competitions.
Hence, Anthony’s presence at the tent of another school was not necessarily out of the ordinary, according to the testimony.
Read more: Austin Metcalf’s twin brother Hunter accepts posthumous diploma at emotional graduation ceremony: Watch
Witness says Anthony was ‘distraught’ after stabbing
One of Anthony’s teammates testified Monday that the defendant appeared visibly upset immediately after the stabbing. According to the witness, Anthony repeatedly said, “I told him not to touch me,” in the aftermath of the confrontation.
Defense attorneys have consistently argued that Anthony felt threatened during the encounter and reacted out of fear rather than intent to kill.
Jurors previously heard testimony from students who attended the meet and said Anthony had been asked to leave the tent before the confrontation escalated. Prosecutors contended that Anthony was the aggressor and that the stabbing was not justified.
During cross-examination, defense witnesses conceded that a student would be expected to leave a tent if asked. The witness also agreed that there was no justification for bringing a knife to a track meet.
The defense witness also described seeing a confrontation unfold beneath the tent, telling jurors he observed “someone getting pushed or punched or something like that.” The defense attorney asked if the witness saw if the “kid that got hit… came back with a swing motion.”
The witness, however, acknowledged difficulties recalling precise details more than a year after the incident and repeatedly said he was unsure about certain aspects of the encounter.
Closing arguments on Tuesday
The defense rested on Monday following about four days of testimony. The state rested its case over the weekend.
On Tuesday, closing arguments will take place before to the jury’s verdict. The judge has ordered the jury to be sequestered before the closing arguments take place.
Anthony might spend up to 99 years behind bars if found guilty.
