A Collin County jury on Tuesday sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison for the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, stabbed to death at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, last year.
Jurors deliberated for two-and-a-half hours before delivering the sentence, rejecting both Anthony’s self-defense claim and a legal argument that could have reduced his exposure significantly.
What happened at the track meet?
Metcalf was a junior at Memorial High School in Frisco — a student-athlete with a 3.97 GPA who served as MVP linebacker of the football team and competed in track and field. He was stabbed once in the chest and died in the arms of his twin brother, Hunter, on April 2, 2025.
Anthony, a student at nearby Centennial High School, was present at the Memorial High School team tent during the high school track meet. Witnesses told investigators that Metcalf — a white American — had asked Anthony to leave the sporting event.
Read More | What’s next for Karmelo Anthony? Austin Metcalf’s killer sentenced to 35 years in Frisco track meet murder
According to NBC DFW, Anthony allegedly warned, “touch me and see what happens,” while reaching inside his bag, then pulled out a black knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest.
Witness testimony at trial reconstructed Metcalf’s final moments in detail. One witness said Anthony had challenged students at the tent to fight; Metcalf refused, telling him he would not fight at a track meet.
A 16-year-old Memorial High School student from the class of 2027 testified that Metcalf’s last words, spoken immediately after he was stabbed, were: “He f***ing stabbed me.” A separate witness recalled Metcalf saying, “Oh my God.”
What was Anthony’s defense?
Anthony — born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the oldest of four children, and a captain of both the football and track teams at Centennial High School — pleaded not guilty and maintained throughout the trial that he had acted in self-defense. He had no prior criminal history.
US media reported that body camera footage from the arresting officers showed Anthony tearfully saying “he put his hands on me” and asking “is he ok?” after the stabbing. But Metcalf’s teammates testified that Anthony had his hand inside his backpack, already gripping the knife, before Metcalf made any physical contact.
Read More | Karmelo Anthony’s mom sobs before jurors sentence Austin Metcalf’s killer to 35 years, ‘He’s very sorry for what he did’
A GiveSendGo fundraiser was launched in Anthony’s support after the killing. His mother, Kala Hayes, voiced concerns about safety and public scrutiny ahead of the trial. “I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial,” she told NBC DFW.
What happened at the trial?
No Black jurors were seated during Anthony’s trial — an absence that drew formal objection from his defense team and sparked demonstrations outside the courthouse. Defense attorneys challenged the prosecution’s removal of two Black prospective jurors from the jury pool. Judge John Roach allowed the dismissals, ruling they were grounded in race-neutral reasons tied to the jurors’ occupations as educators, according to the Michigan Chronicle.
The jury that ultimately convicted Anthony comprised white, Asian and Hispanic members.
During the sentencing, both sides waived their right to opening statements. The prosecution called no witnesses. The defence called one: Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, who wept as she addressed jurors.
“He’s my oldest. He’ll always be my baby. I love him very much,” Hayes told the court.
“Does your son regret what he did,” the defense asked, to which she replied: “Yes, he’s very sorry for what he did.”
Anthony sobbed in court as his conviction was recorded on Tuesday. Outside, approximately 200 protesters — supporters and opponents of Anthony — gathered at the courthouse.
“This whole thing’s been racist. We didn’t make it racist!” one demonstrator said, according to the New York Post.
Another protested the jury’s composition, saying, “Tell those white folks, why is a black boy in front of an all white jury? When has a white boy been in front of an all black jury? Never!”
What is the sentence, and what happens next?
The jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years and rejected the “sudden passion” defense — a legal argument that, had it succeeded, would have capped his sentencing exposure at 20 years. Because that argument failed, Anthony faces the full term. He will be eligible for parole after serving 17.5 years.
Anthony will be transferred from county holding to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to begin his sentence. His defense team, according to American media reports, is expected to file an appeal challenging the conviction or seeking to have it overturned.
Austin Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, recently accepted both brothers’ diplomas at their high school graduation in an emotional ceremony.
