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Conviction in Frisco stabbing
A Collin County jury found Karmelo Anthony guilty Tuesday of the 2025 murder of Austin Metcalf, a fellow high school student, after a confrontation at a Dallas-area track meet in Frisco, Texas.
“Karmelo Anthony found guilty of murder over Texas track meet stabbing Anthony was indicted for murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf”
The verdict was read by Texas District Court Judge John Roach Jr. and carried a sentence of five years to life in prison, with prosecutors and defense attorneys disputing whether Anthony acted in self-defense.
NBC News reported that Metcalf, 17, was fatally stabbed on April 2, 2025, as the track teams of Anthony’s Centennial High School and Metcalf’s Memorial High School participated in a districtwide meet in Frisco.
The stabbing case drew attention beyond the courtroom, and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth said Frisco Police were called to Kuykendall Stadium at about 10 a.m. on April 2, 2025, after Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest during a confrontation in the stands.
Dueling arguments and protests
During closing arguments, prosecutor Dewey Mitchell urged jurors to impose a harsher sentence, saying, "Whether you like it or not, mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent."
Defense attorney Mike Howard argued the law recognizes that "decisions made in the heat of the moment are different than decisions that come after reflection," as jurors were instructed to consider whether Anthony acted under the influence of "sudden passion."
After the verdict, protesters clashed outside the courthouse while waiting for sentencing details, and Krystal Muhammad, who identified herself as the national chair of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, condemned the verdict as racist and unfair.
Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said he considers the verdict justice served, calling Metcalf’s death “a senseless and heartbreaking tragedy” that forever changed his community.
Sentencing stakes and next steps
Jurors began weighing Anthony’s sentence after deliberating for about three hours Tuesday, and Texas law says a murder conviction is punishable by five to 99 years in state prison.
ABC News reported that the judge decided jurors could also consider manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, and that the state agreed to allow jurors to consider "sudden passion" for sentencing.
In the punishment phase, Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, asked jurors to show him mercy, telling them, "Please have mercy on my son," and saying, "He'll always be my baby," as she described him as very sorry for what he did.
CNN said Anthony faces up to life in prison under a murder guilty verdict, while a manslaughter conviction would have carried a sentence of two to 20 years, and the trial moved to sentencing after the jury rejected self-defense.
