Karmelo Anthony Stabs Austin Metcalf at Frisco Track Meet, Prosecutors Say Not Self-Defense

Karmelo Anthony, 19, is accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife during a confrontation at a high school track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, and prosecutors say the killing was a “senseless murder” and not self-defense.

“The murder trial of now 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony began with jury selection on June 1 in Collin County”

CBS News

NBC 5 reported Frisco Police were called to Kuykendall Stadium at about 10 a.m. on April 2, 2025, after Anthony stabbed Metcalf, and witnesses said an argument began when Metcalf told Anthony to move from underneath Memorial’s pop-up tent used during a downpour.

CBS News

In opening statements, prosecutor Bill Wirskye told jurors the case is not self-defense, saying “This case is not self-defense. Unjustified provoked murder — that’s why we’re here this morning.”

Defense attorney Mike Howard argued Anthony acted in self-defense, saying “After Karmelo defended himself with that knife, he ran. He didn’t stab again. He dropped the knife. He didn’t stab anyone else,” as the trial proceeded in Collin County Court.

The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks, and if convicted Anthony faces a maximum sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison, with NBC 5 noting the charge is murder rather than capital murder.

Jurors heard clashing accounts as prosecutors and the defense presented sharply different narratives about what happened in the stands, with CNN quoting Wirskye saying the stabbing was a “sneak, surprise attack” and that Anthony “knows he goaded the murder.”

Defense attorney Mike Howard told jurors that “Self-defense is useless if you wait too late to defend yourself,” framing Anthony’s actions as fear and chaos rather than provocation.

CNN

NBC 5 said Anthony told police he was protecting himself during the confrontation, and it also described a reported exchange in which a witness said Anthony told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens,” before pulling a black knife and stabbing Metcalf in the chest.

FOX 4 reported that forensic video analyst Mark Porter walked jurors through surveillance footage from multiple cameras positioned around Frisco’s Kuykendall Stadium, and the outlet said the video showed Anthony leaving the tent and running across the stadium area as other students followed behind him.

The case has drawn national attention amid racial controversy, and NBC News reported Next Generation Action Network said it was “outraged” that none of the jurors selected—11 women and seven men—are Black.

As testimony continued, witnesses described the immediate aftermath and what they believed Anthony intended, including a Frisco ISD track coach’s 9-1-1 call in which Robert Thayer told the operator what was happening and Joshua Redman encouraged Metcalf in the background.

“COLLIN COUNTY - The second day of testimony in the Karmelo Anthony trial began on Friday morning”

FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth

KERA News quoted Redman telling the jury, “C’mon Austin, fight,” and it said Redman was the first person to provide Metcalf aid while he and some Frisco ISD athletic trainers performed CPR.

NBC News reported that Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said his son didn’t know Anthony and that Austin’s twin brother, Hunter, was nearby when the confrontation took place and tried to stop the bleeding, while Frisco Police Chief David Shilson urged people to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”

The legal stakes remain centered on whether jurors accept prosecutors’ view that Anthony provoked and carried out an unjustified attack, or the defense view that Anthony acted in self-defense, with NBC 5 noting Anthony faces between five and 99 years in prison if convicted.

NBC News also said the jury was seated under increased security at a Collin County courthouse and that a judge set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.