Karmelo Anthony Verdict Reached After 3 Hours of Deliberation — Details

Was Karmelo Anthony acting in self-defense, or was the stabbing the “sneak attack” prosecutors described in court? After hearing two sharply different accounts of the confrontation that ended in Austin Metcalf’s death, a Collin County jury reached its answer.

After less than three hours of deliberation, Karmelo was found guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of Frisco student Austin during a high school track meet.

The verdict marked a major development in a case that drew widespread attention following the deadly confrontation on April 2, 2025.

According to NBC DFW, Karmelo admitted to fatally stabbing Austin during the encounter.

The jury reached its unanimous decision in less than three hours on Tuesday, June 9. Karmelo showed little reaction as the verdict was read and was escorted from the courtroom shortly afterward.

Emotions were evident among those in attendance.

NBC DFW reported that Karmelo’s mother wept in the gallery, while family members and supporters appeared tearful as the verdict was announced. Across the courtroom, Austin’s twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, leaned forward in his seat as jurors delivered their decision.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply different accounts of what led to the stabbing.

Prosecutors argued that Karmelo was responsible for escalating the confrontation and rejected the defense’s claim that he acted in self-defense.

According to FOX 4 News, Collin County District Attorney Bill Wirskye described the stabbing as a “provoked, unjustified murder.”

Wirskye argued that Karmelo entered a closed team tent without permission and carried out what he called a “sneak attack” with a concealed knife before fleeing the scene. He also told jurors that the case was not about race and did not involve self-defense.

The defense presented a sharply different account.

Attorney Mike Howard argued that Karmelo acted during a moment of fear and chaos. He described his client as an honor student who worked two jobs and maintained that Karmelo used the knife only because he felt cornered during the confrontation.

Throughout the trial, the defense argued that Karmelo acted in self-defense. After hearing both sides, jurors found Karmelo guilty of murder. The case now moves to the sentencing phase, which the same jury will decide.

Under Texas law, a murder conviction carries a punishment range of five to 99 years in prison.

Karmelo’s attorneys are expected to argue that the offense was committed under the immediate influence of what Texas law calls “sudden passion.”

During jury selection, prosecutor Dewey Mitchell explained that sudden passion refers to a situation in which a person experiences such an intense emotional reaction to a recent event that there is no time to cool off.

If jurors determine that sudden passion applies, the punishment range would be reduced to that of a second-degree felony, carrying a sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

With the verdict now in, attention turns back to the chain of events that led to the deadly encounter at a Frisco track meet and ultimately brought the case before a jury.

The Fatal Altercation

On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the bleachers at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, were filled with students competing in the 11-5A district track meet. The event brought together more than a hundred student-athletes from eight Frisco Independent School District high schools, including Memorial High School and Centennial High School.

Under the tent reserved for Memorial High athletes, an interaction began between Austin, a junior at Memorial, and Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old student from Centennial. Witnesses told police that Karmelo, dressed in a Centennial tracksuit, sat in the wrong tent, and Austin told him to leave.

According to the police report, Karmelo opened his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens.” Statements from multiple students indicated that Austin either touched or attempted to move Karmelo. In the next moment, Karmelo allegedly pulled a knife from his bag and stabbed Austin once in the chest.

Witnesses said he then fled from the tent area. A black knife with blood on it was later recovered by officers in the bleachers. Coaches and certified athletic trainers responded immediately, performing CPR and administering blood while waiting for emergency services.

Austin was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m. According to the official arrest report, the entire altercation, from the verbal exchange to the stabbing, lasted less than 30 seconds.

Police noted that more than 30 students and half a dozen coaches from five schools were listed as witnesses, many of whom provided statements on-site.

The Arrest and Suspect’s Statements to Police

Minutes after the stabbing, a Frisco school resource officer located Karmelo near the stadium. He matched the descriptions provided by several student witnesses. According to the police report, officers noted blood on his left middle finger and ordered him to raise his hands. He complied.

Before officers asked any questions, Karmelo began making spontaneous statements. “I was protecting myself,” he said. When one officer radioed that he had the alleged suspect, Karmelo reportedly responded, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”

As he was walked to a patrol car, he added, “He put his hands on me. I told him not to.” Witnesses at the scene described him as “crying hysterically.” Officers described him as visibly shaken during the arrest. Once in the back seat of the squad car, Karmelo asked if the victim was “going to be OK.”

He then asked officers if the stabbing could be considered “self-defense.” Another officer reported that Karmelo appeared emotional throughout the interaction and repeated several of these statements without being prompted. He was transported to the Frisco City Jail and later transferred to the Collin County Jail.

The Family’s Immediate Response

Austin’s mother, Meagan Metcalf, was at work in Grapevine when she received a phone call from her son Hunter. “He was screaming that Austin had been stabbed,” she said in a televised interview. She drove straight to the hospital and arrived before the ambulance.

“I saw them have him come out,” she recalled. “He was on a lot of machines, and it didn’t take long for them to come in to say that he had passed.” Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, said Hunter had witnessed the stabbing and tried to save his brother’s life.

“[Hunter] was holding his hands on the hole trying to save his life,” Jeff told CBS News Texas. “He told me, ‘I looked at him, his eyes — he was gone, he wasn’t breathing.'” According to Meagan, CPR was performed after Austin was unresponsive for about five minutes.

“They were able to revive him a little, but I think it was just,[..] too little too late,” she said. In an interview, Austin’s brother, Hunter, also described what he saw.

“I whipped my head around, and then all of a sudden I see [sic] him running down the bleachers just grabbing his chest[…] I put my hand on there, tried to make [the bleeding] stop, and I grabbed his head and I looked in his eyes. I just saw his soul leave, and it took my soul, too,” he stated.

The family released a written statement two days later, through a friend, thanking the community for their prayers and support. “We will entrust the detectives handling the investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding Austin’s passing,” the statement read.

“While our family, Hunter, and I prioritize commemorating and honoring Austin[…] we extend our gratitude to everyone who has supported us in numerous ways and helped sustain our family during this difficult time,” it concluded.