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By Amanda Castro
Associate News Editor
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A Collin County jury has now rejected Karmelo Anthony’s claim that he stabbed Austin Metcalf in self-defense, despite a widely discussed nearly 40‑pound size difference between the two teens.
The verdict undercuts one of the most-viral narratives surrounding the case—that Anthony, smaller and seated, acted out of fear when confronted under a crowded track‑meet tent.
The decision leaves Anthony, now 19, facing a 35‑year prison sentence and entering the early stages of an appeal that could take years to resolve. It also sets the stage for continued public debate, political commentary, and legal scrutiny over how self-defense is interpreted in Texas.
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According to testimony cited in court records, multiple student witnesses said Anthony repeatedly warned Metcalf to "touch me and see what happens" while keeping his hand in his backpack before the stabbing—a detail jurors appeared to view as provocation rather than fear.
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Karmelo Anthony Files for Appeal
Anthony filed a notice of appeal the day after the verdict, submitting the paperwork himself and declaring that he has no money to hire an appellate lawyer.
In the filing, he described himself as "penniless, destitute, and indigent," asking the court to appoint counsel to represent him.
His trial attorney, Mike Howard, confirmed that the defense intends to challenge several issues, including a Batson challenge raised during jury selection.
Anthony has since been transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, completing intake before being assigned to the Pack Unit near Navasota. Until a judge rules on his indigency and appoints counsel, the appeal cannot advance beyond the initial notice.
Under Texas law, people convicted of murder are not eligible for bond while appealing, meaning Anthony will remain in state custody throughout the process.
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Austin Metcalf's Family Receives Death Threats
The Metcalf family has continued to receive death threats, doxing attempts, and even swatting calls since the verdict, according to interviews and police reports.
Some messages have referenced Hunter Metcalf, Austin’s twin brother, and others have threatened to show up at the family’s home. Last year, a swatting incident brought armed officers to their Frisco residence.
In a podcast appearance, per HollywoodUnlocked, Jeff Metcalf spoke publicly for the first time since a gag order was lifted. He described the emotional toll of the trial, the moment he heard Hunter screaming on police bodycam footage, and the "pure, unfiltered rage" he expressed in his victim‑impact statement. He also said he finally felt "peace" the morning after sentencing.
During the same podcast, Metcalf used a racist insult to describe Anthony and sharply criticized Anthony’s parents, comments that have fueled further online backlash and deepened the racial divide surrounding the case.
Metcalf insisted the case "was never about race," but acknowledged the national polarization that has followed the trial.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, are also investigating a video in which a man was allegedly assaulted by someone claiming to be targeting people involved in Anthony’s case.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe confirmed it removed a fundraiser for Anthony’s legal defense, citing longstanding rules prohibiting campaigns for individuals charged with violent crimes.
What To Know About Anthony/Metcalf Case
On April 2, 2025, Austin Metcalf, a 17‑year‑old Memorial High School linebacker, was fatally stabbed during a weather delay at a Frisco, Texas, track meet.
Witnesses told police that Anthony, a Centennial High School athlete, had taken shelter under Memorial’s tent and was repeatedly asked to leave. According to the arrest affidavit, Anthony warned students not to touch him and kept a hand in his backpack before Metcalf pushed him. Moments later, Anthony stabbed Metcalf once in the chest with a black folding knife, piercing his heart.
Anthony immediately surrendered, telling officers, "I was protecting myself" and asking whether Metcalf would survive. He was charged with murder, indicted, and ultimately tried as an adult under Texas law.
Karmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf's Height and Weight
The physical disparity between the two teens became one of the most contentious elements of the case. Metcalf, a football linebacker, was about 6 feet tall and roughly 200 pounds, according to his bio. Anthony, also an athlete, was listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and about 162 pounds.
Defense attorneys leaned heavily on that difference, arguing that Anthony was smaller, seated, and surrounded by unfamiliar students when the confrontation escalated.
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But jurors also heard that Anthony had issued repeated warnings, kept his hand in his backpack, and made statements that witnesses interpreted as threats rather than fear. Prosecutors argued that the size gap did not override the legal requirement that self-defense must be based on a reasonable belief of imminent serious harm.
The two‑minute exchange, they said, gave Anthony time to disengage rather than escalate. The jury ultimately agreed, concluding that the weight difference did not justify the use of a knife, especially given testimony that Metcalf pushed Anthony only once and with limited force.
Karmelo Anthony Guilty, Sentenced to 35 Years
After a week of testimony and just under three hours of deliberation, the jury found Anthony guilty of murder and rejected the defense’s "sudden passion" claim, which could have reduced the sentencing range. Instead, jurors imposed a 35‑year sentence, a decision prosecutors said reflected the severity of using a concealed knife during a school event.
The panel included no Black jurors, a point raised by advocacy groups but dismissed by the district attorney, who insisted the case "had nothing to do with race."
Under Texas law, a person can use deadly force only if they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. The standard is not based on the defendant’s fear alone but on whether an ordinary person in the same situation would have believed lethal force was the only option.
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Prosecutors argued that Anthony’s actions before the stabbing suggested preparation rather than panic. Witnesses described a brief, tense exchange that lasted roughly two minutes, during which Anthony remained seated but continued to challenge those around him.
Jurors appeared to conclude that the single shove described in testimony did not meet the threshold for imminent deadly danger, especially given that no witness reported Metcalf striking, tackling, or pinning Anthony. The medical examiner’s findings, which showed a deep stab wound that pierced Metcalf’s heart, reinforced the prosecution’s argument that the force used was disproportionate to the threat.
By rejecting the "sudden passion" claim as well, the jury signaled that it did not view the confrontation as a moment of overwhelming fear, but as an escalation Anthony helped create.
Reaction to Karmelo Anthony's Sentencing
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The verdict set off an immediate wave of polarized reaction online, with celebrities, politicians and commentators seizing on the case’s racial and emotional fault lines. Representative Jasmine Crockett, speaking on her podcast, delivered one of the most widely criticized responses, downplaying the knife's size and misstating nearly every key fact of the confrontation.
Holding her fingers an inch apart, she asked, "Wait a minute, it was this?" before suggesting the blade was so small she "wouldn’t even think it’s a deadly weapon." Crockett went further, offering a hypothetical scenario that bore no resemblance to the evidence presented at trial: "If a 300‑pound man is beating me, like on top of me and beating me down, I’m not limited to fists."
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren (seen above) tweeted, reacting to a portion of Crockett's podcast commentary, writing: "This absolute nitwit moron bending herself into a pretzel to convince folks that the kid who was stabbed to death in HIS track meet tent was actually the racist and the perp was the real victim. Disgusting."
The reaction to Anthony's verdict intensified when Cardi B weighed in, calling the 35‑year sentence an injustice. "Wow! Just freakin wow! DISGUSTING…This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!" she wrote on X, a post that quickly amassed more than 14 million views.
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Lahren also responded to the rapper's tweet almost immediately, responding, "Yes, the example is, don’t stab somebody in the chest. Thanks for playing."
Outside the courthouse, the divide was just as stark. Supporters of both families chanted across barricades, echoing the same arguments dominating social media: whether the size gap mattered, whether self-defense applied, and whether the jury’s decision reflected justice or bias.
The sentencing has only deepened those fractures, ensuring the case will remain a flashpoint in national conversations about race, youth violence, and the limits of self-defense under Texas law.
Update, 06/12/26, 12:50 p.m. ET: this article has been updated with additional information and Anthony's mug shot.
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