UPDATE
Hours after deliberating Tuesday morning, a Collin County jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial against 19-year-old Texas teen, Karmelo Anthony.
According to FOX 4 Austin, Anthony has been found guilty of murder.
Anthony reportedly broke down in tears after hearing the verdict. His parents left the courtroom while sheriff’s deputies led Anthony away in handcuffs.
The state and the defense are currently presenting victim impact statements.
Check back for additional updates.
Previous Coverage
The fate of Karmelo Anthony, a 19-year-old Texas accused of stabbing Austin Metcalf at a Collin County track meet last year, now rests in the jury’s hands.
Anthony is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the 17-year-old’s death.
Before sending the jury to deliberate Tuesday morning, State District Judge John Roach Jr. added a lesser included charge of manslaughter to the instructions.
The panel must now decide whether to convict Anthony of murder, manslaughter, or acquit him entirely. According to NBC 5 Fort Worth, the judge denied the request for a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
As CriminalEnterprise reported, Anthony, a Centennial High School student, is accused of attacking Metcalf, 17, a Memorial High School student, over a seating dispute in April 2025, at Frisco’s David Kuykendall Stadium.
The incident happened after Anthony, who reportedly skipped school on the day in question, sat under a tent designated for Memorial students and refused to leave when confronted by members of their track team.
While the prosecution, who rested its case Saturday, argued that the attack had been an unjustified “sneak attack,” the defense argued that Anthony acted in self-defense while in fear for his safety after being swarmed by a group of Memorial students.
“I’m not alleged. I did it,” Anthony told law enforcement following the attack, adding that Metcalf put his hands on him.
The stabbing, according to Collin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura, left a gaping wound, measuring two-and-a-half inches, on the left side of Metcalf’s chest. It penetrated through his pericardium, reaching the right ventricle of his heart, FOX 7 Austin reports.
Witnesses for the prosecution stated that Memorial students did not gang up on Anthony and labeled the defendant as the aggressor who taunted and provoked Metcalf into a fight.
Defense witnesses stated that Metcalf shoved Anthony with both hands, making him fear for his safety.
One of the witnesses for the defense testified that he saw the track coach comforting a visibly upset and sobbing Anthony in the aftermath of the attack.
Meanwhile, the reasoning for having the knife at a track meet has never been fully explained by the defendant, who exercised his Fifth Amendment right and chose not to testify
Carrying a knife to school athletic events is against Frisco ISD’s school policies. The knife, however, which measured under five inches, is not illegal to carry under Texas law, according to testimony by Frisco Police Detective Beau Riley.
The jurors now must decide whether the defendant had the knife for malicious purposes, or if, as the defense suggested, had it as an routine habit which they claim is common among teen males.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony faces five to 99 years or life in prison under Texas law. A manslaughter conviction carries a penalty of up to two to 20 years in prison.
[Featured images: Metcalf/Memorial High School; Anthony/Frisco PD]
