The murder trial against Karmelo Anthony, a Texas teen accused of fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf at a track meet, continues in Collin County.
On Friday, a witness for the prosecution took the stand and recounted how he saw the defendant seated under a tent with a backpack in his lap on April 2, 2025, at Frisco’s David Kuykendall Stadium.
The witness, who has not been named since he’s a minor, recounted seeing Anthony with one hand in his backpack when 17-year-old Metcalf placed both stands on Anthony’s shoulders and pushed him, CBS News reports. Anthony then pulled a knife from his backpack stabbed Metcalf, according to the witness.
As CriminalEnterprise reported, Anthony, a Centennial High School student, is accused of attacking Metcalf, a Memorial High School student, over a seating dispute. Metcalf reportedly confronted Anthony about sitting under a tent designated for Metcalf’s team.
“Austin fell down the bleachers onto his back and he got up,” the witness said, describing the aftermath of the fight. “He lifted up his shirt where his chest was all bloody and he said, ‘I think I got stabbed.'”
When the prosecution asked how hard Metcalf shoved Anthony, the witness he would not have called it “a light shove or a hard shove,” but “more of an in-between.”
The witness added that Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, was not involved in the altercation, although during opening statements, the defense claimed Hunter had been standing in front of the defendeant when the victim put his hands on Anthony.
Another teen witness told the court Friday that he and some other Memorial students asked Anthony to leave the tent, and that the encounter turned aggressive when Anthony refused. The witness also denied that he and the other students swarmed the defendant.
“I remember Karmelo refusing to leave and Austin saying ‘You need to leave,’ and Karmelo saying, ‘Touch me and find out,'” the witness said.
On Thursday, prosecutors described Anthony’s actions as an unprovoked “sneak, surprise attack” rather than self-defense.
First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye argued that Anthony taunted Metcalf before he “plunged a knife into his heart and ran away.”
Using stadium security footage, the state emphasized a disparity of force, arguing Anthony deliberately pulled out a hidden deadly weapon and stabbed Metcalf before fleeing.
The fight lasted around four minutes, beginning with a verbal dispute that escalated into the physical confrontation.
“Holy God, holy God,” Hunter Metcalf said after the stabbing while asking for help. “He’s my best friend! He’s my brother! Hurry up!”
Under cross-examination, the defense asked a forensic video analyst Mark Porter to review the footage frame-by-frame to show that Anthony had been cornered and physically swamped by a crowd of athletes before drawing the knife.
Porter conceded the heavily zoomed video failed to capture physical details or the specific moment of the stabbing, which lacked the clarity to support the prosecution’s sneak attack argument.
Anthony, who appeared fidgety as jurors watched the footage, has maintained his innocence, claiming that he had protected himself after fearing for his life.
The trial is expected to last two weeks. If convicted, Anthony faces five to 99 years or life in prison.
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[Featured images: Metcalf/Memorial High School; Anthony/Frisco PD]
