Texas teenager Karmelo Anthony sentenced to 35 years for fatally stabbing rival track athlete

Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, a 17-year-old track athlete from a rival school, during a high school meet in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas. The incident occurred in April 2025 when Anthony refused to leave a tent belonging to Metcalf's team during a rainy spring day. Witnesses testified that Metcalf and others repeatedly asked Anthony to leave, leading to an escalating confrontation in the stadium bleachers. Anthony's defense argued self-defense under Texas law, claiming Metcalf had no legal right to put his hands on him, but the jury deliberated for less than three hours before rejecting this claim and convicting him of murder rather than the lesser charge of manslaughter. The case gained notoriety partly through social media posts that characterized the killing in racial terms—Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white—though prosecutors and defense attorneys both explicitly told jurors the tragedy had no connection to race. The trial drew heavy spectator interest and courthouse security, with dozens of people waiting outside in 90-degree heat for the verdict.