Karmelo Anthony murder trial prosecutors said the defendant, aged 17, fled the stadium after knifing Austin Metcalf, also 17, to death at track meet in April 2025

Indicted in 2025, Anthony now 19 appeared Thursday in a Dallas court claiming that he acted out of fear because the victim was much bigger than him

Jurors were shown footage of Karmelo Anthony fleeing David Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, after stabbing Austin Metcalf

The question most observers have asked is why Anthony brought a knife to a high school track meet

Anthony is facing a first-degree murder charge after admitting to fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf

If convicted as charged, he faces between five and 99 years in prison

 Karmelo Anthony, [photo], the Texas teenager who fatally stabbed a fellow student at a track meet on April 2, 2025, is facing a first-degree murder charge after admitting to fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet. He faces between five and 99 years in prison if convicted

The murder trial for  the Texas teenager who fatally stabbed a fellow student at a track meet two years ago, began today. 
He stands accused of first-degree murder after killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf with a folding knife after a heated argument at the high school event in Frisco. 
Austin Metcalf, 17, bled out in the arms of his brother Hunter after Karmelo Anthony, another 17-year-old and member of an opposing team, attacked him in the bleachers of David Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco on April 2, 2025.
When he was arrested for the killing, Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense.
Anthony was initially held on a $1 million bond, but within a fortnight, a judge reduced his bond to $250,000, citing factors that included his lack of a prior criminal record for the A student – enabling his release.
Indicted on first-degree murder in June 2025, Karmelo Anthony, now 19, appeared in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, a Dallas suburb, on Thursday, June 4, wearing a gray suit.
In opening statements, prosecutor Bill Wirskye revealed Metcalf’s distressing last words, as he lifted up his shirt and exclaimed, ‘I’ve been stabbed,’ before tumbling down bleacher steps, where his brother Hunter rushed to his aid. 
Prosecutors alleged Anthony, now 19, tossed the murder weapon before fleeing the scene, attempting to blend in with fellow students while making his escape. After his arrest, he claimed he acted in self-defense in the disagreement over seating at the Centennial High School meet. He has pleaded not guilty.
Jurors were shown shocking footage of the surveillance footage where Anthony and Metcalf tussled for four minutes before Anthony fled from the tent towards the stadium exit. 

Austin Metcalf, [photo], was stabbed to death by Karmelo Anthony at a high school track meet in Texas in in April 2025

The trial is expected to last around two weeks, with the case drawing intense national attention over race and privilege, with supporters rallying behind Anthony, saying he has been treated unfairly because he is black. One pre-trial drama centered around the absence of blacks in the panel of jurors after all the blacks in the jury pool were dismissed.
A jury of men and women with six alternates was selected after roughly 600 prospective jurors were questioned in a process that began on Monday. However, some were released after stating they could not set race aside as a factor in finding guilt or innocence. One black male juror stood up and said, ‘I don’t know that I could put a brother in jail,’ during questioning and was later struck off. 
With the trial underway, jurors viewed surveillance footage that showed Karmelo Anthony fleeing from the high school stadium after he stabbed Austin Metcalf.
The video appeared to show a person pushing another person under the tent at the Kuykendall Stadium in April 2025.
While their faces are not visible in the footage, prosecutors say Anthony and Metcalf were together under the tent for about four minutes.

Surveillance footage played in court jury shows Karmelo Anthony fleeing from the high school stadium after he stabbed Austin Metcalf

Then a person, identified by prosecutors as Anthony, runs from the tent, fleeing from the stadium towards the exit.
He later slowed down and blended into the crowd of other students.
The prosecution is questioning its first witness, Mark Porter, a forensic video analyst for the Tarrant County (Fort Worth) District Attorney’s office, about the video.
Judge John Roach called for a brief ten minute recess before 10.30am CDT after catching spectators talking among themselves during trial proceedings.
‘I’ve seen some people talking,’ Roach said. ‘I’m going to excuse you from the courtroom. Period,’ he announced firmly.
Collin County District Court Judge John Roach Jr is overseeing the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony.
The Republican and Marine veteran has been a state district judge since 2007 and won his first election to preside over the Collin County 296th District Court in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022.
He has issued strict orders regulating public conduct during Anthony’s criminal proceedings.
Roach ordered that no recording, broadcasting or photography be allowed in the courtroom during the trial.

Judge John Roach ordered that no recording, broadcasting or photography be allowed in the courtroom during the Karmelo Anthony murder trial

Additionally, only nine credentialed media members will be allowed in the courtroom per day, and the court will decide who is credentialed.
There will also be strict rules about decorum.
‘All persons present in the courtroom shall remain silent and respectful at all times. No talking, gestures, facial expressions, or other reactions to testimony, rulings or proceedings shall be permitted,’ Roach wrote in his order.
Anthony is facing a first-degree murder charge after admitting to fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet.
If convicted, he faces between five year and 99 years in prison.
Mark Porter, a forensic video analyst for the Tarrant County (Fort Worth) District Attorney’s office, is the first witness to take the stand in the trial.
Collin County Assistant District Attorney Wirskye told jurors that among the first pieces of evidence they would see is surveillance video recorded at the stadium that captured the entire incident.
‘The video will tell the story,’ Wirskye said. ‘The facts of this case are as simple as this act was senseless.’
The 40-minute surveillance video, recorded from a stationary camera on the opposite side of the football field, captures the ten minutes leading up to the attack and the desperate efforts by Metcalf’s twin brother and others to save his life before paramedics arrived.

Karmelo Anthony, 19, has been charged with murdering Austin Metcalf, 17, during a violent confrontation last year that shocked the nation.

Witnesses reported that the physical altercation between the two 17-year-old athletes representing two competing track teams began during a regional track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in April 2025..
Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, was sitting under the Memorial High School team tent. Metcalf, a Memorial student, reportedly told him to leave.
Investigators found no evidence that the two young men knew each other prior to the incident.
Karmelo Anthony, 19, has been charged with murdering Austin Metcalf, 17, during a violent confrontation last year that shocked the nation.
In opening arguments on Thursday, prosecutors said that Karmelo Anthony used a folding knife to stab Austin Metcalf and then tossed it before fleeing the scene.
As Metcalf’s brother rushed to his aid, Anthony ran from the scene and later tried to blend into groups of kids who were fleeing the stadium, according to Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye.
‘If you’re scared and running away in self-defense, why toss the knife,’ the prosecutor said.
Defense says Metcalf was the instigator in the track dispute. ‘What’s important to know is Melo is 5’8″ and 140 pounds. Hunter and Austin Metcalf are 6’1′ about 80 pounds heavier than Melo,’ defense attorney Mike Howard said, referring to Anthony by his nickname.
‘What you will hear is that Melo remained seated, even when Austin and Hunter stood up,’ Howard continued.
‘It is incontrovertible that Austin makes the first physical contact. Austin grabs, punches, pushes. In that split second, Melo has a decision to make, how and when to act.’.

A gifted athlete, Austin Metcalf was at the track meet with his twin brother Hunter Metcalf. On the day he was killed, Austin’s coach told the athlete he wanted him to ‘be a leader’

In their counter argument, Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, explained that his client took the bus to the track meet the day he stabbed Austin Metcalf. He was scheduled to compete in several events at the event.
Anthony allegedly took cover under Metcalf’s team’s tent when it was raining because his school did not have one.
According to Howard, about 20-30 kids were under the tent, and all of them went to Metcalf’s school except for Anthony.
Karmelo Anthony’s defense attorney Mike Howard said his client was an A student who had two jobs, a girlfriend, and played sports at school.
He painted a picture of a supportive family as he explained Anthony’s mother was a nurse who stopped working as she had more kids and his father is a finance manager for a car dealership.
Anthony is the oldest of four siblings ‘with a 3.7 GPA.’
The family moved to Dallas area from Louisiana during Anthony’s freshman year where he joined the football team and also played baseball and ran track.
Karmelo Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, kicked off his opening statements by addressing misinformation surrounding the case.
‘There’s been a lot of noise about this case. A lot of completely false information,’ Howard said.
He addressed his client by his family’s nickname, ‘Melo.’
Prosecutors told the jury that Austin Metcalf’s coach texted him the morning he was killed and asked him to ‘be a leader’ at the track meet where he was fatally stabbed. The coach wanted Metcalf to help run the track meet since their school was hosting other schools, and he needed help running the event.