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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6462c451b0528515459d957d47f5fe4e wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong>Texas student athlete Karmelo Anthony, now 19, sobbed, and his family burst into tears as the jury convicted of murder on Tuesday</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-66f164da74c886583f41cb42baf6d03d wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong>Jurors are now hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution over how long Anthony should be sentenced, before retiring to deliberate on the length of his punishment </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d4269dd0f4ca150023e4a83cc803be71 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong>Anthony claimed self-defense in the stabbing of Metcalf with a folding knife after a heated argument.</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3c6a7c8afd7d71c77057ae0dde7731cc wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong><strong><strong>Witnesses testified Anthony was the aggressor, telling Metcalf, &#8216;Touch me and see what happens,&#8217; provoking Metcalf to push him, before he pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest</strong></strong></strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4f3bacbd84d5bf5ab77cba759a79f6ec wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong><strong>Following the verdict, prosecutors agreed to consider &#8216;sudden passion&#8217; as a factor when determining sentence, which would reduce the murder to a second-degree felony </strong></strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-995aca54c47b9bf15ed493a0e73f8791 wp-block-paragraph" style="color:#260606;font-size:14px"><strong><strong>A second-degree felony charge, potentially red</strong>uces m<strong>ax sentencing from 99 to 20 years with minimum as low as two years </strong> </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Karmelo-Anthony-6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-498810" style="aspect-ratio:0.9977843306371817;width:808px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The verdict for Karmelo Anthony [photo], is GUILTY in the murder of Austin Metcalf who he was accused of stabbing fatally at a Texas high school track meet</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Texas high school athlete Karmelo Anthony has been found guilty of murder for the fatal stabbing of fellow high school track star Austin Metcalf at a Texas high school track meet, last year.<br>Anthony, now 19, sobbed, and his family burst into tears as the judge read the verdict on Tuesday, with his mother pleading with the jury for leniency ahead of sentencing. <br>Jurors are now hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution on the gravity of the crime, before being sent out to deliberate on the length of his punishment. <br>Anthony was originally warned he faced between five and 99 years behind bars for Metcalf&#8217;s April 2025 stabbing at a track meet in Frisco, Texas. The killer and his victim were both 17-year-old student athletes representing rival teams at the meet when they got into an altercation that ultimately proved fatal.<br>After the verdict was handed down on Tuesday, prosecutors agreed to consider &#8216;sudden passion&#8217; as a factor when determining Anthony&#8217;s sentence.<br>Sudden passion is a legal term that allows a criminal to argue they were in an intense emotional state when they committed wrongdoing. If it is granted, it would reduce Anthony&#8217;s murder to a second-degree felony. <br>Judge John Roach has yet to rule on whether to accept the sudden passion defense. If he does, it could see Anthony serve as little as two years behind bars, with a maximum sentence of 20 years. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Austin-Metcalf-5B.png" alt="" class="wp-image-498823" style="aspect-ratio:0.8579575677962084;width:824px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Anthony claimed in self-defense, stabbing Metcalf [photo], with a folding knife after a heated argument. Prosecutors agreed to consider &#8216;sudden passion&#8217; as a factor when determining sentence, which would reduce the murder to a second-degree felony &#8211; reducing potential max from 99 to 20 years and as little as two years </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Roach could ultimately decide to rule against the sudden passion application and give jurors the powers to put Anthony behind bars for the rest of his life. <br>The murder case shocked America, and the discussion surrounding the killing of a white teen by a black peer quickly became racially fraught.<br>Anthony, then 17, claimed he was acting in self-defense when he <a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-14583357/lawyers-karmelo-anthony-texas-track-meet-stabbing-bond.html" class="">stabbed Metcalf</a>,17, with a folding knife after a heated argument at the high school event in Frisco.<br>His mother, Kala Hayes, appealed to the jury to show leniency as they prepare to retire to determine the length of his punishment.<br>&#8216;He&#8217;s my oldest. he&#8217;s my first born. He will always be my baby. I love him very much,&#8217; she said through tears.<br>&#8216;I know my son, and he&#8217;s very sorry for what he did. Please have mercy on my son.&#8217;<br>The jury deliberated for less than three hours on Thursday before passing their guilty verdict after the defense and prosecution delivered closing arguments.<br>After the jury delivered its verdict, Anthony&#8217;s lawyers asked for a private moment with the killer that was quickly shot down by the judge. The judge responded that Anthony has been found guilty is now in the custody of the sheriff. &#8216;Things move differently now,&#8217; he said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Karmelo-Anthonys-defense-attorneys-in-court-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-499045" style="aspect-ratio:1.5537064268671852;width:802px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>While Anthony&#8217;s defense argued that he acted in self-defense and had been invited over to the tent despite there being no evidence of that, witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor in the encounter with Metcalf &#8211; and had been asked to leave at least 15 times by multiple people</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During closing arguments, prosecutors eviscerated Anthony&#8217;s self-defense claim that Metcalf attacked him first and encouraged jurors to find him guilty of murder: &#8216;What is important is not motive. It&#8217;s mindset. Mindset,&#8217; argued Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye highlighting that he &#8216;He took a knife to a track meet.&#8217; <br>The Asst. DA Wirskye told the jury &#8216;[Anthony] of course, felt empowered that he was going to come out on top of any encounter. You don&#8217;t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove.&#8217;<br>Wirskye added, &#8216;Why didn&#8217;t he just walk away. He could have left the tent at any time. He didn&#8217;t. He didn&#8217;t abandon the encounter.<br>&#8216;The video tells the story, supported by the eyewitnesses and corroborated by the defendant&#8217;s actions and words,&#8217; Wirskye said.<br>Metcalf had &#8216;no legal right to put his hands on Karmelo,&#8217; defense counsel, Mike Howard, countered, adding that &#8216;Texas law does not require that you wait until you get hit. <br>&#8216;In that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes.&#8217;<br>Howard also argued that his client, who was a student at Centennial High School, was invited over to the Memorial High School tent by a fellow student. However, there has been no evidence of any such invitation.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Austin-Metcalf-7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-499053" style="aspect-ratio:0.6775151881407979;width:835px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>While cross-examining the medical examiner, Anthony&#8217;s lawyers implied that Metcalf impaled himself on the knife. Witnesses claim Anthony as the aggressor, that he told Metcalf, &#8216;Touch me and see what happens,&#8217; provoking Metcalf to push Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8216;Why would he pick a fight with a kid that&#8217;s bigger than him?&#8217; Howard said. <br>&#8216;Austin and Anthony had never met before. There&#8217;s no background.&#8217;<br>He continued, &#8216;It&#8217;s not about race. As much as people on the outside want to make it about that, one or the other. It&#8217;s not.&#8217;<br>Over the course of the nearly week-long trial, jurors were presented with eyewitness testimony from students, coaches and investigators, as well as surveillance footage of the altercation.<br>One of the victim&#8217;s teammates testified the defendant, a student at at Frisco Centennial High School, was asked to leave the Memorial High School tent about 15 times by Metcalf and several others.<br>Witnesses who were in the tent described Anthony as the aggressor, testifying that Anthony told Metcalf, &#8216;Touch me and see what happens,&#8217; provoking Metcalf to push Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.<br>Metcalf&#8217;s twin brother, Hunter, rushed to his aid as Anthony ran from the scene and later tried to blend into groups of kids who were fleeing the stadium.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Karmelo-Anthony-with-his-dad-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-499044" style="width:826px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Adjudication in the case quickly became racially fraught. Supporters of Anthony, [seen here with his father], have slagged the conduct of the trial, alleging</strong> <strong>he was treated unfairly because he is black, especially after all blacks in the jury pool were struck off</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Anthony sat motionless in court as police body camera footage showed Hunter pleading for help after the stabbing.<br>Hunter shouted, &#8216;Oh my God. He&#8217;s my best friend. He&#8217;s my brother.&#8217;<br>He became hysterical as he begged for help and cried out, &#8216;I can&#8217;t do this.&#8217;<br>At one point, Hunter grew incoherent and seemed to be praying out loud.<br>Metcalf was stabbed once in the chest. <br>The knife pierced through his bone in the center of his chest and punctured the right side of his heart, a medical examiner testified.<br>Jurors gasped in horror after being shown never-before-seen photos of Metcalf&#8217;s punctured heart during the trial.<br>While cross-examining the medical examiner, Anthony&#8217;s lawyers implied that Metcalf impaled himself on the knife.<br>After his defense lawyers called six witnesses to the stand who offered underwhelming evidence, Anthony opted not to take the stand.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/image-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-499043" style="width:819px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Witnesses who were in the tent described Anthony as the aggressor, testifying that Anthony told Metcalf, &#8216;Touch me and see what happens&#8217;</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In Texas, defendants have the right to ask a jury to determine their punishment, meaning jurors will be presented with evidence from prosecutors and defense attorneys and then decide the sentence.<br>Anthony&#8217;s supporters have claimed he had been treated unfairly because he is black, while critics said those allegations were used to try and distract from the horrific crime.<br>Twelve jurors and six alternates, who are mostly white, with the exception of three Hispanic people, two Asian people, and two from the Middle East and India, were selected to decided Anthony&#8217;s fate. <br>During jury selection, defense attorneys raised a Batson challenge: a legal objection used when it is believed potential jurors were struck off because of race.<br>The challenge and jury selection may come into question for possible appeals later in the trial.</p>

Karmelo Anthony convicted in stabbing death of Austin Metcalf, as prosecutors concede sentencing considerations that could reduce punishment to as little as two years
