MCKINNEY, Texas — Final arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday in the murder trial of a Texas teen accused of killing a 17-year-old track runner during a high school athletic competition in what witnesses described as a rapidly intensifying dispute in the stadium seating area.
The defendant, Karmelo Anthony, who is now 19 years old, chose not to take the stand in his defense regarding the death of Austin Metcalf. The victim’s killing shocked residents of this growing Dallas-area community, where both young men were students at separate schools.
Anthony could receive a life sentence if found guilty.
During the week-long proceedings, defense lawyers worked to persuade the jury that Anthony acted in self-defense while under a canopy used by the track squad from Frisco Memorial High School, where Metcalf was a junior. Multiple schools were participating in the rain-soaked track competition, and testimony revealed that Metcalf and other students had repeatedly asked Anthony to leave the area, creating a situation that continued to intensify.
Those present in the tent during the trial described Anthony as the one who initiated the aggression. The police report states that Anthony warned Metcalf at one point: “Touch me and see what happens.”
Multiple students testified that Metcalf subsequently pushed Anthony, who then drew a blade and stabbed him in the chest.
The prosecution characterized the stabbing as an unwarranted assault rather than legitimate self-defense.
Trial testimony relied extensively on accounts from teenage witnesses who expressed their shock at the violence occurring at a community athletic event. Much of the questioning focused on team dynamics at track competitions and the altercation inside the tent.
One team member testified that Anthony appeared “distraught” following the stabbing. Judge John Roach Jr. ruled that the identities of minor witnesses should remain confidential.
“I was hearing him say, ‘I told him not to touch me,’” the teenager testified.
Vincent Hooper, a local track coach who confronted Anthony, inquired about what had occurred. Anthony responded that he had stabbed someone who had “put his hands on me,” Hooper testified the previous week.
The killing last year attracted significant public attention, partly due to social media activity that framed the incident in racial contexts. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white.
Following the stabbing, Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, criticized those who focused on the teenagers’ races. Prosecutors similarly stated at the trial’s opening that race was irrelevant to the case.
