06/04/26 08:15:00
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06/04 20:13 CDT Prosecutor tells jury that teen's killing at a Texas track meet
was murder, not self-defense
Prosecutor tells jury that teen's killing at a Texas track meet was murder, not
self-defense
By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press
MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) --- Prosecutors told jurors Thursday that a Texas teenager
competing at a high school track meet provoked a 17-year-old athlete from a
rival team before fatally stabbing him in the stadium's bleachers as other
students looked on.
An attorney for Karmelo Anthony said his client did not instigate the fight
with Austin Metcalf, telling the jury at the start of a packed murder trial
near Dallas that it was instead an act of self-defense.
Anthony pleaded not guilty over last year's stabbing, which stunned an affluent
suburb where the pair attended school. The death last year quickly drew wide
attention, in part because of social media posts that amplified the case in
racial terms. Anthony, now 19, is Black, while the Metcalf was white.
According to an arrest report, Anthony told police he was protecting himself
when the two got into a confrontation during the meet in Frisco, a fast-growing
city is dotted by dozens of modern-looking school campuses and gleaming
athletic facilities.
But prosecutor Bill Wirskye told jurors it was a "senseless murder" and not a
case of self-defense. He called it a "sneak, surprise attack" and said Anthony
"knows he goaded the murder."
"He didn't want a fight," Wirskye said of Metcalf.
The jury was seated this week under increased courthouse security and a Collin
County judge set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting
attorneys from discussing the case publicly. Dozens of people lined up to get a
seat in the courtroom Thursday.
The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police
the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf's
team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different schools in
Frisco.
When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his
bag and allegedly replied: "Touch me and see what happens," the report said.
A short time later, Metcalf allegedly grabbed Anthony, who then pulled out a
knife and stabbed him in the chest, the report said.
Robert Starr, a track coach at Memorial High School, where Metcalf was a
student and athlete, explained to jurors that a tent at a track competition
"marks your spot" and is similar to a team bench in other sports.
"You just don't go into someone else's tent uninvited," Starr testified.
In his opening remarks, defense attorney Mike Howard said it was Metcalf who
made the first contact.
"In that split second, Melo has a decision to make: how and when to act,"
Howard said.
"Self-defense is useless if you wait too late to defend yourself. ... He reacts
in a split second of fear, chaos," Howard said.
Starr told the jury that he rushed to the tent when he saw commotion.
"I see Austin on the ground and his face is purple, and he has a big hole in
his chest," the coach said, choking up in the witness chair.
Another area track coach, Vincent Hooper, testified that he put his arm around
Anthony and asked what had happened.
Anthony replied that he stabbed someone who had "put his hands on me," Hooper
recalled.
Anthony faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.
The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go
to college. Metcalf's father has condemned those who seized on the race of the
teenagers after the killing.
"This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not
comment if you do not know what happened," Jeff Metcalf said on Fox News'
"America Reports."
"This is a human being thing," he said. "This person made a bad choice and it
affected both his family and my family forever."
Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the
killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson urged people last year to beware of
posts spreading "misinformation, hate, fear, and division."
___
Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.
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