06/09/26 12:47:00
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06/09 12:46 CDT Jurors deliberating in the trial of a Texas teen charged with
murder in school track meet stabbing
Jurors deliberating in the trial of a Texas teen charged with murder in school
track meet stabbing
By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press
MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) --- The fatal stabbing of a high school athlete at a Texas
track competition was "murder plain and simple," a prosecutor declared Tuesday
before a jury began deliberations in a high-profile trial centered on youth and
tragedy at a community sports event.
Karmelo Anthony, now 19, did not testify in his own defense about the killing
of Austin Metcalf, 17, whose death in April 2025 stunned Frisco, a booming
Dallas suburb where the two students attended different schools.
Jurors heard dueling narratives from prosecutor Bill Wirskye and defense
attorney Michael Howard, who repeatedly emphasized during his closing argument
that Anthony was defending himself after Metcalf wanted him to exit a tent that
belonged to the track team from Frisco Memorial High School.
The courtroom at the Collin County courthouse was packed again as the public
passed through an extra security checkpoint to get inside and watch before
jurors began their deliberations.
Howard told jurors that Metcalf had "no legal right to put his hands on
Karmelo."
"Texas law does not require that you wait until you get hit," Howard said. "In
that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes."
Wirskye suggested it was strange that a teen would bring a knife to a school
sports competition. He said deadly force has to be "immediately necessary" to
be legal, and he also noted that Anthony was told roughly a dozen times to
leave the rival school's tent, which was perched in the stadium bleachers.
"This is not self-defense, folks. It's murder plain and simple," the prosecutor
said.
Wirskye also made a broader pitch to the jury: "Ultimately, this case is about
accountability. What kind of community do you want to live in."
Anthony, who was a student at Centennial High School, could face up to life in
prison if convicted of murder. Judge John Roach Jr. said the jury also could
consider a lesser charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of
up to 20 years in prison.
If jurors don't reach a verdict Tuesday, they'll be sequestered without phones
in a hotel.
Over a nearly weeklong trial, Anthony's attorneys sought to show that he was
forced to defend himself. Several schools were competing on that rainy day, and
Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified,
leading to an escalating confrontation.
Trial witnesses described Anthony as the aggressor. Several students testified
that Metcalf pushed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the
chest. Many questions from the lawyers centered on team culture at track meets
and the confrontation in the tent.
One teammate told jurors that Anthony was "distraught" after the stabbing.
"I was hearing him say, ?I told him not to touch me,'" the teenager testified
Monday.
The judge ordered that the names of teenage witnesses not be made public.
The death last year quickly drew wide attention, in part because of social
media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf
was white.
After the stabbing, Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, condemned those who seized
on the race of the teens. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys told jurors
during the trial that race had nothing to do with the case.
___
Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.
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