Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday after a Collin County jury found him guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas.
Anthony, who faced up to life in prison, will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.
The 19-year-old broke down in tears and shook as the sentence was read in court before he was immediately taken into custody.
The emotional punishment phase then turned raw as Metcalf’s family delivered victim impact statements, unloading on Anthony for the killing that shattered their lives.
Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, screamed at Anthony from the courtroom. Court officers approached him but allowed him to finish.
“We were robbed,” he yelled at Anthony, telling him not to look down.
“The public response sickens me, especially when a gag order doesn’t allow me to defend my son,” Metcalf said. “This was never about race or politics, but what you did was to choose to make it about both. We all bleed the same color. You are free to make choices all of your life, but are not free to not face consequences. They weren’t bullies and they weren’t racists.”
“You failed your parents you failed yourself and you failed society,” he added. “You don’t belong.”
“I forgive you, but I do not forgive what you did. You can’t even look me in the eye, but you can stab my son in the f—— heart,” he said before staring at Anthony as he walked back to his seat.
Austin’s twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, was in the courtroom for the first time and also addressed Anthony directly.
“I just want some respect if you could look me in the eye,” he said to Anthony, who looked up at him.
“I want you to realize how much pain you caused me and my family,” he said. “You let the devil take over you in the moment.”
“Now I want everything taken from you,” he said, according to FOX 4. “You took everything from me. I wake up every morning and his door is still shut.”
A montage of photos showing Austin and Hunter growing up played on a screen in the courtroom.
Austin’s mother, Megan, said all she has left of her son are videos. She described packing him a snack before the track meet and sending him off, never realizing it would be the last time she saw him alive.
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“You may have been sentenced to 35 years behind bars. You should feel lucky,” she told Anthony. “I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime without my son.”
Anthony’s parents were not in the room for the sentencing or victim statements. Before the sentence was handed down, his mother, Kayla Hays, pleaded with jurors to show mercy.
“Please have mercy on my son,” Kayla Hays said as mascara stains could be seen streaking her tear-soaked cheeks.
“He’s my oldest, my first born, my baby, I love him very much,” she said.
Asked by Anthony’s defense team whether her son regretted his actions, Hays replied, “Yes, he’s very sorry for what he did.”
Jurors also had to decide whether Anthony acted in “sudden passion,” a finding that would have capped his prison sentence at 20 years.
They rejected that argument, leaving Anthony exposed to the possibility of a life sentence before ultimately giving him 35 years.
“This verdict sends a clear message. Violence like this won’t be tolerated in our Collin County community. And we remain committed to protecting our school and standing with victims and their families,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said at a news conference Tuesday evening, according to FOX 4.
The verdict came after days of testimony from student athletes, police officers, forensic experts and coaches who described the deadly confrontation at Kuykendall Stadium on April 2, 2025.
Jurors reached their decision roughly three hours after closing arguments Tuesday.
Anthony, who was 17 at the time of the stabbing, admitted he stabbed Metcalf but claimed he acted in self-defense.
Outside the courthouse, more than 100 protesters split between supporters of Metcalf and Anthony gathered as the verdict was read. At least one protester was taken into custody after a fight broke out following the guilty verdict.
A heavy police presence surrounded the courthouse, and a court official said a few arrests were made. Additional details were not immediately available.
The case centered on a confrontation under a Memorial High School team tent during a rainy track meet involving schools from across North Texas.
Trial testimony showed Anthony, a student from a different school, sat under the Memorial tent shortly before the confrontation began. Several student athletes testified they questioned why he was there and repeatedly asked him to leave.
Witnesses said Austin eventually approached Anthony and asked him to move. One student testified Anthony was asked to leave about 15 times.
Multiple witnesses recalled Anthony responding with statements such as, “Touch me and you’ll find out” and “If you want me to move, you have to move me.”
Several students testified that Anthony grew increasingly aggressive as the exchange continued. One witness said it appeared Anthony was provoking Metcalf, while another testified it looked like Anthony was “looking for a fight.”
Multiple witnesses said they did not believe Metcalf wanted to fight. One recalled Metcalf saying, “I’m not going to fight you at a track meet.”
Witnesses also repeatedly said Anthony kept one hand inside his backpack during the confrontation. Several students testified they believed Anthony was bluffing when he suggested he had something in the bag.
The confrontation turned physical moments later. Witnesses gave differing accounts about exactly how Metcalf touched Anthony before the stabbing, with some describing a shove and others describing a grab.
Testimony also differed on whether Metcalf used one hand or two.
Anthony then stabbed Metcalf in the chest, according to testimony.
Several students said they initially believed Anthony had been bluffing. One witness testified that he did not realize Metcalf had been stabbed until he saw Anthony throw an object into the bleachers.
Another recalled hearing Metcalf say, “Oh my God.”
Prosecutors argued Anthony escalated a verbal dispute into a deadly encounter by pulling a knife from his backpack and stabbing an unarmed teenager.
They called 21 witnesses, including students who saw the confrontation, investigators who processed the crime scene and the medical examiner who performed Metcalf’s autopsy.
Several student witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor and that the stabbing did not appear to be self-defense.
One witness testified that no one tried to gang up on Anthony and described the physical contact before the stabbing as “minor pushing at most.”
Jurors also heard testimony that Anthony told an officer after the stabbing, “I’m not alleged, I did it. He put his hands on me. I told him not to.”
The medical examiner’s testimony was among the most difficult moments of the trial. Metcalf’s family left the courtroom while autopsy photos were shown to the jury and his injuries were described in detail.
Austin Metcalf’s family, including his twin brother and parents, stand with the DA following the murder conviction of Karmelo Anthony.
A Texas jury found Anthony guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of the student-athlete during a high school track meet.
Anthony was sentenced… pic.twitter.com/ogoXGXZcRh
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2026
Anthony’s defense team argued he acted in self-defense after being confronted by a larger student and physically touched during the dispute.
Defense attorneys emphasized that Anthony was seated for much of the confrontation while Metcalf and other students stood nearby. Testimony showed Metcalf outweighed Anthony by roughly 50 to 60 pounds.
The defense also focused on inconsistencies in witness accounts about where students were positioned, how many hands Metcalf used when touching Anthony and who was standing nearby at the time.
Anthony’s track coach testified that athletes from different schools often mingle at track meets and said his team did not have enough volunteers to set up a tent that day.
He acknowledged, however, that students should leave if asked to leave another team’s tent.
One of Anthony’s friends testified that he had previously spent time under tents belonging to other schools without issue but said he would leave if asked.
After prosecutors rested, defense attorneys asked for a directed verdict, arguing the state had failed to prove its case. The judge denied the motion.
The trial repeatedly veered from legal arguments into raw emotion.
Several teenage witnesses cried while recounting the events of April 2, 2025. One testified while holding a football because it helped calm his nerves. Another held a yellow stress ball throughout his testimony.
One witness, a football player and track athlete, told jurors that his father had recently been murdered in California. He described Metcalf as a football captain and mentor who believed in him.
A recent Liberty High School graduate became emotional while recalling the sight of Metcalf bleeding after the stabbing.
Witnesses repeatedly described Metcalf as a leader, teammate and role model.
One student testified that Metcalf was “always leading” and “always protecting us.”
The case also renewed attention on the devastation suffered by the Metcalf family.
Hunter witnessed the stabbing and was with Austin in his final moments.
“Austin was the light of my life,” Metcalf previously told Fox News.
Metcalf said his son died in Hunter’s arms.
“This person made a bad choice and affected both his family and my family forever,” he said.
Despite the tragedy, Jeff Metcalf previously said he forgave Anthony for his own peace.
“People ask me, how can you forgive this other person?” Metcalf told Fox News. “I forgive the other person because the forgiveness is not for him. The forgiveness is for me so I can have peace. His life is destroyed. My life is destroyed.”
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The trial drew national attention for months, fueled by debate over Anthony’s self-defense claim, questions about race and demonstrations by supporters of both families.
Throughout the trial, a small group of Anthony supporters gathered outside with signs reading “Justice for Karmelo Anthony.”
At times, supporters chanted and demonstrated in the courthouse parking lot. Tensions occasionally flared, though no major confrontations were reported before the verdict.
On the day jurors were expected to begin deliberations, Dominique Alexander and the Next Generation Action Network, which has publicly supported Anthony’s family since shortly after the stabbing, held a news conference outside the courthouse urging supporters to remain peaceful and respect the judicial process.
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In a statement, the group warned against people it said were trying to provoke confrontations and called for demonstrations to remain focused on “justice, fairness, due process, and equal protection under the law.”
The group also condemned threats, political violence and extremist rhetoric aimed at anyone connected to the case, including Anthony, his family, supporters, journalists and court personnel.
Metcalf’s family repeatedly urged the public to focus on Austin’s life and the facts presented in court.
On Tuesday, after months of national attention, emotional testimony and courthouse protests, a jury put Anthony behind bars and gave Austin Metcalf’s family a measure of justice, though not the one thing they wanted most.
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