Karmelo Anthony / Austin Metcalf

Austin Metcalf, 17, was stabbed to death at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025. Karmelo Anthony, a student from another school who was also 17 at the time, was charged with his murder and said he acted in self-defense.

The case went to trial in the summer of 2026. The jury rejected the self-defense claim and convicted Anthony of murder. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The trial and its aftermath were charged with questions about race, about the money raised for Anthony's defense, and about how a confrontation between two teenagers at a sporting event ended the way it did; the board records the proceeding, not the argument around it.

Anthony's lawyers moved for a new trial. On August 22 Judge Michael Chitty denied the motion. The defense then turned to the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals, where the appellate process formally begins on October 7; the state's response follows, and the appellate team has said that delays could push the matter into 2027. His supporters have launched a new fundraising effort, reported at $250,000, for the appeal.

The case is filed under Senseless, for a death that no one has argued was anything else. Anthony stands convicted, and the sentence is in force unless an appeals court says otherwise.