Karmelo Anthony Seeks New Trial After 35-Year Murder Sentence

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 8

A month after his conviction, 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony asked a Texas court for a new murder trial and for the state judge to step aside.
Defense lawyers said prosecutors coerced Anthony into waiving his right to testify by abandoning an unwritten deal to avoid character evidence, then arguing his testimony would open the door to alleged prior bad acts.
The filing also says Anthony’s public-trial rights were violated by limits on camera and streaming access, and that jurors were wrongly told to disregard his self-defense claim—the core of the case.
A Collin County jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a 2025 Frisco track meet; prosecutors had said after the verdict that justice was served.
The case drew national attention over its racial overtones—Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white—and jury selection and outside protests had already fueled scrutiny before this appeal push.