Lawyers to appeal denial of new trial in case of Black athlete who stabbed white teen

By Jamie Stengle

Contributing Writer

DALLAS (AP) — Lawyers for a Black athlete who fatally stabbed a white teenager at a high school track meet in 2025 say they will appeal a judge’s decision not to order a new trial in the high-profile case.

“Our commitment to our client has not changed,” attorney Russell Wilson told reporters. “We will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf through every lawful avenue available.”

Karmelo Anthony, 19, was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to 35 years in prison for the April 2025 killing of Austin Metcalf, a killing that drew national attention — largely on social media — and led to harassment of both families.

Social media outrage also was inflamed in part because there were no Black jurors on the 12-person jury that convicted Anthony.

Judge Michael Chitty denied a motion for a new trial in a half-page order issued Aug. 22 following a two-day hearing near Dallas, citing a review of the evidence and arguments. He did not elaborate.

At the center of Anthony’s retrial request was an off-the-record agreement between prosecutors and his trial defense team to keep damaging character evidence about both teenagers out of the proceeding. Both sides agreed to hold back evidence that risked further inflaming a case already boiling with racial tensions and death threats.

The case attracted widespread attention in part because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors that the case had nothing to do with race.

Worries that prosecutors would renege on the agreement as Anthony prepared to testify, his attorneys say, came after a heated argument between lawyers on both sides and changed their defense strategy at the 11th hour. Anthony ultimately decided not to testify.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye defended the trial as fair this week.

“We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said after the denial was announced. “The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process. Every defendant has the right to appeal, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Metcalf family in the painful wake of last week’s hearing.”

Anthony’s attorneys also demanded a retrial because they said trial judge John Roach’s courtroom rules were so strict that they limited the public’s access to the proceedings. And in asking for Roach’s recusal, they noted that he gave a post-trial interview with a Dallas TV station in which he expressed agreement with the jury’s decision.

“Whatever they say, they got it right,” Roach said. He said his rules were necessary for a fair trial, and prosecutors insisted he did nothing wrong.

Jurors rejected Anthony’s claims that he was defending himself during a confrontation with Metcalf in the bleachers of the track meet.

Anthony and Metcalf were athletes for different high schools in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, where several teams competed on the rainy spring day when the track meet took place.

Anthony sat under the tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team, and Metcalf and others repeatedly told him to leave, witnesses testified. That led to an escalating confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and some witnesses identified Anthony as the aggressor. At one point Anthony reached inside a bag and said: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Some witnesses said Metcalf pushed Anthony, who pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

Jamie Stengle writes for the Associated Press. Wave staff also contributed to this report.