Jury selection commenced on Monday, June 1, at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, for the first-degree murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, now 19. Anthony faces charges in the April 2, 2025, stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a Frisco Independent School District track and field meet at Kuykendall Stadium.
Approximately 600 potential jurors were summoned for the opening phase of the trial. The process involves questionnaires and questioning by Collin County District Judge John Roach Jr., attorneys for the defense, and prosecutors to select 12 jurors and six alternates. Due to extensive pretrial publicity, the selection is expected to take several days, with opening statements tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 4, if a jury is seated.
The trial is anticipated to last about two weeks. Anthony, who has been on house arrest at his parents’ home, has pleaded not guilty and claims self-defense. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
On April 2, 2025, during a track meet delayed by thunderstorms, Karmelo Anthony, then a student at Frisco Centennial High School, was seated under a team tent belonging to Frisco Memorial High School, which he did not attend. Witnesses reported that Austin Metcalf, a Memorial student-athlete, and others asked Anthony to leave their tent.
An altercation then took place. Anthony then pulled out a black knife and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest. Anthony fled the scene but later surrendered to authorities and admitted to the stabbing, saying, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”
Anthony was carrying the knife on school grounds during the sanctioned athletic event. A grand jury ultimately indicted him on first-degree murder charges in June 2025.
The trial of Karmelo Anthony for the murder of Austin Metcalf starts tomorrow. Anthony is claiming “self-defense.” There is nothing funny about this – but Anthony is basically going to have to argue that he feared for his life, even though he was the one with the knife – which… pic.twitter.com/rm0EhlVk1U
— FischerKing (@FischerKing64) May 31, 2026
The case has received national attention after hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations were given to Anthony. The comments on a GiveSendGo page for the teen — which raised approximately $600,000 — were overwhelmingly racial in tone, with many commenters congratulating Anthony for stabbing a white teen.
Anthony’s family used portions of the funds for living expenses, including renting a home in a gated community and purchasing a luxury vehicle such as a Cadillac Escalade. Some accounts placed the total raised near or above $400,000 to $500,000, with public debate over the allocation of donations.
Anthony faces up to life in prison if convicted.
