Testimony has been unfolding this week in the murder trial of a 19-year-old charged with fatally stabbing a fellow high school student during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, more than a year ago. The case has drawn widespread attention as the defendant, Karmelo Anthony, is Black and the slain student, Austin Metcalf, was white.
The stabbing occurred April 2, 2025, at Kuykendall Stadium during a Frisco Independent School District track meet. Metcalf, 17, died while being transported to a hospital. Anthony was charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces a sentence of five years to life in state prison.
Opening statements began June 4 before a jury composed entirely of white members. Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye told jurors the case “has nothing to do with race,” arguing that Anthony had taken a knife and “buried it into the heart of another young man, causing his death — and then ran away.”
Defense attorney Mike Howard focused on the moments leading up to the stabbing, emphasizing the size disparity between the two teenagers. Howard noted that Anthony is 5-foot-8 and about 130 pounds, while Metcalf — like his twin brother, Hunter — was about 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. Howard argued that Metcalf initiated a physical confrontation with Anthony, who then made a “split-second” decision out of fear.
Jurors were shown both unaltered and enhanced surveillance footage from the stadium. The recordings showed students gathered beneath a tent bearing the logo of Metcalf’s high school, Memorial High School. According to CBS News, there appeared to be pushing near the back of the tent shortly before the stabbing. The footage later showed students running from the tent, Anthony leaving the area, and police pursuing and detaining him near the stadium.
A Memorial High track athlete who witnessed the confrontation testified that several athletes repeatedly asked Anthony, a student at Centennial High, to leave their team tent. The witness recalled Anthony refusing and Metcalf saying, “You need to leave.” Anthony then reportedly replied, “Touch me and find out.”
“Austin leans in to push him, and Karmelo stabs him,” the witness said, according to court testimony. “Karmelo had his hands inside a backpack, and we thought it was a bluff.”
The witness testified that Anthony was seated with a backpack on his lap and his hands inside it when Metcalf approached. According to the witness, Metcalf pushed Anthony with both hands on his shoulders — after which Anthony pulled a knife from the bag, pushed Metcalf, and stabbed him in the chest. Describing the push, the witness said, “I wouldn’t say it was a light shove or a hard shove. I would say it was more of an in-between.”
Memorial High track coach Robert Starr testified that he found Metcalf on the ground shortly after the stabbing. “I come over there … and my memory is kind of shaky, but what I do see is Austin on the ground and his face is purple,” Starr said. “And he has a hole in his chest.” Starr said he was told that Anthony “did it.”
Heritage High School head football coach Vincent Hooper testified that he spoke with Anthony shortly after the stabbing. “He said: ‘He put his hands on me,’” Hooper told the jury. “‘I stabbed him.’” Hooper added, “I don’t think he thought he stabbed him in the spot he stabbed him in.”
Jurors also heard from Eduardo Cortez, a school police officer who was the first Frisco authority to encounter Anthony. “I had the suspect raise his hands in the air,” Cortez testified. “I gave him instructions. I advised that I had the alleged suspect detained in handcuffs.” According to Cortez, Anthony responded, “I’m not alleged, I did it.” Cortez also testified that “there was a little blood on his left middle finger.”
Another police officer, Jacob Shalz of the Frisco Police Department, testified about recovering what investigators have described as the murder weapon, which he said was found “approximately three to four rows up above the crime scene.” Photos shown to jurors depicted a blood-stained, 5-inch folding knife, CBS reported.
The trial, which began with jury selection on June 1, could last two weeks.