McKINNEY, Texas — The defense rested Monday in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, after a shortened day of testimony on the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Metcalf, 17, was stabbed and mortally wounded on April 2, 2025, after ordering Anthony out from a section of bleachers under a tent belonging to Metcalf’s high school.Anthony, 19, has claimed self-defense.
He’s been charged with murder, which carries a sentence of five years to life in prison.Although Anthony was 17 at the time of the stabbing, Texas law considers 17-year-olds to be adults.
Closing arguments in the case are slated for Tuesday morning, after which the jury will start deliberations.State District Judge John Roach Jr.
has ordered the jury to be sequestered from the “outside world” at a hotel, with no access to television or phones and only an emergency number for family members.The past few days of testimony were often emotional, as prosecutors played 911 calls and showed videos of the altercation and the aftermath, as well as graphic photos of Metcalf and his wounds.
Family members of both Metcalf and Austin were in the courtroom.The defense has focused on inconsistencies in some witnesses’ testimony.Metcalf’s attorneys have downplayed race as an issue in the case — Anthony is Black and Metcalf, white.
Both were student athletes at crosstown rival schools with high grade-point averages.But race has been at issue on social media, in protests outside the courthouse and after no Black jurors were selected for the trial.
A string of witnesses, largely classmates and teammates of Metcalf, gave accounts during the trial.Their testimony depicted a rainy day dispute after Anthony, an athlete at Centennial High School in Frisco, Texas, sat underneath the tent of Memorial High School, where Metcalf was a student and athlete.Anthony’s track coach testified over the weekend that h...