(FRISCO, Texas) — The murder trial of a Texas teenager accused of fatally stabbing another student at a high school track meet is set to get underway.
Karmelo Anthony was indicted on first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025.
Jury selection is scheduled for Monday and Wednesday at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to a court spokesperson. Opening arguments will begin on Thursday if a jury is seated, the spokesperson said.
Judge John Roach has imposed a gag order in the case, restricting what those involved can say, due to the attention the case has garnered.
He has also barred any electronics, including cellphones, from the courtroom during the trial, and no photography, video recording, audio recording or livestreaming are allowed.
“Due to the significant public and media interest in this case, the Court finds that specific procedures are necessary to ensure the Defendant’s right to a fair and impartial trial, the orderly administration of justice, the safety and security of all participants, and reasonable public access consistent with constitutional requirements,” he wrote in an order on the trial proceedings.
The deadly stabbing occurred at a Frisco Independent School District stadium on April 2, 2025, during a track and field championship involving multiple schools in the district.
Police said Austin Metcalf, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, was stabbed during an altercation under his school’s tent in the stadium bleachers. Anthony, a then-17-year-old student at Frisco Centennial High School, was taken into custody.
Responding officers said they spoke to multiple witnesses, including one who reported the altercation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under their team’s tent, according to the arrest report.
The witness reported that Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens,” according to the arrest report.
Metcalf grabbed Anthony to move him, according to a witness in the arrest report, and Anthony allegedly pulled out what the witness described as a black knife and “stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away,” the arrest report stated.
Anthony allegedly confessed to the killing and officers say he told them he was protecting himself, according to the arrest report.
Anthony was initially held on $1 million bond, which a Collin County judge reduced to $250,000.
As part of his bond conditions, he has been ordered to be on house arrest, be supervised by a parent or designated adult at all times and have no contact with Metcalf’s family, according to court records. He also needs prior court approval to leave the house, the court records show.
Prior to the gag order being issued, Anthony’s mother spoke out in the wake of the shooting, saying her family “has been under attack.”
“Whatever you think what happened … my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about,” his mother, Kala Hayes, said.
“I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial. Our son deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded to,” she said.
On the day of the stabbing, Metcalf’s family said they were heartbroken over what they called the “senseless” act of violence.
“It was really senseless. I don’t know why a person would do that to someone, just over that little argument,” Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, who was at the track meet, told ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.
“Just doesn’t make any sense,” their mother, Meghan Metcalf, told WFAA. “Just because the kid was mad, my son is not here anymore, and I don’t understand it.”
Hunter accepted a posthumous diploma on his brother’s behalf at his high school graduation on May 22. The emotional moment led to a 30-second standing ovation, WFAA reported.
Following the deadly stabbing, the Frisco Independent School District called it an “unprecedented situation” in an email sent to the high schools that attended the track meet.
“Frisco ISD shares in the grief of everyone impacted by this heartbreaking loss, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family, students, staff, and our community during this difficult time,” the district said.
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