Karmelo Anthony, the teenager accused of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf last year at a Frisco, Texas, track meet, was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Collin County jury on Tuesday.
After nearly three hours of deliberation, a jury rejected Anthony’s claim of self-defense following multiple witness testimonies portraying a heated exchange between Anthony and Metcalf after Anthony refused to leave the Memorial High School team tent, of which he was not a teammate, according to The Associated Press.
Jurors also didn’t buy the defense’s self-defense “sudden passion” argument under Texas Law, which is considered in the sentencing phase and has the ability to reduce a prison term.
Anthony was facing prison time anywhere from 5 to 99 years for first-degree murder, or between two and 20 years if the crime was considered one of “sudden passion.”
“This is not about vengeance,” prosecutor Dewey Mitchell said during the sentencing phase, according to The New York Post. “It’s not about leniency, either. ... In Collin County, what’s the price of taking a life?”
Witness testimonies of murder
Witnesses testified that Anthony had been repeatedly told by Metcalf and others to leave the tent on the stadium bleachers and that Anthony was the initial aggressor.
Anthony reportedly provoked Metcalf, witnesses recalled, by reaching inside his bag and saying, “Touch me and see what happens,“ according to the AP, before pulling out a knife and stabbing Metcalf in the chest.
Collin County Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura testified that Metcalf had a stab wound on the left side of his chest that punctured his right ventricle, per ABC News.
Others shared their efforts to save Metcalf’s life that day.
A football coach who was helping out at the track meet said he tried to apply pressure to the wound in order to stop the bleeding, and Memorial’s athletic trainer said she performed CPR on Metcalf until paramedics arrived, ABC News added.
Memorial High School head track coach Rob Starr said, “My memory is kind of shaky, but what I do see is Austin on the ground and his face is purple and he has a hole in his chest,” according to CBS News Texas, adding that he remembered everyone screaming and Metcalf’s twin brother Hunter saying to him, “Coach Starr, do something!”
He said he then ran to confront Anthony, who said to him, “He (Metcalf) put his hands on me.”
Another coach at the meet testified that Anthony was visibly emotional and said the same thing to him, “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him,” per CBS News Texas.
Family members take the stand
Though Anthony did not ever take the stand, his mother, Kayla Hayes, did and pleaded with jurors to have mercy on her son, according to the New York Post.
After the judge handed down the 35 year prison sentence, members of Metcalf’s family gave victim impact statements, and spoke directly to Anthony.
Metcalf’s aunt was the first to give a statement and said she would never forget the phone call she got from her sister, Metcalf’s mother, telling her what had happened.
“My heart breaks for his twin brother,” she said, according to Dallas-Fort Worth outlet, Fox4 News. She then asked Anthony, ‘“Why could you not have just left?’ ... Reporters will move to other stories. For our family, this is not a story. It is a reality forever.”
Metcalf’s mother, Megan Metcalf, reflected on the last time she hugged him that morning before the track meet and not realizing it would be her last.
“Now I only have videos and memories of his laugh,” she said. “You may have been given a sentence of 35 years. You should feel lucky. I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime without my son.”
Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said his family has dealt with harassment following the death of their son, according to Fox4 News. He had previously been placed under a gag order after openly opposing the decision to place Anthony under house arrest before the trial.
“With a gag order, I can’t defend myself when people want to tear down my son’s memory. That time is over,” he said.
The trial attracted nationwide focus beyond the supporters of both parties, who remained outside the courthouse throughout, intensifying the racial aspects of the case.
“I said from Day 1 this was never about race,” Jeff Metcalf said. “It’s about right and wrong. We are all humans. We all bleed the same color. You will face those consequences starting today.”
Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, asked that Anthony look him in the eyes while he gave his statement, per Fox4 News:
“Now I want everything taken from you,” he said to Anthony. “You took everything from me.”
“You still have air while my brother is six feet under,” he added. “I wake up every morning and his door is still shut.”
Protesters accuse racial verdict
Altercations between supporters of the Metcalf family and the Anthony family took place outside the Texas courthouse throughout the trial, with “hate-filled” clashes occurring following the verdict, per the New York Post.
“Free Karmelo,” chants were yelled, along accusations that the trial was rigged to be racist.
One person, who identified herself as a former prosecutor said the trial was a “legal lynching” that took place in a “slaughterhouse,” referring to the courthouse, per X.
Rapper Cardi B also went viral for her post on social media:
“Wow! Just freakin wow! DISGUSTING… This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!“
Karmelo Anthony’s grandmother Toni Hayes began chanting “Racist! Bias! Prejudiced!” as she got into a car to leave the courthouse on Tuesday, a video on X showed. (WARNING: Graphic language in link).
Following the verdict, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis stood alongside the Metcalf family in a press conference.
“Justice was served,” he said on Tuesday.
“A year ago, when this senseless murder unfolded, I said that it had struck a deep nerve in Collin County and far beyond,” Willis said. “I asked our community to ignore all the noise and instead be level headed and patient as the process worked, and today the process delivered accountability.”