Austin Metcalf is the teenager who was stabbed in the heart and killed on April 2 at a track meet in Frisco, Texas. The person who stabbed him (and confessed to doing so not long afterwards) is another teen named Karmelo Anthony. Anthony has been charged with first degree murder but was released over the weekend after his bond was reduced by a judge from $1 million to $250,000.
Anthony has also become a weird kind of celebrity. There were dozens of fundraisers set up in his name and the main one has raised nearly half a million dollars. Anthony’s lawyer seems to be arguing that this was a case of legitimate self-defense.
The new attorney for Karmelo Anthony, the teenager accused in the deadly stabbing at a Frisco track meet earlier this month, reiterated Anthony’s claim of self-defense, saying “every Texan has a right to defend themselves when they reasonably fear for their life.”…
Howard called Anthony “an excellent student” who was the captain of his track and football teams and was recently thinking about what college he planned to attend.
“This is a tragedy all the way around,” Howard said. “For both families. Rushing to judgement, trial by public perception and trial by media is not how we ensure justice is done. We are confident that after a full investigation, the truth will come out.”
The truth has already come out in the form of the police report about what happened that day and some of the eyewitness statements. All of them seem to agree on the basic facts which are not favorable to Anthony. He sat down under a tent for a rival school and was told to leave by Metcalf. He then reached into a bag and said something like “touch me and see what happens.” Metcalf grabbed him at which point Anthony pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest, killing him.
I’m not an attorney but my understanding of self-defense, in Texas and elsewhere, is that deadly force cannot be used unless you have a legitimate fear of being killed. In this case, telling someone to leave and even grabbing them or shoving them is not grounds for a deadly use of force unless the attacker said something to indicate they were attempting to kill you. If Anthony had responded to being grabbed by throwing a punch, that might have been deemed a reasonable and proportionate response by a court, but stabbing someone in the chest is not a reasonable response under the law.
And it’s not just that. Even reaching into a bag for a knife when he was first asked to leave could be seen as an evidence he planned to escalate to deadly force even before he was touched. And why was a high school kid carrying a knife at a track meet anyway?
Immediately after the stabbing, Anthony threw the knife and ran rather than stay at the scene. Obviously, in a case of actual self-defense you don’t try to run or get rid of the weapon. I’ve seen people comparing this to the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting but in that case, Rittenhouse was trying to turn himself into police after the initial shooting. He didn’t ditch his weapon and flee. Also, the two subsequent people he shot were attempting to use deadly force against him, one with a pistol and the other by swinging a skateboard at his head.
The knife was recovered and Anthony was arrested at the scene and immediately confessed, claiming he acted in self defense. There was also blood on his hands which the officer noticed immediately. No doubt his lawyer is going to try to get those spontaneous admissions thrown out on the grounds that he hadn’t been read his rights, but technically police don’t have to read you your rights until they question you. In this case, Anthony spoke up before any questioning had taken place, making this a spontaneous admission. The only question police asked him was “Do you have any weapons?” shortly before he told them he had stabbed Metcalf. All of this was apparently captured on the officer’s bodycam so the confessions and the timing will be on video.
All that to say, a lot of people are angry that a successful kid was murdered by someone who it seems was looking for trouble (carrying the knife, sitting under another team’s tent, refusing to leave when asked). There is also some shock that people have raised nearly half a million dollars for the (alleged) killer. And that anger his being aimed at people connected to the case.
The judge who reduced Karmelo Anthony’s bond this week is getting some added security, TMZ Sports has learned, after law enforcement said she’s been the recipient of threats following her key decision in the murder case…
It’s unclear exactly what the contents of the comments made against Tucker were … but the judge reportedly turned her X page private shortly after Monday’s hearing, presumably due to them.
Obviously, you have to be a real idiot to threaten a judge but some people are real idiots.
And that brings us to today when Anthony’s family decided to hold a press conference, apparently to complain that they are also getting threats. But the press conference was delayed because Austin Metcalf’s father Jeff showed up unexpectedly.
Awaiting a news conference with family of Karmelo Anthony to address public for the first time. Father of Austin Metcalf has arrived and is standing among media. pic.twitter.com/8q4aTBX1Zs
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) April 17, 2025
The press conference was supposed to start at 11am but didn’t start because of Metcalf’s presence.
UPDATE: Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, is refusing to leave the public press conference for Karmelo Anthony.
The felon and “advocate”, Dominique Alexander, with Next Generation Action Network has stated that he will not start the press conference unless the father of Austin… pic.twitter.com/F8UJVfLdnD
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) April 17, 2025
Eventually, police asked him to leave and he did.
Dallas Police have arrived and Austin Metcalf’s father is leaving news conference where Karmelo Anthony’s parents are scheduled to speak publicly for the first time. pic.twitter.com/SKd4jQwR9C
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) April 17, 2025
Jeff Metcalf, father of sIain Austin Metcalf, escorted out of the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN) conference.
Karmelo Anthony’s parents, Andrew Anthony & Kala Hayes, are holding a live press conference & refused to speak in front of him?!
What exactly are they scared of?! pic.twitter.com/9kQdd6wZnx
— Southern FFA Family (@FFAFamily) April 17, 2025
When the press conference did finally start, it began with some harsh words about Jeff Metcalf and his poor character.
Karmelo Anthony presser starts off by attacking Austin Metcalf’s dad: “It is disrespectful” of him coming here pic.twitter.com/1iXhg7IfnK
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 17, 2025
I don’t know what Jeff Metcalf’s purpose was in showing up today but I think he inadvertently recapitulated the whole case in a way that looks pretty bad for Karmelo Anthony. The NGAN spokesman, Dominique Alexander, said it was disrespectful of Metcalf to turn up uninvited. In fact, being there was a sign of his poor character.
So what does that tell us about Karmelo Anthony’s behavior? He showed up under a tent set up for another school, where he knew no one and hadn’t been invited. Anthony was also asked to leave and instead of leaving, as Jeff Metcalf did, he reached for a knife and made a threat.
Jeff Metcalf just showed everyone how Karmelo Anthony should have responded that day. He should have left when asked because he wasn’t invited and didn’t belong there. In fact, Jeff Metcalf had infinitely greater reason to be at the press conference than Karmelo Anthony had to be at the tent that day. This is, after all, about the murder of his son.
Anthony’s mother went on to make a statement saying her family was under attack.
In the wake of this tragic incident, our family has been under attack. Whatever you think that happened between Carmelo and the Metcalf boys, my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about. The lies and false accusations that have been said about us, especially over the past week, has been overwhelming.
The lies and their implications put my family in danger, as well as everyone in our community, everyone involved in the investigation, from the police, the attorneys and the courts there. Our address and my husband’s previous employer’s address has been put on all social media platforms. My husband had to take a leave of absence because he’s afraid what may happen to our family. His mental health is deteriorating day by day. We have endured death threats. My 13-year-old daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bedroom because she’s fearful of what might happen to her.
And let me be clear, the claims, the claims that were used about the public donation, to buy a home or anything else are completely false. We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser. And the co-founder has stated that clearly.
It sounds like a bad situation and clearly the siblings of Karmelo Anthony are not responsible for his behavior. Still, this family is not the victim in this case. The real victim is dead. At some point, the appropriate response to Jeff Metcalf would be a sincere apology for the actions of their son rather than suggesting Metcalf has poor character.
