Prosecutor in Anthony murder trial: ‘He plunged a knife into his heart and ran away’
Surveillance video tells the story of the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, and the jury will see it, a prosecutor told the panel on Thursday as the state began its case in Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial.
“He plunged a knife into his heart and ran away,” First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye said of Anthony in his opening statement, according to WFAA-TV.
Wirskye called the April 2025 killing “an unjustified, provoked murder.”
“This case is not self-defense,” Wirsky told the jury in the 296th District Court in Collin County. “This was simply senseless.”
The prosecutor, WFAA reported, referenced in his opening that witnesses recall that Anthony, then also 17, said before the stabbing, “Touch me, see what happens.”
Anthony provoked and goaded Metcalf, Wirskye said.
Anthony cried and told officers that he acted in self-defense and that Metcalf had “put his hands on me. I told him not to,” according to a police report.
Witnesses told police that the two students fought after Metcalf asked Anthony to move from under the Memorial High School tent at Kuykendall Stadium, and that Metcalf either pushed or grabbed Anthony before Anthony pulled a knife from his bag and stabbed Metcalf in the chest.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Mike Howard described Anthony’s life and relatives, according to WFAA.
“There’s been a lot of noise around this case,” Howard said. “A lot of completely false information.”
Anthony is “a son. He is a brother, the oldest of four. He is a friend, boyfriend, a student who graduated with a 3.7 GPA while holding two jobs, playing football, track ...”
Howard told the jury that Anthony’s father works as a car dealership finance manager and that his mother is a nurse. They are from Baton Rouge.
“They wanted their family to have a better life. That’s why they came to DFW middle of freshman year,” Howard told the jury, according to WFAA. “They came to Frisco for that better life.”
Metcalf was a Memorial High School student. Anthony was a student at Centennial High School.
Twelve jurors and six alternates were selected Wednesday afternoon. Judge John Roach Jr. and attorneys questioned a pool of about 600 candidates for the jury over the course of three days.
In a case that has stirred racial tensions, none of the jurors are Black. Metcalf was white, and Anthony is Black.
“A handful” of jury candidates told prosecutors that the racial element of the case could impact, for a variety of reasons, their ability to render fair judgment, KDFW-TV reported on Wednesday.
The last three Black candidates were struck from the jury pool on Wednesday for a “race-neutral” reason, prosecutors said. The three were educators, and the judge sided with prosecutors after a challenge from the defense, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The prosecution did not want educators on the jury because the altercation happened at a school event between two students, according to KDFW.
The Next Generation Action Network, a group that represents Anthony and his family, said it was “outraged” by the decision, and that the jury selection process raised “serious concerns about fairness and equal justice.”
If convicted of murder, Anthony faces between five and 99 years or life in prison.
Staff writer Lillie Davidson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:07 AM.
