Defense rests case in Karmelo Anthony murder trial; closing arguments Tuesday
The state and defense have rested their cases in the North Texas murder trial of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony, accused of fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf during a Frisco ISD track meet in April 2025.
The closing arguments are set for Tuesday morning. On the fourth day of testimony in the guilt-innocence phase, the defense rested after calling multiple witnesses on Monday, June 8. The prosecution rested its case on Saturday.
Witnesses told police that the two students argued 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.
Anthony cried and told police 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. If convicted of murder, Anthony faces between five and 99 years or life in prison.
June 8 overview
A 17-year-old Centennial High School student testified that Anthony was in a “normal mood” the day of the stabbing. The defense witness told jurors that he saw a push and saw “arms go out and make contact with” Anthony, referring to Metcalf pushing Anthony, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported.
The witness, who told the court he did not see the stabbing, initially thought someone in the tent might have been stung by a bee when he heard a loud commotion.
He testified about seeing Anthony standing up during the push and remembers Metcalf then lifted up his shirt and said he was stabbed. The witness told jurors Anthony was crying and “distraught” when he saw a coach comforting him. The witness also testified about overhearing Anthony saying, “I told him not to touch me,” WFAA-TV reported.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Bill Wirskye asked the witness, “If someone asks you to leave, you leave, right?” The witness responded yes. The prosecutor then asked, “Have you ever brought a knife to a track event?” to which he responded no.
Frisco police Detective Beau Riley was another witness called by the defense. He told jurors he is not sure if he found any deleted photos on the phone of a former Memorial High School student who was friends with both Anthony and Metcalf and who testified he pretended to make a video of the altercation.
Another witness, a 17-year-old Frisco High School athlete, told jurors that track meets are social events and kids from other schools coming to different tents was not unusual.
The witness, who said he did not know Anthony, said that he was under the Memorial High School tent when it looked to him like someone got “pushed or punched.” In his statement, the witness recalled Anthony getting hit in a “swing-type motion down,” WFAA reported. After hearing someone get stabbed, he ran out of the stadium, the witness reported.
Defense attorney Mike Howard did not call Anthony to take the stand on Monday before resting the case.
State rested case on Saturday
Collin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura told the court on Saturday that Metcalf had a stab wound on the left side of his chest. The knife perforated the bone at the center of his chest, the sac that surrounds his heart, and penetrated the right ventricle of his heart. The “gaping” stab wound was two inches in length and “not survivable,” she said before prosecutors rested their case.
Many teenagers including an 18-year-old student from Memorial High School who Anthony went to greet on the day of the stabbing testified. Many teens told jurors that Anthony told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens” as he kept his hand inside his backpack, KDFW-TV reported.
Attorneys will finalize jury instructions before deliberations begin following the closing arguments on Tuesday. If deliberations on guilt-innocence extend past Tuesday, jurors will be sequestered at a local hotel without phones, according to Judge John Roach Jr.
If the jury finds Anthony guilty, a second phase of the trial will begin for the jurors to determine his punishment.