Crime

Karmelo Anthony's attorneys file motions to remove judge from case, seek new trial

Karmelo Anthony is sketched sitting in court beside one of his attorneys. Anthony, 19, was sentenced in June 2026 to 35 years in prison for stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in April 2025.
Karmelo Anthony is sketched sitting in court beside one of his attorneys. Anthony, 19, was sentenced in June 2026 to 35 years in prison for stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in April 2025. Pat Lopez/WFAA

The defense attorneys representing Karmelo Anthony, who was sentenced to 35 years in the death of Austin Metcalf, filed two new legal motions on Tuesday.

Anthony, 19, whose attorneys argued self-defense during his trial in Collin County, was found guilty of murder June 9 in the fatal stabbing of Metcalf, 17, at a Frisco track meet in April 2025.

In a motion filed on Tuesday, Anthony’s legal defense team is requesting that Judge John Roach “be removed from presiding over all remaining post-trial proceedings,” the Stand With Karmelo coalition said in a news release.

Defense attorney Russell Wilson also filed a motion requesting a new trial that raises “constitutional and legal challenges stemming from the trial, and is requesting that those issues be decided by an independent judge,” the release stated.

A team of new attorneys led by Wilson and other appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys announced on June 22 that they will be serving Anthony pro bono to review the trial record and pursue “all available avenues of appeal,” the Stand With Karmelo coalition said in a news release last month.

Shambhavi Rimal
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.
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