A Texas jury found 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder on Tuesday in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet.
Jurors returned the guilty verdict after less than four hours of deliberation following closing arguments, according to reports from the courtroom.
Anthony was charged with the April 2025 killing of Metcalf at a track meet held at Memorial High School in Texas. Prosecutors argued that Anthony escalated a brief dispute after Metcalf asked him to leave a team tent designated for students from another school.
According to testimony presented during the trial, Anthony pulled a knife from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf in the chest. Metcalf later died from the wound.
The case drew widespread attention after Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense. However, prosecutors presented testimony from multiple witnesses who said Anthony repeatedly refused requests to leave the tent and warned others not to approach him before the stabbing occurred.
One witness testified that Anthony repeatedly told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens,” while keeping his hand inside his bag. The witness said Metcalf remained calm and did not physically engage with Anthony before the confrontation turned deadly.
The defense also faced challenges during testimony from a key witness who initially claimed Anthony had been surrounded by students before the stabbing. During cross-examination, prosecutors introduced video evidence that reportedly showed the witness had his back turned to the incident and could not have seen the events he described. The witness later acknowledged his earlier account was incorrect.
Prosecutors forcefully rejected Anthony’s self-defense claim during closing arguments, arguing that the evidence supported a murder conviction.
“If you think Metcalf impaled himself on Anthony’s knife, find him guilty of manslaughter,” prosecutors told jurors, according to Daily Mail reporter MaryAnn Martinez, who has been covering the trial.
Anthony now faces a possible sentence ranging from five years to life in prison under Texas law.
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