😱⚖️ JUST IN: KARMelo ANTHONY GETS 35-YEAR SENTENCE After being convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet, Karmelo Anthony has been sentenced to 35 years behind bars. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. Families and the community react to the landmark sentencing. 📌 Full story and courtroom reaction in comments 👇
Karmelo Anthony found guilty of murder in Texas track meet stabbing
Anthony admitted stabbing Memorial High School student Austin Metcalf but claimed self-defense
Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor has the latest on the sentencing on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
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A Collin County jury has sentenced Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison after he was found guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Memorial High School student Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas.
Anthony faced up to life in prison after being convicted of murder. He will be eligible for parole after serving half that time.
He broke down in tears and was shaking as the verdict was read Tuesday afternoon, and he was immediately taken into custody. The case immediately moved into the sentencing phase, with Anthony’s mother as the sole witness called to the stand to implore the judge to impose a lenient punishment.
“Please have mercy on my son,” Kayla Hays said as mascara stains could be seen streaking her tear-soaked cheeks.
“He’s my oldest, my first born, my baby, I love him very much,” she said.
When asked by Anthony’s defense team if her son regretted his actions, Hays replied, “Yes, he’s very sorry for what he did.”
A split of Karmelo Anthony (left) and Austin Metcalf. Anthony was accused of stabbing Metcalf to death during an April 2, 2025 track meet in Frisco, Texas. (FOX4; Jeff Metcalf)
Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, was in the courtroom room for the first time. Metcalf’s mother was crying and hugging supporters.
Following Anthony’s sentencing, the court heard from Metcalf’s loved ones who had prepared victim impact statements.
“As I drove to the hospital, I never believed Austin could be gone,” Metcalf’s aunt said as she detailed the phone call from his mother telling her the 17-year-old had been hospitalized. “The impact of his death is permanent.”
Jurors were then tasked with determining Anthony’s sentence, in which they decided Metcalf’s stabbing was not in “sudden passion,” which would have capped his potential prison time at 20 years behind bars. He ultimately faced the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
A court sketch depicts the scene from Karmelo Anthony’s trial as he was convicted of murder in the 2025 stabbing death of Austin Metcalf in Collin County, Texas on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Pat Lopez)
A court sketch depicts the scene from Karmelo Anthony’s trial as his mother, Kayla Hays, is called as the sole witness during the sentencing phase after Anthony was convicted of murder in the 2025 stabbing death of Austin Metcalf in Collin County, Texas on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Pat Lopez)
The verdict followed days of emotional testimony from student athletes, police officers, forensic experts and coaches who described the confrontation that ended with Metcalf’s death at Kuykendall Stadium on April 2, 2025.
The verdict was reached just three hours after jurors were sent to deliberate following closing arguments Tuesday.
The jury in Karmelo Anthony’s trial had to decide if he acted in “sudden passion” when he stabbed Austin Metcalf to death at a Texas high school track — a finding that would have capped his sentence at 20 years instead of life in prison. (KDFW)
Anthony, who was 17 at the time, admitted he stabbed Metcalf but claimed he acted in self-defense.
WATCH: Crowds clash outside Karmelo Anthony murder trial
As the verdict was being read, more than one hundred protesters – split between supporters of Metcalf and Anthony – descended on the courthouse, and at least one protester was taken into custody after a fight broke out in response to the guilty verdict.
People outside of Collin County Courthouse react as news of a verdict is announced in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital)
WATCH: Experts analyze guilty verdict of Karmelo Anthony in Texas stabbing trial
What happened at the track meet
At the center of the case was a confrontation that unfolded beneath a Memorial High School team tent during a rainy track meet attended by schools from across North Texas.
A courtroom sketch depicts Karmelo Anthony and his defense team as jurors view surveillance video during Anthony’s murder trial in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, track meet. (Pat Lopez)
According to trial testimony, Anthony, a student from a different school, sat beneath the Memorial tent shortly before the confrontation began. Several student athletes testified that they questioned why he was there and repeatedly asked him to leave.
A shouting match is caught on video outside the Karmelo Anthony trial in Texas on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Fox News)
People outside of Collin County Courthouse react after Karmelo Anthony is found guilty of the murder of Austin Metcalf, McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital)
Witnesses told jurors that Austin Metcalf eventually approached Anthony and asked him to move. One student testified that Anthony was asked to leave roughly 15 times. Multiple witnesses recalled Anthony responding with statements such as, “Touch me and you’ll find out” and “If you want me to move, you have to move me.”
WATCH: Karmelo Anthony supporter sounds off on verdict
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Several students testified that Anthony became increasingly aggressive as the exchange continued. One witness told jurors it appeared Anthony was provoking Metcalf, while another testified it looked like Anthony was “looking for a fight.” Multiple witnesses said they did not believe Metcalf wanted to fight, with one recalling Metcalf saying, “I’m not going to fight you at a track meet.”
WATCH: Man outside of Karmelo Anthony trial weighs in on verdict
KARMELO ANTHONY DEFENSE RESTS, ATTORNEYS PREP FOR CLOSING ARGUMENTS BEFORE JURY DELIBERATES IN MURDER TRIAL
Karmelo Anthony, suspect in the stabbing death of Texas track star Austin Metcalf, walks out of Collin County Jail on April 14, 2025. (KDFW)
A court sketch depicts the scene from Karmelo Anthony’s trial shortly before jurors were sent to deliberate in Collin County, Texas on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Pat Lopez)
Witnesses also repeatedly referenced Anthony keeping one hand inside his backpack during the exchange. Several students testified they believed Anthony was bluffing when he suggested he had something in the bag.
The confrontation turned physical moments later. Witnesses gave differing accounts about exactly how Metcalf touched Anthony before the stabbing, with some describing a shove and others describing a grab. Testimony also varied on whether Metcalf used one hand or two.
Anthony then stabbed Metcalf in the chest, according to testimony.
KARMELO ANTHONY DEFENSE, PROSECUTORS WAGE FIRST-IMPRESSION WAR AS EMOTIONS ROCK OPENING OF TRIAL: EXPERT
Several students said they initially believed Anthony was bluffing. One witness testified that he did not realize Metcalf had been stabbed until he saw Anthony throw an object into the bleachers. Another recalled hearing Metcalf say, “Oh my God.”
Mugshot of Karmelo Anthony, left, and Austin Metcalf in football pads, right. (Fox DFW/Jeff Metcalf)
The prosecution’s case
Prosecutors argued that Anthony escalated a verbal disagreement into a deadly encounter by pulling a knife from his backpack and stabbing an unarmed teenager.
To support that argument, prosecutors called 21 witnesses, including students who witnessed the confrontation, investigators who processed the crime scene and the medical examiner who performed Metcalf’s autopsy.
KARMELO ANTHONY’S SELF-DEFENSE CLAIM COULD DEFINE MURDER TRIAL IN HIGH SCHOOL TRACK MEET STABBING: ANALYST
Several student witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor and that the stabbing did not appear to be an act of self-defense.
One witness testified that no one attempted to gang up on Anthony and described the physical contact before the stabbing as “minor pushing at most.” Another witness testified that Anthony appeared to be “looking for a fight.”
Jurors also heard testimony that Anthony told an officer after the stabbing, “I’m not alleged, I did it. He put his hands on me. I told him not to.”
GRIEVING TEXAS FATHER SPEAKS OUT AFTER SON WAS STABBED TO DEATH AT HIGH SCHOOL TRACK MEET
The medical examiner’s testimony was among the most difficult moments of the trial. Metcalf’s family left the courtroom while autopsy photographs were shown to the jury and his injuries were described in detail.
The defense’s case
Defense attorneys argued that Anthony acted in self-defense after being confronted by a larger student and physically touched during the dispute.
Throughout the trial, defense attorneys emphasized that Anthony was seated for much of the confrontation while Metcalf and other students were standing nearby. Testimony indicated Metcalf outweighed Anthony by roughly 50 to 60 pounds.
SELF-DEFENSE CLAIM IN AUSTIN METCALF SLAYING IS ‘UPHILL BATTLE’: EXPERT
Defense attorney Mike Howard delivers opening statements during Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial in a courtroom sketch from the Collin County courthouse (Pat Lopez)
Defense attorneys also highlighted inconsistencies among witness accounts regarding where students were positioned, how many hands Metcalf used when touching Anthony and who was standing nearby at the time of the confrontation.
Anthony’s track coach testified that athletes from different schools routinely mingle at track meets and said his team lacked enough volunteers to set up a tent that day. He acknowledged, however, that students should leave if asked to leave another team’s tent.
One of Anthony’s friends testified that he had previously spent time under tents belonging to other schools without issue but said he would leave if asked.
Defense witnesses also pointed to testimony that another student under the tent knew Anthony and greeted him when he arrived.
After the prosecution rested its case, defense attorneys moved for a directed verdict, arguing prosecutors had failed to prove their case. The judge denied the motion.
