Carmelo Anthony guilty of fatal stabbing at Texas track and field tournament
A Texas jury has convicted Carmelo Anthony of murder in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a 2025 high school track meet.
A Texas jury on June 9 found a teenager guilty of killing a classmate and a competitor at a high school track meet last year, marking the end of a trial that drew national attention and shocked the city of Frisco.
Carmelo Anthony, 19, was found guilty of murder in the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalfe. A Collin County jury later sentenced him to 35 years in prison.
Prosecutors argued that Anthony had threatened Metcalfe before the stabbing, but the defense argued that Anthony acted in self-defense. Both men were 17 years old at the time of the incident.
The incident raised questions about school safety and fueled racial tensions in the community. Supporters for the defense and prosecution gathered outside the courtroom daily, and fundraisers on both sides raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.
The highly emotional trial included graphic footage of the incident, including footage of Anthony’s mother pleading with the jury for mercy. At the sentencing, Metcalf’s mother spoke directly to Anthony, saying: “You may have just been sentenced to 35 years in prison, but you should count yourself lucky because I was sentenced to a life without my son.”
Here’s what you need to know about the case and the controversial trial.
What happened in Carmelo Anthony’s trial?
The trial, which began with jury selection on June 1, included emotional testimony from witnesses and video recordings of the chaos at Frisco’s Kuykendall Stadium. The judge in the case prohibited cameras, live streaming, and audio recording in the courtroom.
Prosecutors argued the stabbing was an unprovoked attack that stemmed from a disagreement over Anthony’s presence under the team tent at Memorial High School during a rainy track meet, the Associated Press reported. The defense argued that after physical contact, Anthony believed she was being threatened and acted to protect herself.
Prosecutors called 21 witnesses before adjourning the case on June 6, according to Fox 4 News.
Why did he do that? The motive for Austin Metcalf’s stabbing was at the center of murder trial
Witnesses recalled statements made by Anthony shortly after the stabbing that prosecutors noted as an admission of guilt.
School resource officer Eduardo Cortez testified that when he reported that he was being handcuffed by the “alleged suspect,” Anthony responded, “I’m not the suspect, I did it.”
NBC DFW reported that prosecutor Bill Wilsky told jurors that Anthony began a confrontation with Austin inside the tent, admitted to stabbing him moments later, and told a bystander that Austin had touched him first “as if to justify the murder he had just committed.”
According to NBC DFW, Anthony’s attorney Mike Howard painted Austin and his twin brother as aggressors. Howard said Anthony warned him not to touch Austin and said he had the right to protect himself once Austin initiated physical contact.
“There is no evidence that Carmelo did anything other than truly believe he was protecting himself in that moment of confusion,” Howard said on June 9.
Carmelo Anthony sentencing details
Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The jury could have sentenced Anthony to a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. (Under Texas law, Anthony was 17 years old at the time of the incident, but could be prosecuted as an adult.)
Hundreds of people gathered outside the courtroom for the June 9 verdict and sentence. After the news broke, two people from the tense crowd were arrested on suspicion of assault, FOX 4 reported.
The ruling also drew attention from celebrities including Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B, who expressed outrage at the decades-long prison sentence.
“Wow! So amazing! Disgusting… This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!” she wrote to X.
Contributors: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Amanda Lee Myers and anthony thompson
