Karmelo Anthony’s legal team faces another hurdle after a North Texas judge denied their appeal for a retrial after a conviction for the murder of Austin Metcalf.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, Retired Kaufman County Judge Michael Chitty shut down the motion for a new trial. According to WFAA, the new defense appellate team “cited a number of errors in the trial, including that prosecutors violated a secret agreement made with Anthony’s previous trial defense team to keep certain evidence — including allegations of racism and violence — from being disclosed to jurors.”
In June, a jury found 17-year-old Anthony guilty of murder for fatally stabbing Metcalf at a 2025 track meet. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. As BOSSIP previously reported, the retrial filing revealed a decision to suppress records of Metcalf and his twin brother Austin previously spraying racist and antisemitic graffiti such as “KKK kill all blacks,” “Heil Hitler,” and the N-word. The brothers were sentenced to two months of juvenile probation.
Austin also had multiple reported accusations of using racial slurs, bullying, and physically assaulting multiple female students. Metcalf had documented incidents of rage, violence, and threats stemming from football games and track meets. He reportedly had several meetings with a counselor to address his rage issues at sporting events. Another incident resulted in his suspension for bringing a gun to school.
CBS News reports Anthony’s former attorney Toby Shook was “best friends in life” with the prosecutor, “but on opposite sides of the case.” In addition to this plot twist of a relationship, the DA appeared to return the favor by suppressing details about Anthony’s history as well to focus solely on the track meet altercation. Per BOSSIP, Anthony’s record allegedly indicates a fixation on knives, aggression, and stalking his ex-girlfriend Valerie Perez Hours before the deadly track meet, Anthony allegedly sent her a photo of a knife with a concerning text.
The appeal attorneys argued that the jury never had a chance to consider the relevance of information about both teens, or hear Anthony testify in his own defense, due to the secret agreement. Yet, Judge Chitty’s ruling upholds the original trial as fair, despite these numerous raised issues.
“We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial. The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process. Every defendant has the right to appeal, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Metcalf family in the painful wake of last week’s hearing,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis told WFAA.
Anthony’s appellate lawyers already had to persuade Judge Sid Harle that trial Judge John Roach should be recused from hearing further appeals in the case because of his opinions shared after the trial. The legal team seems to determined to continue fighting and retains the ability to appeal Judge Chitty’s latest retrial ruling on this increasingly complicated case.
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