Jury rejected teen’s self-defense claim, convicted him of murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison
Families on both sides remain devastated, with public opinion turning against the convicted teen
Teen’s parents maintain he did not get a fair trial and plan to appeal the conviction
Source: The Dallas Morning News/Hearst Newspapers / Getty
Despite the pain and frustration this family must be feeling, they are resilient and are determined to reach justice.
CBS News is reporting that the family of Karmelo Anthony is speaking out publicly following the Texas teenager’s murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of fellow student-athlete Austin Metcalf, insisting that the tragedy has left two families devastated and that “nobody wins” from the outcome.
In an interview following the verdict, Anthony’s parents continued to maintain that their son acted in self-defense during the April 2025 confrontation at a Frisco high school track meet that ended with 17-year-old Metcalf’s death. An all-white Collin County jury rejected that argument after less than three hours of deliberation, finding Anthony guilty of murder before sentencing him to 35 years in prison.
Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, said her son “didn’t mean to hurt anyone” and argued that he was attempting to defend himself during the altercation. His father, Andrew Anthony, expressed sympathy for the Metcalf family while acknowledging the enormous pain caused by the case.
“It’s unfortunate, it’s where nobody wins. We’ve all been hurt by this. Everybody, everyone.”
That said, Anthony still does not feel like his son got a fair trial.
“They did a number on us,” Andrew Anthony said. “We didn’t get justice. A lot of things that were missed that should have been handled a certain way.”
The family also pushed back against what they describe as widespread public hostility surrounding the case. In a separate interview with CBS Texas, Anthony’s parents said they have continued to receive death threats even after the conviction and sentencing. Andrew Anthony claimed that members of the public still want harm to come to his family despite the guilty verdict. The family believes public opinion turned against Karmelo long before the trial began and has vowed to continue fighting the conviction through the appeals process.
“People want us dead,” Andrew Anthony said. “After they still got what they wanted…. they still want us dead. I go look at my phone, people want us dead. They want our family dead.”
Although the trial has concluded, the emotional fallout remains severe for both families. The Metcalfs continue to mourn the loss of Austin, while the Anthonys face the reality of their son beginning a lengthy prison sentence.
“That poor boy is fixing to experience a life that I would not wish upon anyone, but he deserves what he gets because we’re all responsible for our actions,” [Jeff] Metcalf said. “What it boils down to for me is this: Austin will never walk through that door again, and never give me a hug.”
As Anthony’s legal team prepares an appeal, his parents say they remain convinced that the justice system got the case wrong, even as a jury reached the opposite conclusion.
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