A teenager convicted of stabbing a fellow student to death during a high school track meet in Texas has launched an appeal against his murder conviction. Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf on 2 April 2025 – a case that drew national attention and became the subject of intense social media debate.
The encounter that ended Metcalf’s life lasted only minutes. It began during a rain delay at a track and field competition in Frisco, Texas, when Anthony, then 17, took shelter under the team tent of Memorial High School – Metcalf’s school. Witnesses testified that members of Memorial’s team told Anthony the tent was reserved for their athletes. What exactly was said is disputed, but an argument quickly escalated under the crowded shelter.
“Karmelo Anthony, 19, sentenced to 35 years for murder of Austin Metcalf at Texas track meet, appeals conviction.”
Prosecutors and defence lawyers disagreed over who initiated the physical contact. Some witnesses said Metcalf pushed Anthony; others characterised the contact differently. Both sides accepted there was some form of physical interaction before Anthony pulled a knife and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest. Metcalf died at the scene.
The trial revealed no evidence that the two teenagers knew each other before that day. The confrontation was not the culmination of a long-running feud, jurors heard, but a spontaneous clash between two athletes who happened to be in the same place at the wrong time. Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, had travelled to the event as part of his school’s team.
After a closely watched trial, a jury found Anthony guilty of murder. The judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Now, Anthony has filed an appeal, seeking to overturn the conviction. The case, which has sparked arguments in courtrooms and online forums, is set to continue as the appeal process unfolds.