Texas Track Meet Stabbing Was Murder, Prosecutor Tells Jury

MCKINNEY, Texas — A prosecutor told jurors Thursday that the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old student at a Texas high school track meet was a “senseless murder” and a “sneak, surprise attack,” not an act of self-defense as the defense contends. The opening statements marked the beginning of a trial that has drawn national attention to the affluent Dallas suburb of Frisco.

Karmelo Anthony, now 19, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School who was stabbed once in the chest during a track and field championship event at David Kuykendall Stadium on April 2, 2025. Anthony, who was 17 at the time, has pleaded not guilty, arguing he acted in self-defense after Metcalf made physical contact with him, according to AP News.

The Incident

The confrontation unfolded on a rainy morning when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team, Memorial High School. According to an arrest report, Hunter Metcalf — Austin’s twin brother — told Anthony to move. When Austin Metcalf confronted him, Anthony allegedly reached into his backpack and said, “Touch me and see what happens.” Metcalf pushed Anthony, and Anthony allegedly responded, “Punch me and see what happens.” After a second push, Anthony pulled a black knife from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest before fleeing.

Metcalf ran down the bleachers, grabbed his chest, and asked for help. Athletic trainers performed chest compressions, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Anthony surrendered to police, telling officers, “I’m not alleged, I did it,” and asking if Metcalf would be okay and whether his actions could be considered self-defense, as KERA News reported.

The Trial Opens

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye told the jury that Anthony provoked the confrontation and that Metcalf did not want a fight. “He didn’t want a fight,” Wirskye said of Metcalf, describing the stabbing as a calculated act. Wirskye argued that Anthony “knows he goaded the murder.”

Defense attorney Mike Howard countered that Metcalf made the first physical contact and that Anthony reacted in a split second. “In that split second, Melo has a decision to make: how and when to act. Self-defense is useless if you wait too late to defend yourself,” Howard said. “He reacts in a split second of fear, chaos.”

Coach Robert Starr of Memorial High School was the first witness to testify. He described rushing to the tent after seeing commotion and finding Metcalf on the ground. “I see Austin on the ground and his face is purple, and he has a big hole in his chest,” Starr testified, choking up in the witness chair. Another coach, Vincent Hooper, testified that Anthony told him he stabbed someone who “put his hands on me.”

Jurors also viewed surveillance video of the incident, guided by forensic video analyst Mark Porter, who noted that approximately 15 minutes elapsed between Metcalf entering the stadium and Anthony’s arrest, according to Wikipedia.

Jury Selection Controversy

The trial’s jury selection drew significant scrutiny. After nearly 600 potential jurors were summoned and the pool narrowed to roughly 250, the final jury of 12 jurors and six alternates contains no Black members. The defense raised a Batson challenge after prosecutors struck the only three remaining Black prospective jurors, arguing racial discrimination. District Judge John Roach Jr. accepted the prosecution’s explanation that the strikes were race-neutral because the jurors were educators, as NBC DFW reported.

Racial Dynamics and Misinformation

The case has been heavily amplified on social media along racial lines — Anthony is Black, while Metcalf was white. This has led to online misinformation campaigns, including a fake X account impersonating the Frisco police chief and a fraudulent autopsy report. Both families have received death threats and have been doxxed, and both fathers were forced to leave their jobs due to harassment. A group called “Protect White Americans” held a protest at the stadium, which Metcalf’s father publicly denounced.

Jeff Metcalf, the victim’s father, has consistently urged the public not to view the case through a racial lens. “This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” he said. “This is a human being thing. This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”

Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has also urged the public to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”

Legal Context and What’s Next

Under Texas law, defendants aged 17 and older are automatically prosecuted as adults. If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony faces 5 to 99 years to life in prison, though he is not eligible for the death penalty or life without parole due to his age at the time of the offense. Texas’s “stand your ground” law and broad self-defense statute are central to the defense’s argument.

The trial, presided over by Judge Roach in Collin County, is expected to last approximately two weeks. The central question before the jury is whether Anthony’s use of deadly force was a reasonable response to a perceived threat or an unjustified killing. As both sides present their cases, the courtroom remains under heightened security, and the judge has prohibited attorneys from discussing the case publicly.

For the Metcalf and Anthony families — both of whom have described their sons as good students who planned to attend college — the trial represents the culmination of more than a year of grief, legal proceedings, and public scrutiny. As Jeff Metcalf said after Anthony’s indictment: “I fully believe that justice will be served for Austin Metcalf. I look forward to the forthcoming trial. But it will never bring my son back.”