A Texas judge on Saturday denied a motion for a new trial for Karmelo Anthony, upholding the 19-year-old’s murder conviction in the fatal stabbing of a high school athlete.
Anthony received a 35-year prison sentence in June for the death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a 2025 track meet in Frisco, Texas. Following a two-day hearing, retired District Judge Michael Chitty rejected the defense’s request to throw out the verdict.
“Upon reviewing the motion, the record, the evidence and argument, the briefs, and the relevant case law, the Court has determined the motion should be denied,” Chitty said on Saturday.
Chitty stepped in to hear the motion after the original trial judge, District Judge John Roach Jr., was recused. Defense attorneys argued that trial restrictions imposed by Roach violated Anthony’s right to a fair trial.
They also contended that an unwritten “gentlemen’s agreement” between prosecutors and defense counsel broke down, which ultimately prevented Anthony from testifying on his own behalf. That informal arrangement was intended to exclude certain damaging background information and focus solely on the altercation under the tent.
According to eyewitness accounts given to police, the stabbing followed a dispute under a team tent. Metcalf asked Anthony to move because the tent was reserved for Metcalf’s track team. Anthony reached into his bag, told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens,” and pulled out a knife when Metcalf tried to physically move him, stabbing Metcalf in the chest before running from the scene.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis welcomed Saturday’s ruling. “We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial,” Willis said in a statement. “The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process.”
Had the motion succeeded, Anthony’s conviction would have been vacated, making him eligible for release on a $250,000 pretrial bond pending a new trial.
Anthony’s appellate lawyer, Russell Wilson, said the defense will take the case to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.
“We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled,” Anthony’s legal team said in a released statement. “The denial of this motion does not make those issues, or others not yet raised, disappear. … We will continue to challenge Anthony’s conviction and pursue every legal remedy available to him … in the justice we are seeking on his behalf.”
READ: Mother Charged With Second-Degree Murder Following Toddler’s Death In Georgia
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