Karmelo Anthony, the American teen accused of fatally st@bbing another teen, Austin Metcalf, at a Frisco track meet in Texas, has been indicted on a murd£r charge.
A grand jury indicted Anthony on Tuesday, June 24, according to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office. A murder charge is punishable by 5-99 years or life in prison.
Anthony, a 17-year-old former student of Frisco Centennial High School, was arrested and charged with murd£r in the fatal st@bbing of Frisco Memorial High School student-athlete Austin Metcalf in April at a track meet in Frisco ISD’s Kuykendall Stadium.
He was released from jail later that month after his bond was reduced from $1 million to $250,000.
Anthony claimed self defense in the case, which garnered national attention, heightening racial tensions and raising security concerns among everyone connected to the case, including both families and Judge Angela Tucker, who is presiding over the case.
“We know this case has struck a deep nerve — here in Collin County and beyond,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement Tuesday. “That’s understandable. When something like this happens at a school event, it shakes people to the core. But the justice system works best when it moves with steadiness and with principle. That’s what we’re committed to. And that’s exactly what this case deserves.”
Anthony’s attorney, Mike Howard, called Tuesday’s indictment “an expected and routine step in the legal process.”
“Karmelo and his family are confident in the justice system and the people of Collin County to be fair and impartial,” Howard said. “Of course, Karmelo looks forward to his day in court. It’s only in a trial that a jury will hear the full story, one that includes critical facts and context that the grand jury simply didn’t get to hear.”
Howard again raised Anthony’s self defense claim in his statement Tuesday.
“We expect that when the full story is heard, the prosecution will not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt that Karmelo Anthony may have acted in self defense,” Howard said. “Self defense is a fundamental right guaranteed every American.”
Anthony allegedly confessed to the st@bbing immediately after he was arrested, claiming he was defending himself from Metcalf, officials said, as WFAA previously reported.
A witness reportedly told police that Metcalf told Anthony he had to move out from under the Memorial High School tent. Anthony responded by opening his bag and reaching inside, WFAA previously reported.
“Touch me and see what happens,” Anthony told Metcalf, according to a witness.
Metcalf reportedly then touched Anthony, the witness told a responding officer, and Anthony told Metcalf to punch him and see what would happen. Soon afterward, the witness said, Metcalf reportedly grabbed Anthony to tell him to move. At which point, the affidavit continues, Anthony reportedly pulled out what the witness recalled as a black knife and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest before running away.
Next Generation Action Network, a Dallas advocacy organization that hosted a press conference for the Anthony family, also urged the public to leave judgment in the case to the court.
“Karmelo will have his day in court — not in the court of public opinion,” the statement said. “He will finally have the opportunity to present his self-defense claim in a real courtroom.”
