Karmelo Anthony Loses Bid for New Trial to Overturn Murder Conviction in Fatal Stabbing of Austin Metcalf at Track Meet

Karmelo Anthony has been denied a new trial amid his bid to overturn his murder conviction, ‘The Dallas Morning News’ reported. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being found guilty of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a school track meet in 2025.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP

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Karmelo Anthony has been denied a new trial over the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf

In June, Anthony was sentenced to serve 35 years in prison after being found guilty of murder

The decision comes after Anthony’s legal team argued he was denied a fair trial due to restrictions set by the original judge

A Texas judge has denied a new trial for Karmelo Anthony amid a bid to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony, 19, was sentenced in June to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a 2025 high school track meet in Frisco, Texas.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, retired District Judge Michael Chitty rejected his motion for a retrial after a two-day hearing, The Dallas Morning News, ABC News and The Guardian reported.

“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, per ABC News.

Anthony’s legal team has argued he was denied a fair trial due to restrictions set by District Judge John Roach Jr. during the trial, PEOPLE previously reported. Chitty was appointed to decide Anthony’s motion for a new trial after Roach was recused from the teen’s case, per Dallas News.

Following the decision on Saturday, Russell Wilson, an appellate lawyer for Anthony, told ABC News that the legal team will continue the appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.

Anthony’s legal team said in a statement, per NBC 5 DFW, “We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled … The denial of this motion does not make those issues, or others not yet raised, disappear.”

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“...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,” they added.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement, per NBC 5 DFW, “We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial. The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process.”

If the retrial had been granted, the murder conviction would have been vacated and Anthony could have been released on a pretrial bond of $250,000, followed by potentially another trial, per NBC 5 DFW.

Anthony was found guilty of murdering Metcalf after a verbal altercation escalated between the pair.

An eyewitness told police that Metcalf asked Anthony to move from under a tent because it had been set up for members of his high school track team. Anthony reached into his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens.”

Metcalf went to physically move Anthony, which is when he pulled out a knife, stabbed Metcalf in the chest, and fled from the tent, according to the eyewitness.

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Anthony’s legal team argued in court this week while appealing for a new trial that the breakdown of a “gentleman’s agreement” between the prosecution and defense kept Anthony from testifying in his own defense.

An informal “gentlemen’s agreement” between attorneys was made to keep certain damaging information against Anthony and Metcalf out of the trial, according to Dallas News. The gentlemen’s agreement supposedly would have kept the trial exclusively about the events under the tent where Metcalf was stabbed, per Fox 4.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office and Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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