Convicted Teen Files Appeal Seeking New Trial in Track-Meet Stabbing Case

Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony filed an appeal July 7 requesting a new trial in the case that resulted in his conviction last month for the murder of Austin Metcalf. A jury sentenced the 17-year-old Anthony to 35 years in prison after finding him guilty of stabbing Metcalf, also 17, during a districtwide track meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2, 2025.

The new legal team argued that the court restricted public access to the trial in violation of Anthony’s rights.

They also stated that an unwritten agreement between the state and defense to exclude certain character and extraneous-offense evidence was repudiated by prosecutors, which prevented Anthony from testifying on his own behalf. The attorneys further criticized the pace of the proceedings, including a Saturday court date when several defense witnesses were unavailable.

They noted that the court gave the defense only ten minutes to counsel Anthony on whether to waive his Fifth Amendment privilege and testify.

In a separate motion, the attorneys asked that state District Court Judge John Roach be removed from the case. They pointed to an interview Roach gave after the trial to Dallas television station WFAA in which he said of the jury’s verdict, “whatever they say ... they get it right,” and described Anthony as “a nice young man” who “understands today ...

The consequences of committing a crime like ... ” They argued that these statements, combined with a gag order imposed during the trial on other participants, created an appearance that the judge no longer sat as a neutral arbiter. Anthony admitted to the stabbing but maintained at trial that he acted in self-defense after being confronted by members of the rival track team.