In McKinney, Texas, a harrowing incident unfolded at a high school track meet, as a teenager fatally stabbed a fellow competitor. According to testimony on Monday, the accused, now 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony, expressed distress following the altercation, claiming he had warned the victim, Austin Metcalf, aged 17, “not to touch me.”
Anthony faces murder charges for the death of Metcalf, which took place at a school stadium in Frisco, a suburban area of Dallas, back in April 2025.
On the fourth day of the trial, following a lengthy three-hour midday recess, both the prosecution and defense announced the conclusion of their evidence presentation. Anthony chose not to testify on his own behalf, and the closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday.
Prosecutors argue that Metcalf’s stabbing was an unwarranted attack, stemming from a disagreement over Anthony’s presence under Metcalf’s team tent during a rain-soaked track event. Meanwhile, Anthony’s defense team maintains that he felt threatened and believed physical contact necessitated self-defense.
A teammate of Anthony’s, who testified in his defense on Monday, described Anthony as being “distraught” in the aftermath of the stabbing.
“I was hearing him say, ‘I told him not to touch me,’” the witness said.
Judge John Roach Jr. has said young witnesses can’t be publicly identified.
Metcalf’s death drew wide attention, in part because of social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. Anthony, who attended Frisco Centennial High School, is Black, while Metcalf, who attended Frisco Memorial High School, was white.
Prosecutors rested their case Saturday in Collin County court. Jurors last week heard from a number of people who were at the track meet, including students who said Anthony had been asked to leave the tent and was the aggressor in the confrontation.
The courtroom was packed again Monday with spectators, including the parents of Anthony and Metcalf, and younger people.
The jurors will be sequestered in a hotel if they don’t reach a verdict Tuesday and return to court Wednesday. The judge told them not to discuss the case with anyone, and “for God’s sake do not go on social media.”