LIVE | Karmelo Anthony Trial: Day 2 begins after state alleges 'sneak attack' and defense claims self-defense

COLLIN COUNTY - The second day of testimony in the Karmelo Anthony trial began on Friday morning. The former Frisco ISD student is accused of fatally stabbing another student at a high school track meet.

Anthony, 19, faces a murder charge in the death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf. Police said Anthony and Metcalf got into an argument over seating in the stadium stands on April 2, 2025, which escalated when Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife.

The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks. If convicted, Anthony faces a maximum sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison.

LIVE Updates

10:45 a.m. Lunch break

The court is taking a lunch break and will resume at 11:45 a.m.

10 a.m. Another school resources officer

Frisco school resource officer Jacob Shalz was called to the stand.

He testified that he found a knife three or four rows up from the crime scene in between rows of bleachers. Anthony's blue backpack was found nearby.

Jurors were shown pictures of a folding knife with a silver or gray handle. It's half open and appears to have blood on the blade.

9:50 a.m. Cross-examination

On cross-examination, the defense asked Cortez if Athony was emotional while in the back of the squad car. Cortez struggled to answer but eventually responded by saying, "yes."

9:30 a.m. No weapons allowed

Cortez testified that Frisco ISD policy strictly prohibits weapons on school property.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye asked Cortez if he would agree that a student bringing a knife to a school event was "unprecedented, never encountered."

Cortez responded, "Yes, sir."

9:15 a.m. Officer who arrested Anthony testifies

Jurors next heard from Frisco ISD school resource officer Eduardo Cortez, who was at work at a nearby middle school when he heard the stabbing call. He told jurors he ran from the school to the stadium and entered at the southwest entrance.

Two high school students told Cortez where the victim was and gave him a description of the suspect. As he was making his way to the bleachers, an adult yelled to Cortez, "That's our suspect."

Cortez gave Anthony instructions and told him to walk towards him. He patted him down for any weapons and found none. He then placed Anthony in handcuffs.

Over the radio, Cortez advised, "I have the the alleged suspect detained in handcuffs." Cortez said he did not ask Anthony any questions but Anthony "talked." 

"I'm not alleged, I did it," Anthony told Cortez. "He put his hands on me. I told him not to."

Cortez said Anthony asked him as he was being put into the patrol car if Metcalf "would be okay."

Cortez noticed Anthony had some blood on his left middle finger. 

Jurors were shown body camera video of these events.

Anthony appeared emotional in the video when telling Cortez, "He put his hands on me. I told him not to. He put his hands on me."

The prosecutor asked Cortez about whether he heard Anthony sobbing or crying during the arrest. Wirskye noted that once he got into the squad car he was, "cool, calm, and collected."

Cortez said, "Yes, sir."

In another officer's body camera video, Anthony can be heard telling officers, "I'm not alleged. I did it."

9 a.m. Testimony resumes

Court is back in session. 

The first witness to take the stand was Neil Adams, a Frisco firefighter paramedic. On April 2, 2025, he responded to the stabbing at the stadium and drove the ambulance right up to where Metcalf was lying. He was the paramedic in charge.

Jurors were shown pictures of the scene.

Adams told jurors he ordered others to move a nearby school tent because it was raining and he wanted "a clean scene" while treating Metcalf.  He observed that Metcalf's pupils were fixed and dilated. He did not have a pulse. His color was gray.

He moved Metcalf to the back of the ambulance, gave him blood, and continued life-saving measures. Adams said Metcalf "never regained consciousness." 

He was a little emotional when describing that day.

Day 1 Testimony Recap: Jurors watch video, listen to 911 calls

What we know:

The prosecution and defense laid out two completely opposing narratives to the jury during their 20-minute opening statements. Collin County District Attorney Bill Wirskye called the incident a "provoked, unjustified murder," arguing that Anthony entered a closed team tent uninvited, provoked a confrontation, and launched a "sneak attack" with a hidden knife before fleeing. 

Wirskye explicitly noted that the case is not about race or self-defense. Conversely, defense attorney Mike Howard argued that Anthony acted out of a "split second of fear and chaos." Howard described Anthony as an honor student working two jobs who remained seated until Metcalf and his twin brother confronted him, maintaining that Anthony used the knife strictly in self-defense because he felt cornered by a group turning on him.

Grainy Stadium Video and Coach Testimony

Jurors viewed surveillance footage provided by Frisco ISD from multiple stadium angles. The video showed a figure identified as Anthony entering the Memorial High School team tent, followed by a brief scuffle and Anthony fleeing the scene as coaches and students gave chase. 

Memorial High School track coach Robert Starr testified to the sacred nature of team tents, comparing them to a sports bench where you just do not go in uninvited. He became visibly emotional on the stand while describing the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.

Chaotic 911 Audio and Bloody Evidence Close Day 1

The afternoon session turned deeply emotional as the prosecution played a chaotic 911 call from the scene. In the audio, Liberty High School football coach Joshua Rebmann, a military veteran who administered CPR, could be heard shouting, "Stay with me, Austin." 

The state capped the day with a powerful visual display, presenting the physical, blood-stained jacket that Rebmann used to apply pressure to Metcalf's wound. Legal observers noted that displaying the bloody jacket right before adjournment left a staggering, lasting impression on the jury.

Jury Selection Recap: No Black jurors selected; defense raises racial challenge

What we know:

A 12-person jury with six alternates was finalized Wednesday afternoon in a Collin County courtroom. The selection process resulted in a panel of 11 women and seven men. There are no Black jurors.

The final phase of jury selection grew tense when defense attorneys lodged a formal objection during the second round of strikes. The defense argued that the state improperly struck down three potential Black female jurors who were "similarly situated" to a white female juror allowed to remain on the panel.

Prosecutors strongly denied that race played a factor. Assistant District Attorney Dewey Mitchell clarified that all three women were struck because they listed their occupations as educators. Because the fatal incident occurred at a school-sponsored athletic function involving school-aged children, prosecutors seemingly did not want traditional educators on the panel.

State District Judge John Roach Jr. ultimately sided with the prosecution, allowing the strikes to stand. While one educator was successfully seated on the 12-person jury, she is an esthetician at a trade school and does not work with high school-aged children.

Self-Defense vs. Guilt

During jury selection, both sides were given one hour and 45 minutes to question potential jurors.

Assistant DA Mitchell pressed the pool on whether they could listen to the evidence with an open mind and follow the law to render a verdict, even when dealing with a young defendant. The questioning took an unusual turn when Mitchell asked if race could affect anyone's ability to determine guilt. After a handful of people admitted it could, Mitchell noted that in his entire career, he had never had to have such an explicit conversation about race with a jury panel. One Frisco ISD educator in the pool was excused after stating the case "hit too close to home."

Howard, the defense attorney, immediately signaled that the entire trial would pivot on whether Anthony had the legal right to defend himself. Howard, who referred to his client by his nickname "Melo," questioned the pool on whether they would penalize Anthony if he exercised his right not to testify. He also gauged their feelings on prison sentencing, noting the minimum threshold for a murder conviction is five years.

Continued Coverage

• Day 1: Jurors watch stabbing videos following opening statements
• No Black jurors selected for Karmelo Anthony murder trial
• Jury selection underway for deadly Frisco track meet stabbing
• Jury selection to begin in death of Frisco student

No Cameras Allowed

Big picture view:

The case has received widespread attention. Fueled in large part by online speculation and misinformation, the proceedings have become heavily racially charged. For months, the case has played out in the court of public opinion, prompting demonstrators from both sides to gather outside the courthouse Monday morning.

To keep the proceedings orderly and minimize outside influence, court officials have banned cameras inside the courtroom and will restrict electronic devices once testimony begins.

Frisco Track Meet Stabbing

The backstory:

Witnesses reported that the physical confrontation between the two teens began during a regional track meet at Kuykendall Stadium. Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, was sitting under the Memorial High School team tent. Metcalf, a Memorial student, reportedly told him to leave. Investigators found no evidence that the two young men knew each other prior to the incident.

An arrest report detailed Anthony’s interactions with law enforcement in the moments following the stabbing. According to the document, witnesses pointed him out to a school resource officer, who located Anthony on the north end of the track.

"I gave the suspect instructions to keep his hands up in the air. During this time, the suspect said verbally out loud, ‘I was protecting myself,’" the officer noted in the report. The suspect also stated, "He put his hands on me."

After the officer mentioned to colleagues that he had the "alleged suspect" in custody, Anthony interjected: "I’m not alleged. I did it."

"He put his hands on me. I told him not to," Anthony continued as officers escorted him out of the stadium in handcuffs. The report states that Anthony later asked officers if the victim was going to be okay and "asked if what happened could be considered self-defense."

In the days following the stabbing, the case exploded across social media platforms. Anthony maintained his self-defense claim from jail, where he was initially held on a $1 million bond. Twelve days after his arrest, a judge reduced the bond to $250,000, citing his lack of a prior criminal record.

Three days later, Anthony's family held a press conference urging the public to lower the emotional temperature surrounding the case.

"I don't know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial," said Anthony's mother, Kayla Hayes.

Public attention intensified further when Metcalf's father attended the family's press conference. He was ultimately escorted out by police after organizers stated he was not invited to the event.