The student athlete accused of killing teenage football star Austin Metcalf in Frisco, Texas, is facing trial as jury selection was scheduled for Monday.
The suspect in the case, Karmelo Anthony, who was also a high school football player, will be on trial in the stabbing death of Metcalf when the two young men were at a track meet in April 2025, the New York Post reported, noting the incident happened over a seating dispute.
The outlet continued:
Anthony, then a 17-year-old senior from Frisco Centennial High School, got into a fight with Metcalf — who was a student at Frisco Memorial High School — after Metcalf asked Anthony to leave his team’s tent during the meet at the Kuykendall Stadium, prosecutors have claimed.
Anthony allegedly warned Metcalf not to touch him before pulling a knife out of his bag and stabbing Metcalf in the chest.
After he was charged in the stabbing, donors raised $600,000 for Anthony and “a family spokesman said last year that the money would go to ‘Stand with us in the fight against white supremacy,’” the Post article read.
After the incident happened at the stadium, a responding officer reportedly said Anthony admitted to stabbing Metcalf, claiming it was self-defense, per Breitbart News.
“Under Texas law, once self-defense becomes an issue in a case, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not acting in self-defense,” Fox 4 reported Sunday.
In addition, surveillance video reportedly showed the fatal incident unfold that could “challenge” Anthony’s self-defense claim, according to Breitbart News. The outlet cited a Daily Mail report, which said it was one of only two news organizations allowed access to the video footage.
Following the stabbing, Anthony was released on a $250,000 bail and his family took up residence in a $900,000 dollar home.
“Anthony is charged with first-degree murder but since he was underage at the time of the alleged stabbing, he doesn’t face the death penalty or even life in prison,” the Post article said, noting he is under house arrest and could face up to 99 years in prison if he is convicted.