Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the Karmelo Anthony trial, the first step toward hearing the murder case over the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco school track meet on April 2, 2025. If a jury is seated, opening arguments are scheduled for Thursday at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas.
The case centers on a violent encounter that ended with Metcalf, 17, dead at a Frisco Independent School District stadium during a track and field championship involving multiple schools. Anthony, who was also 17 and a student at Frisco Centennial High School at the time, was indicted on first-degree murder.
Metcalf was an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, and the stabbing happened beneath that school’s tent in the stadium bleachers. A witness said the confrontation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move from under the team tent, then Anthony allegedly reached into his bag and warned, “Touch me and see what happens,” before Metcalf grabbed him.
Another witness said Anthony then pulled out a black knife and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest before running away. He allegedly later confessed to the killing and told officers he was protecting himself, a claim that will sit at the center of the trial whenever testimony begins.
Judge John Roach has imposed a gag order and sharply limited access in the courtroom, barring cellphones and other electronics along with any photography, video recording, audio recording or livestreaming during the proceedings. Those restrictions reflect how much attention the case has drawn in and around Frisco, where the killing rattled a school-sports event meant to bring multiple campuses together.
Anthony was initially held on a $1 million bond before a Collin County judge lowered it to $250,000. Under the current conditions, he is on house arrest, must be supervised at all times by a parent or designated adult, cannot contact Metcalf’s family and needs prior court approval to leave the house.
Metcalf’s mother, Kala Hayes, has spoken publicly about the pressure her family has faced since the stabbing. “Whatever you think what happened... my three younger children, my husband and I didn't do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about,” she said, adding, “I don't know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial. Our son deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded to.”
The next milestone is immediate: jury selection on Monday and Wednesday, then opening arguments on Thursday if the court seats a panel. The case now shifts from public outrage and pretrial restrictions to the question a jury will have to answer: whether Anthony’s self-defense claim can stand against the account that he armed himself, stabbed Metcalf and fled.
