OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:00 PM – Sunday, May 25, 2025
17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, the teen charged with fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, will be tried as an adult.
Anthony stabbed Metcalf at a Texas high school track meet last month after being told he was sitting in the wrong seat, ending with Metcalf dying in his twin brother’s arms.
“They were twins, identical twins, and his brother was holding on to him, trying to make it stop bleeding, and he died in his brother’s arms,” stated Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father.
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“I rushed up there and I saw him on the gurney and I could tell – they said he wasn’t breathing. I could see all the blood, and I saw where the wound was, and I was very concerned, so I had to find his brother, and we rushed to the hospital. And we prayed, and it’s God’s plan. I don’t understand it, but they weren’t able to save him. This is murder,” he continued.
“I’m not trying to judge, but what kind of parents did this child have,” Jeff Metcalf questioned. “What was he taught? He brought a knife to a track meet and he murdered my son by stabbing him in the heart. The guy was in the wrong place and they asked him to move and he bowed up. This is murder. You know what, I already forgave this person. Already. God takes care of things. God is going to take care of me. God is going to take care of my family.”
Texas law allows for 16 and 17-year-olds to receive adult charges in serious cases, such as Metcalf’s murder.
Prosecutors are seeking a first-degree murder charge, meaning Anthony could potentially receive a life sentence with the eligibility of parole after 40 years.
A Texas grand jury will decide on whether to pursue the first-degree murder charge after reviewing the evidence, or a lesser charge such as manslaughter.
Due to his age, Anthony is not eligible for the death penalty.
“The Supreme Court has said not only can you not seek the death penalty against someone who committed a crime when they’re 17, you can’t even get them life without parole. That would not be something we could do even if we wanted to,” stated Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis.
Additionally, the case received more national attention after Anthony was allowed to graduate high school despite allegedly committing the brutal stabbing that led to Metcalf’s death.
Jeff Metcalf recently stated that he attempted to confront the school about the decision and was ultimately “stonewalled.”
“I’ve been stonewalled. Sad, you know, I understand the protocol,” Jeff Metcalf stated. “They said I have to make an appointment, which I did.”
“I’m just curious on how they arrived at it,” he continued. “When I read their own policy manual about what it states for mandatory expulsion and also graduation, now, he may be placed in a program where he was able to continue his education at home, where he did maintain the credits and could get his diploma.”
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