Tears and Tension: Why Karmelo Anthony's Conviction is Stirring Outrage

McKINNEY, Texas — Karmelo Anthony sobbed Tuesday as he was swiftly convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of fellow high school jock Austin Metcalf at a track meet — and his furious supporters raged, “This whole thing’s been racist!”

The jury in Collin County deliberated about three hours before finding Anthony, 19, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old and must now decide whether to put him away for life — prompting the killer’s weeping mom to later take the witness stand and beg for mercy for her son, according to a report by NBC DFW.

“He’s my oldest. He’ll always be my baby. I love him very much,” Anthony’s mom, Kala Hayes, sobbed to jurors before they headed into further deliberations to decide his sentence.

As she spoke, Anthony also cried.

“I know my son, and he’s very sorry for what he did,” Hayes told the jury.

“Please have mercy on my son.”

Anthony killed Metcalf during a April 2, 2025, run-in prompted by a dispute over seating at the track and field event in Frisco.

Anthony previously appeared glum, looking down and not immediately speaking with his lawyers, as he entered the courtroom to hear the verdict — then broke into sobs as it was announced, several outlets in court reported.

Metcalf’s twin, Hunter, sat next to his parents in court for the verdict.

Metcalf’s stricken mom wept as emotional photos were later shown to jurors deliberating sentencing for her son’s killer.

The snapshots captured coaches performing CPR on her mortally wounded son at the track meet after Anthony stabbed him.

Outside the courthouse, about 200 protesters for and against Anthony clashed.

“This whole thing’s been racist. We didn’t make it racist!” a protester screamed.

Another person yelled: “Y’all used to locking up n—as any goddamn way!”

A demonstrator was outraged at the fact that Anthony didn’t have a single black juror at trial. 

“Tell those white folks, why is a black boy in front of an all-white jury? When has a white boy been in front of an all-black jury? Never!”

Here’s the latest on Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial following the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf

• Austin Metcalf’s dad goes scorched earth on Karmelo Anthony, demands son’s killer look him in the eye
• Baby-faced killer Karmelo Anthony seen in first mugshot since murder conviction, 35-year sentence
• Hate-filled protests erupt outside courthouse after Karmelo Anthony found guilty of murder
• Sobbing Karmelo Anthony learns his fate for murdering Austin Metcalf at Texas high school track meet

The jury consisted of white, Asian and Hispanic members.

It was set to deliberate again Tuesday — this time over Anthony’s sentencing.

Jurors are sitting through a second “mini-trial” featuring a single witness, Anthony’s mom, instructions from the judge about sentencing and “closing arguments” from both sides.

They will watch a video explaining a potential extenuating circumstance — “sudden passion” — which is considered in the sentencing phase of such cases and could massively lower his prison term.

Defense lawyers have described the term as when you commit an act because you didn’t take the time to “cool off.”

It could drop Anthony’s prison time of five to 99 years, or life, for first-degree murder without the circumstance to between two and 20 years in prison if the crime is deemed one of “sudden passion.”

Prosecutor Dewey Mitchell told jurors during the sentencing phase, “This is not about vengeance.

“It’s not about leniency, either,’’ the government lawyer said, according to NBC.

“In Collin County, what’s the price of taking a life?” Mitchell said.

“There are going to be bleachers at stadiums in Collin County where parents are going to watch their kids play. One of the reasons we’re in the community we live in is because we feel safe.’’

One of Anthony’s lawyers, Mike Howard, tried to sway the jury to consider the possible extenuating circumstance on the table — with Anthony crying at times as he spoke.

“Sudden passion doesn’t mean blaming Austin or Hunter or any of those Memorial kids under that tent,” he said. “This is not about blaming a victim.

“Decisions made in the heat of the moment are different than decisions that come after reflection.

“So when something happens … and you believe that Karmelo felt terror in that moment such that it rendered his mind incapable that he didn’t have time for cool reflection, then sudden passion applies,” the lawyer said.

The verdict came after four days of sometimes excruciating testimony that was so graphic, it visibly shocked jurors and drove Metcalf’s family from the courtroom.

Sympathizers of the killer tried to make the sensational case about race, suggesting Metcalf was nothing more than a white bully targeting Anthony, who is black — and whose legal defense raised more than $625,000.

The jury, which didn’t include a single black person, heard from students and coaches who were at Kuykendall Stadium where the fatal altercation took place, as well as from medics, officials and law enforcement officers who responded afterward.

Anthony primarily relied on the argument that he committed the slaying in self-defense, although he did not take the witness stand to personally give jurors his point of view.

Experts said the move may have helped doom his chance of an acquittal.

Anthony also could have been found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, but jurors nailed him on the top rap.

Sam Bassett, a partner at the firm Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey in Austin, Texas, said such a strong verdict shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“Evidence that is gory, such as a large knife wound, can trigger the emotions of some jurors deeply,” he told The Post.

“This often leaves them with a sense that they need to do something about what happened and almost always fans the flames of a guilty verdict.”

Teammates of Metcalf told the jury that the fight began when the victim, a student at Frisco Memorial High School, asked Anthony, then a 17-year-old from Frisco Centennial High School, to move out from under the Memorial team’s tent.

Anthony refused to vacate the bleacher area where the rival teammates set up their tent despite being asked roughly 15 times by Metcalf and others.

At one point during the escalating dispute, Anthony warned Metcalf, “Touch me and find out,” while his hand was in his backpack ready to grab something, witnesses said.

Metcalf eventually shoved Anthony, and the killer teen whipped out a semi-serrated folding knife from his bag, plunging it once into the victim’s chest, according to testimony.

Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, and others rushed to try to save the mortally wounded student, while Anthony ditched his knife and made for the exit before coaches stopped him, jurors heard.

Anthony told the coaches he warned Metcalf not to touch him and admitted to the stabbing but contended it was in self-defense. 

A classmate of Anthony testified Monday that the killer appeared “distraught,” crying and hugging a coach in the moments after the attack.

The trial featured graphic testimony and photos that shook jurors, including autopsy photos of Metcalf’s 2-inch wound and his pierced heart.

Metcalf’s family stepped out of the courtroom for the disturbing evidence and became emotional at various points of the trial, including when one coach broke down on the witness stand recalling Austin’s death.