Karmelo Anthony Sentenced To 35 Years And Files Indigent Appeal After Donor-Funded Defense
Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Austin Metcalf by a Collin County jury on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.[1] He has filed a notice of appeal and a sworn request for a court-appointed public defender saying he is "penniless, destitute and indigent," despite a GiveSendGo fundraiser that raised about $634,000.[2]
Jurors convicted Anthony of murder and set his punishment after about two and a half hours of deliberations.[3] The jury explicitly rejected his self-defense claim and declined to convict him on a lesser manslaughter charge.[4] At sentencing prosecutors called no witnesses and the defense presented only Anthony's mother, who pleaded for mercy.[1]
On April 2, 2025, 17-year-old Austin Metcalf was fatally stabbed at Kuykendall Stadium during a Frisco ISD track meet.[3] Student witnesses and surveillance videos shown at trial captured Anthony entering Memorial High's team tent uninvited, refusing repeated demands to leave and keeping one hand inside a backpack.[5] Witnesses said Metcalf pushed or touched Anthony, who then pulled a 3.5-inch folding knife and stabbed him once; body-camera footage later recorded Anthony telling an officer, "I did it." Fox News
Early courtroom coverage emphasized the defense's argument that Anthony acted in a "split second of fear and chaos" and sought a self-defense instruction.[6] Later reporting, and the jury's verdict, shifted the narrative: jurors rejected self-defense and convicted on murder after weighing eyewitness testimony and surveillance.[7]
Fox News reporting says a GiveSendGo fundraiser organized by Anthony's mother raised about $634,000 and that the platform said funds were lawfully disbursed for pretrial legal costs and family relocation before the campaign closed.[2] Court filings did not specify how much of the money went to lawyers versus family expenses.[2] Jake Lang, a far-right influencer, was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat outside the Collin County Courthouse during the trial.[8] Texas law guarantees a court-appointed lawyer on direct appeal for defendants who cannot afford counsel.
The mainstream summary does not address the complexities surrounding Karmelo Anthony's claim of indigency, particularly in light of Collin County's criteria for determining indigent status. According to the Collin County Fair Defense Plan, a defendant is presumed indigent if their net household income does not exceed 125% of U.S. poverty guidelines or if they cannot afford private counsel without substantial hardship. This context raises questions about Anthony's financial situation, especially given the substantial funds raised through the GiveSendGo campaign, which totaled approximately $634,000. The summary also overlooks the implications of Texas law, which guarantees appointed counsel for defendants who cannot afford an attorney during direct appeals, suggesting that Anthony's appeal process could be influenced by legal provisions that were not mentioned in the mainstream account.[9][10]
Show source details & analysis (10 sources)
📊 Relevant Data
In Collin County, a defendant is presumed indigent if net household income does not exceed 125% of U.S. HHS poverty guidelines, if eligible for specified public benefits, if currently incarcerated, or if unable to retain private counsel without substantial hardship after considering charge complexity and other factors; status can be reviewed at any stage based on material changes in financial circumstances.
FAIR DEFENSE PLAN FOR COLLIN COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS — Collin County, Texas
Texas law guarantees the right to appointed counsel on direct appeal for defendants who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
My Rights - Texas Indigent Defense Commission — Texas Indigent Defense Commission
📌 Key Facts
- On April 2, 2025, 17‑year‑old Austin Metcalf was fatally stabbed at Kuykendall Stadium during a Frisco ISD track meet, the killing that prompted the trial of Karmelo Anthony (Austin Metcalf).
- During the trial on Thursday, June 4, 2026, jurors heard a 911 call and viewed multiple surveillance videos from around Kuykendall Stadium, and coaches and trainers testified about efforts to save Metcalf (911 call).
- Student witnesses and other testimony described Anthony repeatedly refusing to leave a Memorial High School team tent, keeping a hand in a backpack, warning others ("Touch me and find out"), and then stabbing Metcalf with a 3.5‑inch folding knife; body‑camera footage later showed Anthony telling a school resource officer, "I did it" (body‑camera footage).
- A Collin County jury found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, explicitly rejecting his self‑defense claim and declining to convict on the lesser manslaughter option the judge had allowed (Collin County jury).
- That same jury sentenced 19‑year‑old Anthony to 35 years in prison on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 after about two and a half hours of punishment deliberations; prosecutors called no sentencing witnesses and the defense presented only Anthony’s mother, who asked jurors for mercy (35 years).
- A GiveSendGo fundraiser organized by Anthony’s mother raised about $634,000 toward a $1.4 million goal for legal fees and family expenses after the April 2, 2025 killing; GiveSendGo said the funds were lawfully disbursed over the past year for pretrial legal defense and family relocation before the campaign closed (GiveSendGo fundraiser).
- After his conviction and sentencing, Anthony filed a notice of appeal and a sworn request for a court‑appointed public defender stating he is "penniless, destitute and indigent," while court documents and reporting did not specify how much of the fundraiser went directly to attorneys versus family expenses (filed a notice of appeal).
- Outside the Collin County Courthouse during the trial, far‑right influencer Jake Lang was arrested on a state third‑degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat after Anthony’s family said Lang allegedly threatened to shoot Anthony if he was not convicted (Jake Lang).
📰 Source Timeline (10)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- After his June 9, 2026 conviction and 35-year sentence, Karmelo Anthony filed a notice of appeal and a sworn request for a court-appointed public defender, stating he is “penniless, destitute and indigent” and too poor to hire counsel.
- A GiveSendGo fundraiser launched less than two weeks after the April 2, 2025 killing raised about $634,000 toward a $1.4 million goal for Anthony’s legal fees and family-related expenses before being taken down following his conviction.
- The fundraiser, organized by Anthony’s mother, stated funds would cover not only legal defense but also family relocation, living costs, transportation, counseling and security; GiveSendGo policy says violent-crime legal-defense fundraisers must be solely for legal costs with money sent directly to licensed attorneys.
- GiveSendGo said in a June 2026 statement that the Anthony fundraiser was created to support pretrial needs and that funds were lawfully disbursed over the past year for legal defense and family relocation before the campaign was closed.
- Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital show Anthony’s indigency claim despite the prior donor-funded campaign; details on how much of the $634,000 went directly to attorneys versus family expenses were not specified.
- On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 31-year-old far-right influencer Jake Lang was arrested in Dallas, Texas, on a state third-degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat and booked into the Dallas County Jail.
- Texas Department of Public Safety said the charge stems from Lang’s conduct outside the Collin County Courthouse during Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial over the April 2025 killing of Austin Metcalf.
- Anthony’s family told CBS News that Lang allegedly threatened to shoot Karmelo Anthony in the head if he was not convicted of murder.
- In a video posted to his X account on June 9, Lang, speaking from Dallas County Jail, claimed he was charged "simply because" he said that if the jury did not find Anthony guilty, "we the people will deal with justice."
- Lang was previously indicted on 11 federal counts tied to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot but was pardoned by President Trump before trial; he has also been recently arrested in Frisco, Texas, on trespassing and in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a vandalism allegation.
- Lang posted on social media that his bail in the Texas terroristic-threat case was set at $1 million.
- The CBS segment, published Wednesday, June 10, 2026, reports that 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony was found guilty of murder by a Texas jury for fatally stabbing a fellow high school athlete.
- CBS explicitly frames the case as a "fatal stabbing of a fellow high school athlete" at a Texas high school track meet, reinforcing the school-athletics setting already reported in earlier coverage.
- On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, a Collin County jury sentenced Karmelo Anthony, 19, to 35 years in prison for the April 2, 2025 murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco ISD track meet.
- Jurors deliberated about two and a half hours before setting the 35-year punishment, within a statutory range of 5 to 99 years or life for the murder conviction.
- During the sentencing phase, prosecutors called no witnesses, while the defense presented only Anthony's mother, Kayla Hayes, who testified that her son regrets what he did and is very sorry.
- The defense argued to jurors that Anthony acted under "sudden passion" and in terror without time for calm reflection, asking them to find sudden passion to reduce the offense to a second-degree felony with a 2- to 20-year range; the jury rejected that claim and left the conviction as first-degree murder.
- Prosecutors in closing arguments urged jurors to focus on the life of Austin Metcalf, emphasizing his youth and projecting an image from the 2025 Frisco ISD track meet showing coaches praying over him as they tried to save him.
- The article reiterates that the trial drew national attention and notes that Anthony was taken into custody shortly after the April 2, 2025 stabbing at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco.
- The PBS/Associated Press piece confirms that the jury in Collin County, Texas convicted Karmelo Anthony of murder on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, after less than three hours of deliberation.
- Jurors explicitly rejected Anthony's self-defense claim and chose not to convict on the lesser manslaughter option that Judge John Roach had allowed them to consider.
- The same jury will determine Anthony's sentence, and the article notes that his mother, Kala Hayes, was the only witness at the initial sentencing hearing segment and pleaded with jurors to have mercy on her son.
- The story provides additional detail that the confrontation began when Anthony sat under Memorial High School's team tent during a rain-affected meet and repeatedly refused to leave despite demands from Austin Metcalf and other students.
- Prosecutor Bill Wirskye argued in closing that Anthony was the aggressor, saying, "You don't get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove," while defense attorney Mike Howard argued Texas law did not require Anthony to wait to be hit.
- The article describes heavy security and unusually large public interest, including lines of spectators crowding the Collin County courthouse and audible wails from a woman reacting to the verdict.
- The New York Times piece confirms that on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, a Collin County jury found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder for the April 2, 2025 stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas track meet, consistent with other outlets’ reporting.
- The article provides additional narrative detail on trial testimony and the courtroom sequence that led jurors to reject manslaughter and instead convict on the higher murder charge, reinforcing that the judge had allowed consideration of the lesser offense.
- The story reiterates that the case has now moved into the sentencing phase, with Anthony facing a range of 5 to 99 years or life in prison under Texas law.
- On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, a Collin County jury found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder for the April 2, 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
- Judge John Roach allowed jurors during closing arguments on June 9, 2026, to consider a lesser manslaughter charge in addition to murder before they returned the murder verdict.
- Anthony, now 19, faces a sentencing range of five to 99 years or life in prison following the murder conviction; a manslaughter conviction would have carried two to 20 years.
- The jury reached its verdict after several days of testimony from dozens of witnesses, including student eyewitnesses, law-enforcement investigators, medical experts and character witnesses.
- Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura testified that the single stab wound pierced Metcalf's heart, describing it as a large, gaping, unsurvivable injury, with autopsy photographs shown to jurors.
- Student witnesses for prosecutors characterized the stabbing as 'lethal force against non-lethal force,' while a defense student witness described seeing someone pushed or punched but admitted his view was limited and conflicted somewhat with video evidence.
- Defense witnesses included Centennial High School track coach Adam Linwood, who said athletes often visited other schools' team tents and that Anthony's teammates had nominated him for team captain, while also acknowledging there was no reason to have a knife at a track meet.
- The trial began with jury selection on June 1, 2026, proceeded under heightened courthouse security due to threats and controversy, and has now moved into the sentencing phase.
- On Saturday, June 6, 2026, two Memorial High School students testified that immediately after the April 2025 stabbing, Austin Metcalf was 'screaming for help' and said 'he f------ stabbed me.'
- Witnesses testified that Karmelo Anthony arrived uninvited at the Memorial High School team tent at the Frisco track meet, refused repeated requests—up to about 15 times—to leave, and warned Metcalf 'Touch me and find out' and 'Touch me, see what happens.'
- Students told the court Anthony kept one hand inside a backpack on his lap during the dispute, leading some to suspect he was holding a concealed weapon and to warn Metcalf not to touch him.
- Witnesses said the confrontation became physical when Metcalf shoved or touched Anthony, who then stood up and stabbed Metcalf with a 3.5-inch folding knife, and several described Anthony as 'the aggressor' while saying Metcalf was 'unwilling to fight.'
- Body-camera footage and officer testimony, as summarized in court, showed Anthony telling a school resource officer after the incident, 'I'm not alleged. I did it,' and repeatedly asserting, 'He put his hands on me. I told him not to.'
- On Thursday, June 4, 2026, jurors in Karmelo Anthony's murder trial heard a 911 call and watched multiple surveillance videos from around Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, capturing the aftermath of the April 2025 stabbing of Austin Metcalf.
- Coaches and trainers testified on June 4 about efforts to save Metcalf's life after he was stabbed, providing the jury with emotional eyewitness accounts of the response on the track.
- Prosecutor Bill Wirskyke told jurors in his opening that the case is a 'provoked unjustified murder' and said, 'This case has nothing to do with race. This case is not self-defense.'
- Defense attorney Mike Howard argued in his opening that Anthony acted in a 'split second of fear and chaos' and urged jurors to focus on the evidence rather than the public narrative around the case.
- Texas defense attorney and analyst Jeremy Rosenthal told Fox News Digital that because the defense is asserting self-defense, it must 'prove up that split-second statement' to secure a self-defense jury instruction, and he said studies show about 80% of jurors form opinions during opening statements.
- On June 4, rival groups of supporters for Anthony and for Metcalf engaged in a shouting match outside the Collin County Courthouse, trading profanities and holding competing signs as the first day of testimony unfolded.